British travellers are using short stays in Dublin to avoid travel bans in Far East Countries such as Singapore, where direct travel from the United Kingdom is banned.
Expat British nationals are renting properties in Dublin for short stays, ranging from 14 to 21 days, before travelling to Singapore and other southeast Asian countries, according to The Irish Times.
Travellers who have been in the UK 14 days prior to travel are not permitted to enter Singapore.
Entry into Malaysia is permitted for British nationals but there are exceptions for British nationals who are permanent residents.
To get around the travel restrictions for countries in southeast Asia, British nationals are using Ireland as a temporary stopover by renting properties in Dublin.
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and Britain allows these travellers to stay in Ireland before moving on to their destinations.
One source told The Irish Times they knew of three contacts who were “killing time” by renting Airbnbs in Dublin.
The source said that Ireland is a popular tranist location because the Government is yet to fully implement mandatory quarantine, meaning people “can get out and about, and have walks”.
“Ireland is an easy option for [British] expat escapees: cheap flights, lax quarantine implementation and doable expat routes to Asia like Doha that don’t require quarantine if transiting only,” said the Singapore-based expat.
“As long as [these] passengers can declare they have been in Ireland for 14 days prior to flying, that’s all the authorities care about – they have not been in the UK.”
“It seems like a hell of a layover in Ireland, but most have no choice; long-term stay visas or permanent residency visa holders can lapse if the holder is out of the country too long,” the source added.
“This is another reason to swallow the time and expense involved in hiking to Ireland for a couple of weeks.”
