9

The Irish short-stay visa waiver programme says that nationals of Oman are allowed to travel to Ireland without an Irish visa, provided that they have obtained a short-stay visa in the UK and have gained lawful entry into the UK. It is explicitly stated that the Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) is a valid short-stay visa for the purpose of the programme, with some restrictions.

However, the UK government website says that Electronic Visa Waivers have recently been obsoleted and have been replaced by Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for nationals of Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

If a national of Oman has obtained an ETA and has gained lawful entry into the UK, are they allowed to travel to Ireland under the programme?

JonathanReez
  • 82,178
  • 90
  • 394
  • 764
Lachcim
  • 809
  • 1
  • 7

2 Answers2

11

Having received no response from the Irish Department of Justice, we made a phone call to the honorary consulate of Ireland in Oman. Here's what we established:

  • It is legal for Omani citizens to enter Ireland from the UK with just an ETA. Many Omani people have successfully travelled to Ireland in this manner.
  • Airport personnel may not be aware of your right to travel to Ireland. If you face issues with airport staff, show them a printed document confirming your right to travel.
  • The consulate is not permitted to issue written statements confirming your right to travel. We were told that it's sufficient to provide a screenshot of an online source (e.g. the website of the Department of Justice linked in the question).
  • No Omani citizens have been refused entry to Ireland on the basis of an ETA that the consulate knows of.
  • We were advised to travel via the London Heathrow airport because the check-in agents there are familiar with the travel rules for Omani citizens.

You will face difficulties at check-in

Against our better judgement, we disregarded the consulate's advice and decided to travel via Liverpool. My Omani companion was denied boarding at check-in. We tried to explain our situation, but the check-in agent insisted that Omani citizens need a visa to travel to Ireland.

Ultimately, the check-in crew advised us to book a flight to Belfast and to enter the Republic of Ireland by land. We did so, and we travelled home via the same route.

Lachcim
  • 809
  • 1
  • 7
3

While you should check this with the Irish immigration authorities, my reading of the rules is that the answer is no. The reason is that an ETA is not a visa (also implicitly confirmed here on gov.uk), and the Irish scheme explicitly considers only visas.

Leaderboard
  • 1,221
  • 5
  • 20