Weblog: Travelling to Eire? Right here’s what you want to know
and Karen Hennessy
William Fry accomplice Alicia Compton and affiliate Karen Hennessy look into the brand new journey restrictions and what employers want to contemplate if their staff are travelling for work.
In current weeks the federal government has ramped up its efforts to limit journey to and from Eire to curb the unfold of Covid-19 and have now put a number of journey restrictions on a statutory footing.
It’s a fast-moving space with new and up to date rules being applied on an nearly each day foundation. As well as, proposed restrictions are consistently being reported within the media and authorities recommendation, which doesn’t have the drive of statutory regulation, is frequently printed and up to date. It’s honest to say that it’s tough to maintain up.
Travelling to Eire
So, what’s the present state of affairs for Irish employers who want to convey people to work in Eire, whether or not on a short-term or long-term foundation?
The present recommendation from the Irish authorities is that nobody, regardless of nationality, ought to journey to Eire until for important causes. As has at all times been the case, immigration officers at border management can use their discretion to allow or refuse a traveller entry to Eire.
The federal government has not outlined an “important” purpose. Due to this fact, employers should interpret this themselves and the place they want somebody to journey to Eire, decide on a case by case foundation if the journey is crucial. When making that dedication, an employer should think about a number of elements, such because the position to be undertaken, the urgency of journey, and finally if the position may be undertaken remotely exterior Eire, or postponed, till such a time as restrictions ease.
At present no Irish visas are being issued (both short-stay or long-stay) until for important work, but when a person already holds a sound Irish visa, they are going to be topic to the identical scrutiny on entry to Eire as some other non-visa required traveller.
We advise that anybody travelling to Eire for work ought to carry proof within the type of a sturdy assist letter from their employer outlining the important nature of the journey. Moreover, we suggest they carry their employment contract and employment allow (if relevant), in addition to Covid check documentation and regular journey paperwork (passport and visa).
Requirement to quarantine and Covid checks
Stephen Donnelly, the Irish Well being Minister, just lately launched rules that make obligatory quarantine and Covid testing earlier than journey to Eire a authorized requirement. These Rules apply to everybody travelling to Eire. The Rules got here into impact on midnight 5 February 2021 and are in place till 5 March 2021 however might be prolonged.
Covid checks
The Rules present that travellers to Eire should present proof that they’ve been examined for Covid-19. Which means any people travelling to Eire must endure an RT-PCR check not more than 72 hours earlier than travelling to Eire and should carry documentation confirming a unfavourable outcome.
Quarantine
Travellers are additionally obliged to self-quarantine for 14 days from after they arrive in Eire, besides the place they’re an exempted traveller. “Exempted travellers” may be very narrowly outlined and most people coming to Eire are unlikely to come back inside the definition.
An individual who’s quarantining might solely depart their quarantine location for such interval as is strictly essential to undertake particular actions. These actions embody:
- emergency journey to guard an individual’s well being or welfare;
- to acquire a Covid check;
- to journey to an airport or port to go away the nation; and
- for the needs of finishing up important restore, upkeep, building or security assurance of important infrastructure or providers.
The duty to quarantine ceases to use to travellers from most nations the place they get hold of a unfavourable outcome from a Covid check taken 5 days or later after the date they arrive in Eire. Nonetheless, there’s a rising subset of travellers who should full your entire 14 days of quarantine with out the choice to stop quarantining following a second unfavourable Covid check. This obligation initially utilized simply to travellers coming from South Africa and Brazil however has now expanded to use to these coming from the UAE, Austria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Firms’ obligations
Particular obligations exist for corporations concerned in bringing folks to Eire. An organization should:
- inform the related people of their obligations below the Rules;
- verify if the people have had a unfavourable Covid check outcome; and
- refuse to organise or facilitate the journey of the people to Eire the place they haven’t, to the satisfaction of the corporate, demonstrated that they’ve a unfavourable Covid check outcome.
Conclusion
We advise all employers to contemplate on a case by case foundation whether or not it’s important for staff to journey to Eire at current. Whether it is, the employer ought to advise the related travellers in relation to their pre-travel Covid testing and quarantine obligations and supply them with a assist letter to facilitate their arrival.
New, extra stringent, rules referring to journey restrictions are being mooted and employers ought to maintain updated with their authorized obligations. For additional steerage or extra data please contact the William Fry employment and company immigration group.
