New Irish Visa Requirements for Citizens of South Africa and Botswana

From July 10, 2024, passport holders from South Africa and Botswana will require a visa to visit Ireland. The decision matches Ireland's visa rules with those of the United Kingdom and the Schengen Area. Citizens of both countries will additionally require a transit visa if they wish to travel through Ireland to another destination.

However, those with previous travel reservations to Ireland (made before July 10, 2024) will be able to make interim arrangements until August 9, 2024.

“This decision brings Ireland closer to the Schengen area regarding these two countries and aligns with the UK's requirements for South Africa. Our visa policies are regularly reviewed to ensure effective immigration control while facilitating travel for visits, work, study, or family reunification.”
Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee

The new visa requirement aims to reduce asylum claims from South Africa and Botswana.

To support this change, the Dublin visa office will establish a dedicated desk for South African applications. Additionally, the Department of Justice will open three visa application centres across South Africa in partnership with visa service provider Global VFS.

“The visa system is crucial for managing who can travel to Ireland. We consider various factors when introducing visa requirements to ensure our processes are robust, effective, and fair.”
Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee

Ireland Updates Its Safe Countries of Origin List

The Irish Ministry of Justice has also added five more countries to its list of safe countries of origin:

Brazil,
Egypt,
India,
Morocco and
Malawi

This list indicates that applications for international protection from these nations will be processed quicker.

Other countries on the list include Algeria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Citizens of these countries can still seek international protection in Ireland. Since the introduction of accelerated processing in November 2022, applications from these countries have decreased by over 50%, according to the Department of Justice.

CITIZENS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES NEED A VISA TO ENTER IRELAND
Afghanistan	Ecuador	Liberia	Russian Federation
Albania	Egypt	Libya	Rwanda
Algeria	Equatorial Guinea	Madagascar	Sao Tome and Principe
Angola	Eritrea	Malawi	Saudi Arabia
Armenia	Ethiopia	Mali	Senegal
Azerbaijan	Faroe Islands	Marshall Islands	Serbia
Bahrain	Gabon	Mauritania	Sierra Leone
Bangladesh	Gambia	Mauritius	Somalia
Belarus	Georgia	Micronesia	South Africa
Benin	Ghana	Moldova	South Sudan
Bhutan	Great Britain (UK) – Protected Person	Mongolia	Sri Lanka
Bolivia	Guinea	Montenegro	Sudan
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Guinea-Bissau	Morocco	Suriname
Botswana	Haiti	Mozambique	Syrian Arab Republic
Burkina Faso	Honduras	Myanmar	Tajikistan
Burundi	Hong Kong (SAR) (Document of Identity)	Namibia	Tanzania
Cambodia	India	Nepal	Thailand
Cameroon	Indonesia	Niger	Timor-Leste
Cape Verde	Iran	Nigeria	Togo
Central African Republic	Iraq	North Macedonia, Republic of	Tunisia
Chad	Jamaica	Oman	Turkey
Colombia	Jordan	Pakistan	Turkmenistan
Comoros	Kazakhstan	Palau	Uganda
Congo (Brazzaville)	Kenya	Palestinian National Authority	Uzbekistan
Congo (Democratic Republic of)	Korea (North)	Papua New Guinea	Vanuatu
Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Kosovo	People's Republic of China	Venezuela
Cuba	Kuwait	Peru	Vietnam
Djibouti	Kyrgyzstan	Philippines	Yemen
Dominica	Laos	Qatar	Zambia
Dominican Republic	Lebanon	Refugee or Stateless	Zimbabwe

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