EU Covid certificates for UK based Irish folk

A snowHead

Something that might help UK based Irish folk who want to travel in the near future (whether those who have always been Irish or those who suddenly discovered a long lost Irish grandparent post 2016 Very Happy

). The Irish government is now issuing EU vaccine certificates for any Irish passport holder who has been vaccinated in GB or Northern Ireland, see https://covidcertificateportal.gov.ie/en-US/third-country-cert-request/ . These are compatible with all the various "green pass" apps, which doesnt appear to be the case with the NHS issued certificates. I believe the certificates are also valid for a considerable period of time (years). Longer term there is a plan to extend this to any Irish citizen who has been vaccinated outside of the EU with a recognised vaccine.

A snowHead

@munich_irish, Thanks for the link, like the French version can only be useful to have when travelling snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@munich_irish, +1 have passed the link to Ms C. who is the happy holder of a burgundy passport with the harp!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Presumably this will also be valid for Switzerland...

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I see that part of the info being looked for, is the QR Code.....but I don't think the cards they issued in NI have this, only the Batch Number. Vaccines given in ROI do have it.

Is this the same in other areas of the UK?

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Old Fartbag, My NHS app uses a QR code for Covid status (I'm in England)

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I thought there was an NI-specific app which does that? CovidCertNI?

After all it is free

Yes, thanks - I figured it out just after posting.

In ROI, they get the QR Code on the proof of vaccine card.

Next stupid question - Does the EU Cert give any benefit over and above a NI (or UK) one?

@Old Fartbag, there are probably others who know more, but as I understand it the EU one is valid in all EU countries (no surprise!) plus (I'm hoping) Switzerland, so you don't have to go through all the business of loading your UK certificate into the French app etc etc. For Switzerland, apparently it now costs CHF30 to load a non-EU certificate into the Swiss app.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@caughtanedge, Many thanks.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@munich_irish, thanks!

I struggled to get it to accept anything - downloaded a pdf from the nhs app of both the Domestic and Travel passes, but these were rejected.

What worked in the end was a screenshot of the QR code from the record of the second jab in the NHS app.

snow reports

For those who are asking what is the difference between the EU cert & the NHS one. The NHS one does not work in many countries, France seems to be an exception. Here in Germany the NHS ones say "invalid" when loaded into the apps. Currently in Germany that is not a big issue as the certs are not generally scanned, most places it is no more than a cursory check. However that is not true in other places where the pass is scanned and an invalid certificate results in being refused entry to the bar, restaurant etc (this is not about Schengen border checks) which is a real pain. I believe the UK has applied to have its certificates recognised within the EU but progress on that seems to have gone very quiet. Announcement in Austria today implies you will need a valid certificate to go skiing and that is already the case in Switzerland where UK certificates are not accepted.

@munich_irish, I thought it must be something like that.

I hadn't heard much about the effectiveness/usefulness of the NHS App.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@fixx, snap !!
@munich_irish, go raibh maith agat !

A snowHead

@fixx,

Can you help with where to find that QR code that worked for you?

Thanks

A snowHead

@andybomb1, sure!

- NHS app (not NHS Covid app)
- on homepage, select 'Get your NHS Covid pass'
- then select 'Travel' version
- Click the green box saying 'covid 19 records found/show details'
- then swipe across to the second QR code i.e. dose 2 of 2, and screenshot that. I scrolled a bit so it still had my name and DOB on screen above the QR code, but also as much info as possible on screen below too.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It's not liking any of my QR codes. I'll try again next week.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@fixx,

thanks for that, unfortunately still not working. I'll phone them tomorrow and post if they tell me anything useful.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@andybomb1, maybe just keep spamming the form with different codes and docs until it works Laughing

That was my third attempt, after the pdf download of the travel pass, and the qr code from the domestic version.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Thanks for the thread and the heads-up @munich_irish

And thanks for the specific advice @fixx, but I'm having the same problem as @andybomb1 so will wait to see how he gets it resolved... because I'm lazy like that snowHead

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@fixx, @jebroni3_16,

I've tried calling 4 times over the last few hours and can't get the call to connect. it sounds like a fault rather than anything else.

After all it is free

Thanks @andybomb1

I'll leave it a few days. Suspect the system is overwhelmed.

Bit of feedback. My brother in law who is an IT bod suggests the following works. Take a screen shot / photo of the second jab QR code and try uploading that rather than the whole certificate (fits in with the suggestion above). Alternatively try downloading different versions of the certificate or use an older one, you will find one that will work.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Thanks @munich_irish but already tried absolutely every possible permutation and combination of screenshots of QR codes and downloads of documents for domestic and travel passes, all without joy.

I'm in no rush as unlikely to be traveling until the new year, but just figured it might be useful for others to know that they're not the only ones if they do encounter problems with the process.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@munich_irish, that's what I did and worked fine. I had the same issue with the French app and it would only accept the QR code for second jab as well.

snow reports

@andybomb1 - I was about to boot up my laptop to test process on there, but decided to give it one last go on my Motorola phone (Android, accessing site in Chrome browser)

I went with second jab's QR code, but unlike @fixx, I did a really tight screenshot crop of just the QR code and didn't include anything else.

Didn't work yesterday, but worked today. Assuming they accept it. Will know in a few hours I guess!

@jebroni3_16,

I just had success with that method Eh oh!

What I did notice, and I’m only half sure this was different from yesterday, is that when I uploaded the screen poo-poo there was a thumbnail of it which I don’t think I’d previously seen.

Thanks for the help.

You know it makes sense.

Has anyone had any success with the Welsh QR code ??

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@john2, Thank just done as you suggested, it accepted it so fingers crossed.

A snowHead

I think I mistyped screen shot Embarassed

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Just noticed my certificate says "Member state in which vaccine was administered - Ireland"

I assume everyone else's says this too and that it's a decision taken by Department of Health Ireland to effectively vouch for NHS?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I'm trying to do this from the NI app. I can't see how to download a pdf of the QR code, and my phone won't take a screenshot because it says it contains personal info. Any ideas?

You'll need to Register first of course.

Not sure what I did differently last night but a previously rejected qr was accepted and I had a certificate in my inbox this morning.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Slightly of topic but as an Irish passport holder living and travelling from N.Ireland to a European country this winter if the worst was to happen and The UK was put on the "red list" would it still be possible to travel from belfast(Assuming flights arent cancelled) using the privileges of Irish passport and covid passport?

After all it is free

@McC4rt4n, as far as Germany is concerned the regulations are generally regionally based so it is possible Northern Ireland might be in a different category to say London or Dublin. If you look at the current list https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Transport/Archiv_Risikogebiete/Risikogebiete_aktuell_en.pdf?__blob=publicationFile you can see the whole of the UK and also "Border" region of the Republic (no idea what that equates to) are in the high risk category. Having an Irish passport in this instance makes no difference, it is about vaccination status and location in the preceding 10 to 14 days.

I think it is unlikely (but who knows) that fully vaccinated travellers from the UK (or most other places) would face real issues. The point here is that the NHS certificate is not universally recognised in the EU / EEA whereas the Irish certificate is. There is a general move to try to get things back to as "normal" as possible, that includes travel.

@munich_irish, Thanks for this link and @fixx, thanks for the tip about using a screenshot. I spent hours trying to get this to work (for my OH) and having repeated rejections, presumably because the QR code wasnt acceptable. Finally, a screenshot of a 5x enlarged QR code worked. Now waiting to see if it gets processed successfully and then hopefully I can apply for myself as family member.

latest report

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

How do you add your booster jab to the Irish EU covid certificate

Help!!

EU Covid certificates for UK based Irish folk

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste