Passport procedures arriving in Ireland from the UK

[WHBM]

Wonder if someone can tell me what the real requirements are for passports etc when travelling from the UK to Ireland.

I always understood they were part of what is called the "Common Travel Area", and no passports are required for travel between the two. If you go by car or train between Northern Ireland and the Republic there are no border controls any more, not even empty control buildings. You often don't realise you have crossed over.

At Dublin Airport the procedure seems so confused. Pax arriving from the UK and from European origins are all mixed up, then there are the Immigration booths where some people show their documentation and some don't. If the first person out of the UK plane shows a passport then everybody behind seems to stop and get theirs out; on other occasions everyone just breezes past the officer. I always say "good evening" in my British accent as I pass which always seems to be as good. What if I travel to Ireland without my passport ?

What if you are not a British or Irish citizen ? Must you show your passport (and how do they pick you out ?) or if you are acceptable in one country are you automatically acceptable in the other. What if you are from a country that needs visas ? Do you need visas from both countries or not ?

[Tom the Tenor]

Yes, there is a very frustrating situation at present about passports etc arriving in Ireland from the UK, a situation that has not been addressed by the Irish immigration authorities, a section of the Department of Justice that is normally run by the police or Gardai as they are called in Ireland. Returning to Cork from STN or wherever in Britain and having to show your passport to prove your own citizenship in your own city and country is excessive when in theory there is no passport needed to travel between our two wonderful countries. In the short term guess you could use your Driving Licence if that is what you used as your photo ID for the flight?

The Irish justice minister comes from the right wing minority party, The Progressive Democrats sharing government with Bertie Aherne's all things to all men Fianna Fail party and MacDowell, the guy in Justice, likes to think he is a hard man on crime, immigration etc. Last week about sixty people were deported from Dublin aboard a 737 to Romania and Moldova with the rest of the aircraft made up of Gardai and medical teams. Bet MacDowell got a great kick out of that!

Anyone know who did the flight to Romania and Moldova?

[runawayedge]

Tom....to be clear on the issue 60 illegal immigrants not entitled to residency were deported. This is not a political issue. It does however need more clarity. There is no requirement for passport or any other form of documentation as far as I am aware. Certain airlines require ID and while it is adviseable to carry ID when travelling my understanding is that it is not mandatory between the two states. Hopefully someone can clarify with certainty.

[MerchantVenturer]

The following link might help.

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/default.asp?PageId=757

The Immigration Act 1971 applies to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) but under Section 1(3) of the Immigration Act 1971 a person's arrival in or departure from within the common travel area consisting of:


the United Kingdom
the Channel Islands
the Isle of Man
the Republic of Ireland

is not subject to control and a person does not require leave to enter the UK except in the circumstances covered in the Act which are set out in paragraph 2 and 3 below.

The paragraphs relate to people banned from entering the UK by the Secretary of Sate, people previously refused entry and others in a similarly narrow band. Most people can travel round the common travel area unimpeded.

Practically though, given today's heightened security situation, proof of i/d is useful and many airlines demand such proof.

[MEFLYBE]

I know this is probably misplaced, but is this topic really at home in the Airlines, Airports and Routes forum???

Regards

Mike

[surely not]

The thread seems to fulfil all three criteria of Airlines, Airports and Routes to me.

No passport required for Immigration purposes, but the Garda and British SB might choose to carry out a full check on flights if they feel it necessary.

[Globaliser]

MerchantVenturer's post correctly relates to the position of pax arriving in the UK from Ireland. Nobody - not even non-EU nationals - normally need to show passports or see an immigration officer. Those in the exceptional categories who do will usually have a hard time (a) finding out that they do need to see an immigration officer, and (b) finding an immigration officer in the domestic/Ireland side of T1 or wherever.

I am, like WHBM, puzzled by what the Irish government requires of pax arriving in Ireland from the UK. What I have found out is that Cork requires all South African nationals (and Cubans - I once travelled on the same aircraft as a Buena Vista Social Club group - and by extension, presumably all non-EU) to show passports and be stamped in. I've heard that Dublin does not require this and just waves everyone through if arriving from the UK.

:confused: indeed.

[rutankrd]

Simple UK and Eire citizens DON'T need passport to travel between UK-Eire but some airlines are demanding proof of ID for access and travel Easyjet etc....
Easyjet demand proof of ID even of domestic flights WITHIN the UK ie Glasgow-Luton for instance.
This ID is being demanded as airline policy (not governement travel requirement) and they are also demanding that it be official PHOTO ID so that is either one of the latest Euro type driving Licence with both the laser and laminated pictures which most motorists still don't have !or a Passport !
So if you are going to Ireland my recommendation is to take your passport but only for the airline who may well demand proof of ID but sure and all the Guarda won't need you to show it when you do arrive !
So yes it is confusing.
Perhaps its time to have a National ID card like many of rest of the EU then !

[Wing Commander Fowler]

Simple UK and Eire citizens DON'T need passport to travel between UK-Eire but some airlines are demanding proof of ID for access and travel Easyjet etc....

Dream on Rutankrd - Book the next available 1p flight to Shannon and try that one on there with the Immigration boys who are amongst the most beligerent I have ever come across..... BTW It's not an issue for the Gardai either it is an immigration issue.

Could it be a Schengen thing maybe since UK is still non schengen? Seem to remember querying all this with the Belgian authorities way back when and that evolved to be their answer on the subject. A situation made relatively famous by a UK member of parliament back in 2000 or so who pitched up in Brussels deliberately "sans passport" and demanded to be let in hehe......

As for the border crossing north/south - good point!!

[runawayedge]

Wing Commander...I think you maybe wrong here, the garda in ireland as far as i am aware are immigration

[Wing Commander Fowler]

Fortunately not an expert on the Guards - Am however an expert on the immigration folks at Shannon..... Give it a go, go on, they love nothing better than a little confontation at immigration there!! Hehe.....

Tom - can you shed any light on whether Immigration is manned by or even a department of the Gardai??

:E

[mini]

WCF (sorry for jumping in Tom..)

The imigration officials you meet at all Irish ports are members of the Gardai, ie Police. There is no seperate immigration dept as such, as was mentioned in a previous post this function comes under Dept of Justice.

Ireland stayed out of Schengen because the UK wasn't joining and they (IRL) wanted to preserve the Common Travel Area.

Sorry but I cant advise on the requirement to produce a passport following a UK flight, could the fact that the flight may contain transit passengers have some bearing?

:ok:

[Globaliser]

Transit pax through LHR should certainly have been cleared by UK immigration in the FCC (or in arrivals, if they've taken the landside route) as they are then sent off into the same section as UK domestic departures. So I would have thought that "uncleared pax" can't be the reason why UK arrivals are required to produce ID.

[FlyingV]

The Immigration people you see at airports are, AFAIK, part of the Garda National Immigration Bureau

http://www.garda.ie/angarda/gnib.html

[Wing Commander Fowler]

Well there you go then - now we're all experts on the immigration's dubious parentage and Schengen is ruled out..... Just waiting for Rutankrd to get out of jail/hospital after his likely conflagration with the small men at Shannon and we'll all be much the wiser......

(It's a joke by the way before someone jumps down me throat!!)

:ouch:

[MarkD]

Some form of photo id is a good idea, even though the LHR met desk is never occupied these days when I fly there. Driving licence solves a lot of problems. Why have the hassle?

I did notice at T1 heading to 80-90 arriving from T4 this morning that instead of waving you through, EU citizens are getting their passports scanned through to record who is passing, as opposed to the nod and wave usually practiced in previous times. Cue a long queue, especially as a MidEast looking group were being asked to wait for further direction and only one officer was handling the rest of the EU queue.

[rutankrd]

Wing commander burn me at the stake if you like but as a Ango-Ireland man travelling between the two many times a year (though not into Shannon I might add but by ferry or into Dublin!)the requirement for ID just isn't a LEGAL requirement and its just the local Guard at Shannon being over zealous !
I might add the ferry companies sometimes ask for ID but not always !
More likely at Shannon you must remember that their is that unique US immigration facility as well and its probably that presence that determines the security level !
The UK-Eire relationship is just about as close is two sovereign countries can get.
Citizens of each MAY reside work and freely travel between either country and may even register to VOTE and thats even more than in Schegen areas.Travel documents as NOT legally required and as a said only the airlines carrying you actually demand ID.
Even at Shannon an Englishman arriving from England on an English flight is most unlikely to be refused entry and a photo type EU driving licence does just that and actually better than a passport coz it has your Perminant address on it as well !
As I siad last time perhaps its time the UK government got of the fence and issued EU style ID cards and like the Portugese WE WOULD NOT require to carry a passport to travel within the EU and ENTER our own country !
Joke acknowledged and not offended !

[runawayedge]

Irrespective of national borders, surely it most be in the interest of both states to develop a national id especially post sept 11

[Globaliser]

Still puzzled, though, by why ORK inbound immigration control (not airlines) requires non-UK nationals to show a passport (and stamp it) when flying in from LHR, whereas DUB doesn't inspect anyone's passports when flying in from LHR.

[rutankrd]

Gobaliser probably job creation !
After all where else can you arrive at Cork From !
All right I know Paris/Amsterdam/Prague and Oh Malta.
A few more when Jetmajic attempted great pitty they failed so soon !
But really stamped why ?
You normally have to ask these days ANYWHERE in the EU specifically to have a stamp unless you don't have an EU passport of cause !

[Wing Commander Fowler]

Rutankrd - Yeah all agreed - done the ferry many times, no probs. Done the border bit many times, no probs. Done the Dublin and the Cork thing too many times but it just ain't gonna happen in Shannon! Legal or not legal you WILL NOT get those hardheaded g*its to let you in without a passport....... Slightly off topic but I remember the days when one of the employees of Sir Dick's Shannon based outfit tried to get in (in uniform with a valid airport ID) but because he was of antipodean origin and he didn't have a valid "Irish" work permit (he was brussels based) he couldn't get past those geezers without completing a landing card. Go figure!

Go on I dare you - go and give 'em a go with ya driving licence hehe....

[MarkD]

from frommers.com

Entry Requirements--For citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand entering the Republic of Ireland for a stay of up to 3 months, no visa is necessary, but a valid passport is required.

Citizens of the United Kingdom, when traveling on flights originating in Britain, do not need to show passports to enter Ireland (though they do need some form of identification). Nationals of the United Kingdom and colonies who were not born in Great Britain or Northern Ireland must have a valid passport or national identity document.

For entry into Northern Ireland, the same conditions apply.

from foreignaffairs.gov.ie

Do I need a visa to come to Ireland?

Citizens of certain countries require an entry visa for Ireland. If you are a citizen of a country that is on this list you do NOT require an entry visa for Ireland. Citizens of countries which are not on the list must apply for a visa to enter Ireland before they travel here.

All citizens of non-EU countries, whether they require a visa or not, are subject to immigration control at the point of entry to Ireland.

----

all in all, returning to the UK/Ireland is a lot easier than returning to Canada is for their citizens, who get the same third degree we foreigners do!