I am a holder of the UN 1951 Convention travel document issued by Italy - an EU country. I have been traveling within the Schengen area for many years. In one week I'm going to Ireland. Do I require a visa?
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1Possible duplicate of Holder of the 1951 Convention travel document issued by an EU country– gmauchJan 2, 2019 at 14:30
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@gmauch How is this question a duplicate of that one? The linked question is asking about validity and travel to Schengen countries. It's completely different.– MJeffryesJan 2, 2019 at 14:48
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5@gmauch No, it does not answer the question. That question is about document recognition and is limited to Schengen. The UK recognises the document, but also requires that 1951 document holders get a visa, whereas Ireland both recognises the document and allows visa free travel, and is not in Schengen. OP here is concerned with visa free travel, not merely document recognition. It's irrelevant that Italy considers it like a passport, since OP wants to travel to Ireland.– MJeffryesJan 2, 2019 at 16:06
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1@gmauch Not really, if by reading the questions you can't see that they are clearly very different, then I don't see how I can explain it any better to you. Once again, the question you've linked is about travel in Schengen. OP here wants to travel outside Schengen.– MJeffryesJan 2, 2019 at 16:21
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3@gmauch Someone who is a 1951 document holder from an EU state is not an EEA citizen. In that case they would have an EU passport. OP here wants concrete assurance that they can travel visa free. The fact that the visa policy of Ireland is "similar" (according to Wikipedia?) is irrelevant. The UK's visa policy is also "similar" according to Wikipedia, but OP can't travel visa free to the UK!– MJeffryesJan 2, 2019 at 16:53
1 Answer
2022 Update
Ireland suspended its participation in the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees on 19 July 2022, for a period of 12 months. This means that 1951 convention travel document holders need a visa to travel to Ireland. Beyond this date, it is possible that Ireland will announce a further suspension at some point. Convention document holders should assume they will need a visa to travel to Ireland beyond this date.
Original answer follows
The Irish government provides a tool for determining what visa you require to travel to Ireland. Putting in your details shows that you do not need a visa to travel to Ireland for any stay up to 90 days.
Ireland is a party to the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees. Since you have a 1951 Convention document issued by another party to the agreement, you can travel without a visa. However, note that the UK is not (anymore) a party to the agreement. You would need a visa if you were to travel to Ireland via the UK, and you would need a visa if you were to cross the border into Northern Ireland, despite the lack of border controls.
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20For anyone, like me, who wondered whether "the UK is not (anymore) a party to the agreement" was connected to Brexit, the UK pulled out of the agreement in 2003 (Declaration of suspension). Jan 2, 2019 at 14:55
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1Funny that an Italian permanent resident would need an Irish visa (unless eligible otherwise through their citizenship), but a refugee doesn't...– JonathanReez ♦Jan 2, 2019 at 21:11
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4@JonathanReez Being a refugee doesn’t have many perks, so it’s nice that they’re afforded this one! Jan 2, 2019 at 23:58