We literally did a happy dance when we heard the following: the Irish Government has just announced the reopening of the Republic of Ireland’s borders to international travellers – and that includes the GCC.
Adopting the EU’s new Digital Covid Certificate that enables more seamless travel for tourists, fully vaccinated visitors from outside of the EU, including GCC countries, will be allowed to visit the island without the need for a PCR test or quarantine from July 19 – just in time for an Eid getaway!
With yet another destination added to the growing list of countries that UAE residents can book for their summer holidays, travelers will be able to visit Ireland provided they have received the full course of any one of these approved vaccinations:
2 doses of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated seven days after the second dose); 2 doses of Moderna vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated 14 days after the second dose); 2 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated 15 days after the second dose); 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated 14 days after the second dose).
While Northern Ireland is not included (it is subject to the UK government’s requirements), this news will undoubtedly put a very big smile on the faces of Irish expats across the UAE.
“This announcement is an extremely welcome and important step on the road to recovery for our industry in Ireland and our trade partners overseas,” said Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland. “We know from our research that there is significant pent-up demand among travellers in our overseas markets to return to Ireland as soon as possible, and we can’t wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back our overseas visitors.”
