COVID-19 (Coronavirus): Travel advice

COVID-19 is still spreading around the world and many countries are experiencing new waves of infections.

All non-essential travel overseas should be avoided.

COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form

You must fill in a form before you arrive in Ireland called the COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form. Failure to do so is an offence.

The form may be used by health authorities to contact you in order to verify your location in the country.

It will also help contact tracers get in touch with you should someone on your flight or ferry be confirmed as having COVID-19.

You are not required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form if you are an essential supply chain worker (that is, air and ship crew and hauliers) or if you are an accredited diplomat.

If you are travelling onwards to Northern Ireland you will have to fill out a portion of the form.

You can download the form here.

Restricted movements

You are also asked to restrict your movements for 14 days if you arrive in Ireland from any overseas country. This includes Irish citizens coming home.

Restricting your movements means staying indoors and avoiding contact with other people and social situations as much as possible.

Further advice for people who have recently returned from abroad is available from the HSE.

Why you have to complete this form

The Form will be used to facilitate a system of follow up checks to make sure people who travel to the country are staying where they said that they would. The Form will also ensure more accurate and expeditious contact tracing, should we have a suspected or confirmed case on a flight or ferry coming into Ireland.

The legal requirement to complete this form

By law, passengers arriving to Ireland from overseas are required to complete this form, with the exception of the following:

• passengers arriving from Northern Ireland
• passengers leaving the State from their port or airport of arrival without otherwise exiting the port or airport
• holders of a Certificate for International Transport Workers, or drivers of a heavy goods vehicle, who are in the State in the course of performing their duties
• aircraft crew, including the pilot, who are in the State in the course of performing their duties
• ship crew, including the maritime master, who are in the State in the course of performing their duties.
• foreign diplomats

If you're travelling onwards to Northern Ireland

Passengers who are travelling immediately onwards to Northern Ireland should indicate this and will be required to fill out a portion of the form (name and signature).

How your information will be stored

Data collected will be stored securely for 28 days after which time it will be destroyed.

Electronic version of the form

The form is available to download above and on www.hse.ie and can be completed well in advance.

Passengers arriving into Ireland from overseas are advised to restrict their movements for 14 days on entry into the State.

Restricting your movements means staying indoors and avoiding contact with other people and social situations as much as possible and is more stringent than the public health measures applying to the wider public.

If your return flight will leave before the 14 day restricted movement ends

Public health advice for people arriving into the State from overseas is to restrict your movements for 14 days.

You do not need to remain in the country for 14 days. But you should follow this public health advice for the time that you will be in Ireland.

If you are travelling home for a funeral and therefore cannot restrict your movements for 14 days

The government has produced detailed guidance for bereaved families in the context of COVID-19 which is available here.

If you are travelling from an area on the Travel Green List

Anyone travelling to Ireland from a Item was unpublished or removedarea will not have to restrict their movements. But you should continue to follow public health advice for the time that you are in Ireland.

This list will be reviewed every two weeks.

Restriction of movements

What restriction of movements is

To help protect everyone from the spread of COVID-19 all residents in Ireland are asked to avoid non-essential travel overseas. Those arriving into the State are asked to take additional measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Following international travel, you will be asked to restrict your movements for 14 days, which means staying indoors and avoiding contact with other people and social situations as much as possible.

How to restrict your movements

Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as much as possible.

You can still go outside to exercise by yourself as long as you keep 2 metres distance from other people.

If you develop a fever or any respiratory symptoms phone your GP or HSELive on 1850 24 1850.

Don't:

• go to work, school, religious services or public areas
• use public transport or taxis
• invite visitors to your home
• visit others, even if you usually care for them
• go to the shops or pharmacy unless it’s absolutely necessary - where possible, order your groceries online or have some family or friends drop them off.
• meet face-to-face with older people, anyone with a long-term medical condition or pregnant women

For more advice on how to restrict your movements visit the HSE website.

Government advice is to avoid all non-essential travel overseas. Follow up-to-date travel information from the Department of Foreign Affairs for travel advice on countries and regions affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

The department is advising against all non-essential travel overseas. This includes Great Britain but does not apply to Northern Ireland. It also includes all travel by cruise ship. This decision was taken on the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team to combat COVID-19.

Irish citizens who are abroad, or who intend to travel abroad in the near future and have concerns about COVID-19 (Coronavirus), can ring the Department of Foreign Affairs' dedicated phone line: +353 1 6131733.