Hi everyone,, can anyone tell me if its OK to fly in and out of Dublin Ireland on a British residents card? My wife and I live in Northern Ireland and and are visiting the Philippines in March. Without considering immigration issues I booked our travel in and out of Dublin and plan to drive to and from Dublin Airport. I hope I haven't done the wrong thing. Thanks everyone
The CTA only applies to citizens of the UK and Ireland. You might be pinged for not having a visa for being in Ireland on exit at the airport. My suggestion would be to ask and maybe get a visa if required.
I strongly suggest you get a schengen visa for your wife to enter and exit The Republic of Ireland. https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/index.html To be on the safe side, contact VFS in Manchester and they will put you right, We had to abandon a holiday to Italy in september as the Jet2 ground staff did not accept my wifes permanent residence card for outward flying. A schengen was required. When I enquired with VFS, they confirmed it for me, so I lost all my money because the right visa was not present Good luck.
Ireland is not part of schengen visa area. Requires separate Ireland only visa. Might technically require two visas one to enter south and other to come back from philippines if the visa is single entry only. I expect with no Ireland visa would not be allowed on return flight. Going South can probably argue freedom of movement with you but expect that will not work with airlines upcoming back as they would be liable for deportation costs. https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/our-services/visas/visas-for-ireland/ Might want to think about coming back as could be messy if after Brexit if you only hold a British passport. Better if you have an Irish passport as would then be covered under freedom of movement rules.
Thanks everyone for all the info, I have several options to consider now, one of which is changing our return flight and arriving in London or Manchester. With this option can anyone tell me if its OK to fly out of Dublin on international flight without an Irish visa?
To transit through Ireland means you are only passing through an Irish airport or seaport to travel to another destination. To transit, you cannot pass through border control. If you pass through border control, you are not transiting. If you have to pass through border control, you need a short stay or long stay visa to travel to Ireland.
Thank you... Maybe I need to clarify my question. My wife and I live in Northern Ireland, which is a part of the UK. She has a valid UK residents card. We will drive to Dublin Ireland, where borders are open and movement is free. What we would like to know is, can she depart on international flight from Dublin Ireland without having an Irish visa???
I have opened up enquiries on many fronts as I attempt to gain knowledge of the unique situation I find myself in right now. This forum is just one of those fronts. Comments like 'why not ask them' are not helpful to me or anyone else following this thread. Therefore,, if you have nothing helpful to say then keep on scrolling and give it a miss
Reading the Irish Embassy website I believe you would be in an illegal immigration situation. I visited Northern when wife was on a UK visitor visa and was pretty sure that technically needed a visa to go over the border. As the stage at which it would be discovered is immigration control at Dublin Airport your risk of being deported is low as you are leaving. The main risk you have is that they put comments that illegally entered the country in passport which may cause problems on two fronts - 1 that your wife has problems if you want to apply for Irish citizenship after three years assuming you can claim Irish citizenship yourself. 2 - view of UK VI at next FLR or ILR application if there is a known immigration breach even if in another country. Only you can decide whether that is a risk you are willing to take and if note is put in passport will be difficult to hide it. Can probably argue it under freedom of movement as either British or EU citizen on way out. As I said earlier on way back would expect to be refused boarding as airlines will not want to take risk on deportation costs. Asking is the only way to establish a definite position but based on previous reading and of embassyvwebsute would expect them to confirm that you gave to apply for a visa. Personally I would get the visa or fly to and from a UK airport. Should still have time to get visas although depending on when in march it might get a bit tight. Under EU freedom of movements rules don't think there is a cost just time taken to do it. Might be worth checking residence card words as there are some sutilties which determine whether it can be used under freedom of movement rules. Considering the position in the north the rules are a bit barking when crossing the border as unlikely to be caught unless transiting out if the south but definitely do require visas if from certain countries.
No you cannot as she holds a UK visa and as such she would have to pass through immigration to board the plane not least also her travel in Ireland without a visa would be illegal. Rethink your flights or get the appropriate Irish visas is the only answer.
As a footnote to all this you may want to consider any perceived shanigans with border controls MAY jeopardise future applications so I strongly suggest taking caution
Currently you have freedom of movement and additionally you are covered by the CTA. Your wife, however, has no such rights and will require Transit Visas for both the outward and return journeys. It may be considerably less hassle for you to fly to a mainland UK airport but that's up to you. Please bear in mind that the foregoing may not apply after 29th March 2019.
Its a real anomalay of both the CTA and EU freedom of movement. It only applies to citizens not residents. Someone with residency in Germany cannot fly to the UK without visa if their nationality requires it. The CTA is a microcosm of this. What is probably true is that its been done thousands of times before and someone official will be able to advise the best solution... As Mattecube stated, the biggest worry would be not being able to travel back via Dublin. Indian and chinese citizens seem to be able to https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...e/british-irish-visa-scheme#eligible-uk-visas
Thanks for all the replies folks, it has been invaluable. My own research left me with more questions than answers but you guys have thankfully filled in the blanks and for that we are truly grateful. Since I don't think we have time to get Irish visa I think our only solution now is to reschedule departure and arrival airports. Thanks again everyone
Did Google search as sure I had read about people being stopped going over the border. Did not find a lot but obviously does happen. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/...-entering-from-northern-ireland-31449642.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44336357 Something to consider when doing trips across the border in general as opposed to this case. Think probability of getting caught is low but want to avoid. Don't think most would have been in spouse category but think it reinforces the fact that the border exists and is real even if dont normally see checks.
