First Ever Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme Launched

The Government has launched its first short-stay visa waiver programme today.

The new programme will be an integral part of the Government’s Jobs Initiative and is intended to promote tourism, particularly from emerging markets. It will commence today and will run to the end of October 2012, as a pilot, taking in the period of the London Olympics.

Under the Programme, tourists or business people who have lawfully entered the UK, including Northern Ireland, on a valid UK visa will be able to travel on to Ireland without the requirement to obtain an Irish visa. They will be allowed to stay in Ireland for up to 3 months or until their UK visa runs out, whichever is the shorter.

Sixteen countries are included in the programme including: India, Kazakhstan, Peoples Republic of China, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

As part of the initiative, nationals of these countries, who are long-term legal residents in the UK, will have the cost of an Irish visa waived should they wish to visit Ireland. It is estimated that there are up to 1 million people in this category in the UK.

The Taoiseach described the Programme as an "innovative package which is clearly focussed on encouraging more tourists from new and untraditional markets to visit Ireland". He applauded the initiative of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, for bringing the proposal to cabinet. The Taoiseach added that the proposal is noteworthy for coming from a Department "which would not ordinarily be seen as a generator of economic activity.” He added “However, all is changed and this Government is determined to do things differently, to operate all the levers and to work closely with industry to make that change happen for the betterment of all our citizens".

(BMcN/GK)