Irish Justice Ministry imposes Visa Requirement on Trinidad and Tobago Nationals

The Irish Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan and Minister of State for Migration, Colm Brophy announced on Friday that nationals of Trinidad and Tobago will need a visa to travel to Ireland. This rule became effective, May 12, 2025. The Department of Justice of Ireland also stated that the people of Trinidad and Tobago will need a visa even if they are only passing through Ireland on their way to a different country.

According to reports by the Irish Justice Ministry, this decision was taken as several Trinidad and Tobago nationals visited the UK to claim asylum on arrival. This was a misuse of their immigration system. 

Minister Jim O’Callaghan stated that visa requirements are important to determine who can travel to Ireland. The Irish government said that this new rule will help protect their borders while still allowing people to travel for good reasons like work, study, or family visits.

He further added, “To minimise disruption, my officials will have transitional measures for those with existing travel arrangements in the next few weeks.” Notably, Irish visa requirements are still under review to ensure effective immigration controls while also allowing tourists to travel under legitimate reasons. 

Minister of State for Migration, Colm Brophy said that this decision was taken carefully to bring Ireland into closer alignment with the United Kingdom. He further added, “While Ireland will continue to operate an independent visa regime, keeping in step with the requirements of the United Kingdom protects our Common Travel Area and dissuades irregular movements.”

Special eEmergency travel allowed

According to the new rule, nationals of Trinidad and Tobago who made their travel plans before May 12, 2025, can travel to Ireland under certain conditions if they can show evidence of their booking and payment for the trip. Furthermore, they can travel on or before May 31, 2025. 

People who qualify are asked by the Irish Justice Ministry to email them at becoming_visarequired@justice.ie with the subject line “Visa Required—Emergency Travel Requested”.

Conditions that allow Trinidad and Tobago nationals to travel to Ireland include:-

• Visiting a sick family member (evidence from the relevant medical institution must be provided) 
• Attending an important family function (birthday, wedding, funeral with suitable evidence provided) 
• Starting a job with a permit (evidence of the permit issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment must be provided)
• Joining a University course (evidence must be provided from the relevant institution)
• Travelling for business (confirmation of the arrangements for the visit from the business in question must be provided)