UNITED KINGDOM/IRELAND – Joint UK-Irish Visa for Chinese and Indian Travelers
Beginning shortly, Chinese and Indian nationals will be permitted to visit the U.K. and Ireland on one trip with only one visa. Holders of the following U.K. visas are eligible to benefit from this change: General Visitor, Business Visitor, Child Visitor (only when accompanied), Student Visitor, Family Visitor, Entertainer Visitor, Private Medical Treatment Visitor, Sports Visitor, Parent of a Child at School, Prospective Entrepreneur, Permitted Paid Engagement, and approved destination scheme.
The new program will not cover visitors in transit or visitors for marriage or civil partnership. If on Irish Work Visa or Study Visa, the national will still have to apply for a separate U.K. visa. It should be noted that the travelers must first travel to the country for which they hold a visa.
For Chinese nationals, the program will be implemented by the end of October 2014. For Indian nationals, it will be executed soon after the Chinese date of implementation. The program was meant to strengthen the countries’ borders and ease some of the burden on the Chinese and Indian business travelers who will most benefit from it.
To learn more about the British-Irish Visa Scheme, click here to read the Press Release from the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service.