Introduction of Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
News
23 March 2021Ireland is preparing a new step in its aim to restrict the spread of COVID-19 by reducing all non-essential travel, and by introducing Mandatory Hotel Quarantine (MHQ) for passenger arriving in Ireland from Category 2 countries. MHQ applies to travellers arriving into Ireland after 4 a.m. on the morning of Friday, 26 March, who are now required to pre-book accommodation in a designated quarantine facility, and to pre-pay for their stay. Under this provision passengers will be placed in a designated hotel under the MHQ, which will cost around 2,000 euro for the 14-day stay in the facility. Guests will be delivered three meals a day, but will not be allowed to interact with other guests and will be released from quarantine with a negative PCR test on day 14. They will be given a "letter of completion" when they are allowed to leave the hotels.
All passengers travelling to Ireland from designated States, including those who have transited through a port or airport in a designated State, even if they stay airside or portside, in the 14 days prior to their arrival in Ireland, must enter mandatory hotel quarantine.
This applies to all passengers who have been in, or transitioned through a designated State, regardless of nationality. The aim of this measure is to protect the population when there is a high risk of importation of infection from COVID-19 and from challenges posed by new variants of concern.
You must also enter mandatory hotel quarantine if, regardless of which country you arrive from (designated and non-designated states), you do not provide evidence that you have a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a COVID-19 Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test carried out no more than 72 hours before you arrive into Ireland.
Neither the Department of Foreign Affairs nor our Missions overseas have the capacity to exempt passengers from Mandatory Hotel Quarantine. Any requests for exemptions should be submitted by the passenger to the Appeals Officer upon arrival in the State, who will take a decision within 24 hours.
Details for travellers are listed on the website:- https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a6975-mandatory-hotel-quarantine/, and further information can be found here www.gov.ie/quarantine in English, Irish, Spanish, Portuguese and German.
The facility can be booked at: www.quarantinehotelsireland.ie. All costs must be borne by the passenger. Applicable passengers are expected to pre-book the designated facility and show evidence of same at boarding. Where the air transport operator is not satisfied of this requirement, they shall inform the passenger that they are not allowed to board the aircraft. Passengers will be advised that they may be prosecuted upon entering the State without the necessary evidence in relation to RT-PCR test, an offence punishable by a fine of up to €2,500 or up to 6 months in prison or both.