Fully vaccinated people and parents travelling with new born babies are exempted from Mandatory Hotel quarantine. Know more about mandatory hotel Quarantine exemptions

If you are fully vaccinated and have the documents to prove that then you do not have to complete mandatory hotel quarantine when you come to Ireland. Any dependents travelling with you, including children, will also be exempted from the requirement to complete mandatory hotel quarantine.

However, if even you are fully vaccinated, you still have to have a negative pre-departure PCR test and complete a period of self-quarantine at home or wherever you specified in your passenger locator form.

What ‘fully vaccinated’ means

Exemptions for parents travelling with newborn babies

All families travelling with new-born babies (no more than 28 days old), including those who have travelled to a designated state for the purpose of surrogacy, do not have to complete mandatory hotel quarantine when you come to Ireland.

However, all travellers still have to have a negative pre-departure PCR test and complete a period of self-quarantine at home or wherever you specified in your passenger locator form.

Exemptions for essential workers

The Health (Amendment) Act 2021 identifies those who are exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine. If your trip to Ireland is not in any of the categories below, then you must complete mandatory hotel quarantine at a designated facility:

• arriving into the State in the course of duty and who hold a valid Annex 3 certificate (ensuring the availability of goods and essential services)
• arriving in the State in the course of duty and are drivers of a heavy goods vehicle
• airline pilots, aircrew, maritime master or maritime crew and who arrive in the State in the course of performing duties
• travelling to the State pursuant to an arrest warrant, extradition proceedings or other mandatory legal obligation
• a member of An Garda Síochána or Defence Forces (or their equivalents from another state) and travelling to the State in course of duty
• travelling to the State for unavoidable, imperative and time-sensitive medical reasons and these reasons are certified by a registered medical practitioner or person with equivalent qualifications outside the State
• having been outside of the State to provide services to or perform the functions of an office holder (under any enactment or the Constitution) or a member of either house of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament
• diplomats and certain other categories of persons entitled to privileges and immunities in the State

Regulations will also exempt transit passengers who do not leave the port or airport before travelling out of the State and who have a ‘not detected’ COVID-19 PCR test result, following a test taken within 72 hours of their arrival into Ireland.

You should be aware that requests for review can be based only on a limited number of grounds and that public health will remain a paramount consideration.

Credit: Vinod pillai Oscar Travels