Nationals of Botswana and South Africa will probably be required to acquire a visa earlier than travelling to Eire from Wednesday, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has stated.
The Division of Justice has stated a transit visa can even be required, if folks from these international locations intend to transit via Eire to a different vacation spot.
Ms McEntee has stated the transfer will carry Eire into nearer alignment with the Schengen Space in respect of each international locations.
She additionally stated it’s going to carry South Africa into line with the UK.
The Dublin Visa Workplace will set up a devoted ‘South Africa desk’ to course of purposes from South African nationals.
The division can even set up three Visa Purposes Centres, situated all through South Africa, with visa service supplier World VFS.
Botswana and South Africa are designated as protected international locations of origin for Worldwide Safety functions and are the one international locations on that checklist which don’t presently have a visa requirement.
In an announcement the Division of Justice stated that in recent times, “a big variety of Worldwide Safety purposes have been obtained from nationals of Botswana and South Africa”.
Neither seem recurrently within the high 5 nationalities in search of Worldwide Safety in Eire, nonetheless asylum seekers from South Africa made up simply over 5% of those that arrived in January this 12 months.
Transitional preparations will probably be put in place for nationals of Botswana and South Africa who’ve present preparations (made earlier than 10 July 2024) to journey to the State till 9 August 2024.
The requirement for a visa is not going to be utilized to diplomatic passport holders of South Africa.
Final week, the Authorities made 5 additions to its checklist of protected international locations which included Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco.
Different international locations embody Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia.
International locations added to this checklist are seen by the Authorities as locations the place “there may be typically and constantly no persecution”, no torture, and no armed conflicts.
With regard to the newest announcement on Irish visa necessities for South Africa and Botswana, the minister stated such necessities “are saved underneath ongoing assessment, having regard for the necessity to make sure that efficient immigration controls are in place while additionally facilitating those that want to journey to Eire for the needs of a go to, to work, to review, or to affix members of the family”.
Further reporting Mícheál Lehane
