By Staff Reporter

Ireland’s short-stay visa waiver programme has been extended for five years, the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice has said. Under the scheme, which began on 1 July 2011 and was subsequently extended in 2012, a number of short-stay visas granted to tourists or business people by UK immigration authorities are accepted by Ireland. Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the scheme will now run for a further five years to 31 October 2021. Holders of such visas may stay in Ireland for up to three months or until their UK visa expires, whichever is the shorter. The minister said nationals of 18 countries, including India, Kazakhstan, People’s Republic of China, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, and Kuwait are included in the programme. Others are Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine. Minister Fitzgerald also noted that tourism figures “have risen year on year” since the start of the programme “with Dublin Airport having its busiest year to date in 2015, with a record 25 million passengers travelling through the airport last year. “It is expected that the extension will continue to provide a significant boost to efforts to attract more visitors to Ireland from these countries,” she added.