VisaIreland extends short-stay visa waiver to 31 December: UK entry still required
The official 30 October gazette confirms the extension beyond the former October deadline. Eligible visitors must still hold the right UK visa and satisfy the separate Irish entry conditions.
Official source date: 2026-10-30
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
The gazette confirms an extension beyond the October deadline
Ireland has extended its Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme to 31 December 2026. The official Iris Oifigiúil issue published on 30 October records Statutory Instrument 541 of 2026 and states that the amendment took effect on 29 October. The programme had previously been due to end on 31 October, so travel plans based solely on the former closing date should be reassessed against the new order.
The extension preserves a route for qualifying visitors using certain UK short-stay visas; it does not convert every UK immigration permission into an Irish entry document. Use the gazette notice to verify the new programme deadline and the Immigration Service Delivery eligibility page to check the individual conditions. No further extension beyond 31 December is established by the reviewed official notice. Travellers planning later journeys should check the position again before relying on the programme.
The UK visa and prior entry tests remain decisive
The Irish eligibility guidance requires an eligible passport nationality, a qualifying UK short-stay visa and prior lawful entry into the UK using that visa. Each distinct period of UK permission requires the relevant prior UK entry. Merely possessing an unused UK visa is therefore insufficient for a first direct journey to Ireland under this programme.
The published country list includes, among others, India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia and several Balkan and Gulf states, with specific footnotes. A UK Electronic Travel Authorisation cannot be used in place of the required visa. Transit and marriage or civil-partnership visitor visas are excluded. The Irish visit must end within the remaining UK permission and is limited to the shorter of that remaining period or 90 days. Check the precise nationality entry and visa category instead of relying on a general statement that UK documents are accepted.
Do not confuse this waiver with the British Irish Visa Scheme
The separate British Irish Visa Scheme applies to specified Indian and Chinese applicants and requires a visa endorsed with the letters BIVS. The official scheme guidance says eligible Indian nationals must be living in India at application and eligible Chinese nationals in China, including the stated Hong Kong and Macao coverage. It is a different legal and practical arrangement from the broader short-stay waiver.
Under BIVS, travellers normally enter the country that issued the visa first. The guidance also distinguishes a single entry to the Common Travel Area from subsequent journeys between Ireland and the UK during that visit. An illustrative traveller should therefore inspect the actual visa endorsement before deciding which scheme supports the itinerary. A successful waiver check does not establish a BIVS endorsement, and the December extension should not be described as a general reciprocal visa arrangement.
A fee exemption is different from exemption from obtaining a visa
The official Irish entry-visa fee guidance lists €60 for single entry, €100 for multiple entry and €25 for transit, with possible additional local submission charges. It separately identifies nationalities and qualifying circumstances exempt from the government visa fee. Those categories should be checked before payment if a separate Irish visa is needed.
The fee guidance also covers nationals of waiver-programme countries who are long-term lawful residents in the UK. Such residents should not assume that their residence permission itself meets the short-stay waiver conditions. A requirement to apply for an Irish visa and an exemption from paying its government fee can coexist. Use the fee page and the appropriate application instructions together. Paying an application charge, or being exempt from it, does not establish that entry permission has been granted.
Carry evidence for the Irish border and inspect the admitted stay
Immigration Service Delivery’s non-EU entry guidance requires travellers arriving by air or sea to present to an immigration officer. It identifies passport, any required visa and boarding card, with itinerary, funds, insurance, accommodation and invitations useful to explain the visit. Keep the UK admission and current permission evidence available as well when relying on the waiver.
The officer determines the permission granted, and the passport stamp records the conditions and end date. The programme’s new closing date is not an automatic right for every traveller to stay until 31 December. Inspect the actual stamp and keep departure arrangements within the authorised period. The practical sequence is to confirm the scheme, match the passport and visa, document the prior UK admission and remaining permission, then prepare the purpose-of-visit evidence. An eligible travel document facilitates the journey; it does not guarantee admission.
