COVID-19 Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
From 4am Friday 26 March 2021, new Irish government rules for mandatory hotel quarantine will apply to all passengers arriving into Ireland from Category 2 countries and all passengers that arrive without a COVID-19 negative test result taken within 72 hours prior to arrival. Please visit dfa.ie or gov.ie to view the full list of designated COVID-19 high-risk Category 2 countries.
The Department of Health are the state agents fully responsible for the end-to-end management of all mandatory hotel quarantine for passengers arriving into Ireland from Category 2 countries. Dublin Airport are facilitating the process. Should you have any queries, please contact the Department of Health by email on MHQ_Unit@health.gov.ie.
What to Expect
- Passengers departing from Category 2 countries will have to pre-book and pre-pay for their hotel quarantine stay in advance on the Quarantine Hotels website here, in order to be allowed travel or enter the State. Please see the Irish Government website for more information here.
- The Irish Defence Forces have been designated as the State Liaison Officer (SLO) to support Ireland’s mandatory hotel quarantine policy. Upon arrival to Ireland, after immigration and customs processing you will be met by members of the Defence Forces who will ensure you are safely and securely transported from your port of entry to the location in which you will complete your pre-booked mandatory hotel quarantine.
- Staff at the facility will greet you and take you through the check-in process. They will also provide you with information relating to your stay including food choices, exercise and wellbeing.
- Dublin Airport have provided designated routes and staging areas within the Terminal buildings, specifically the Immigration and Custom Halls and Baggage Reclaim areas.
- Additionally, there will be designated toilets allocated to these passengers in each stage of the journey.
Leaving the Hotel After Quarantine
Once you have completed 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine (this could be reduced if you get a not-detected result of a COVID-19 test that is taken after ten days), you will receive a letter of completion. You will then be free to leave the mandatory hotel quarantine facility. The SLO (Irish Defence Forces) will be able to support you as you make arrangements for onward travel as well as checking out of the hotel.
Contact Information
For all questions on this process and a list of exemptions please visit gov.ie, contact your airline or email MHQ_Unit@health.gov.ie.
Quarantine FAQs
While passenger locator forms and COVID-19 certificates are no longer required, please make sure you have your travel documents, such as Passport, ready to present to Immigration Officers, from the Border Management Unit, under the directorship of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of the Department of Justice and Equality.
COVID-19 FAQs
For a full list of COVID-19 related FAQs please click here.
