The Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme, which was devised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department, commenced on 1 July, 2011 and was originally scheduled to run on a pilot basis until the end of October, 2012. It allows tourists or business people who have lawfully entered the UK, including Northern Ireland, on a valid UK visa to travel on to Ireland without the requirement to obtain an Irish visa.
Nationals of sixteen countries are currently included in the programme including India, China, Russia, various priority Middle East countries and others. A review of the Programme was conducted in January this year with a view to submitting to Government a report on its progress and recommendations on extension of the programme in terms of duration and of countries covered. The Government decided on 12 March to extend the Programme for a further period of four years i.e. to end October 2016 in the light, particularly, of the positive response from tourism agencies and operators.
The Programme as it operates at present does not for technical reasons allow for reciprocity between the UK and Ireland. This is primarily due to the UK requirement that all visa applicants supply fingerprint (biometrics) data electronically as an essential element of applying for a UK visa. Quite obviously Ireland does not have the capacity to capture such data for all visa applications worldwide; currently for UK visas this is done in over 150 countries.
However, in tandem with the Visa Waiver Programme, work is ongoing, through the regular Common Travel Area Forum meetings between INIS and the UK Home Office, on the development of a short stay Common Travel Area visa which would allow tourists and business visitors to travel to the CTA and to travel freely between Ireland and the UK.
A number of legal and logistical issues are being addressed including the requirement for biometric data capture. It is anticipated that such a visa will prove an attractive option for tourists and business visitors and a trial period will be used to gauge likely demand. Such a visa will supersede the Visa Waiver Programme.
