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I am trying to apply to extend my U.K visa but I am unsure if I need to write about my Irish VISA WARNING.

I got a Visa warning last year when I arrived by ferry to Dublin. I did not know I needed a visa to enter Ireland. It was an honest mistake as I really did not plan the trip- it was a surprise from my English boyfriend.

When I arrived to Dublin by Ferry the Officers stopped me and my boyfriend, and they said to go with them to their office as I did not have a visa for Ireland. There they asked me some questions, and after they gave me the permission to remain for a few days afterwards.

I was granted by the immigration officers a permission to remain for a few days. They stamped my Passport with a permission to remain, and also the regular immigration stamp- in the stamp they wrote some numbers and a V.W)

-So, when applying to extend my UK VISA, should I press "YES?" at the "refused entry at the border of any country other than the UK" and explain that situation?

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  • 39
    If they gave you "the regular immigration stamp" and let you in, it's hard to see how that could count as being refused entry. Am I misunderstanding part of your description?
    – Chris H
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 11:28
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    But the Republic of Ireland didn't refuse your entry.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 11:29
  • 3
    What was your nationality at that time?
    – Hanky Panky
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 15:11
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    Did they make you sit in the office until the next boat came, then escort you straight to the boat and tell you to take it straight back to the UK? Because that's what a refusal is.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 21:22
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    For future visa applications, it's probably a good thing that you got admitted to Ireland after questioning. It means that you passed that test.
    – MSalters
    Commented Aug 15, 2019 at 8:11

2 Answers 2

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You got the Visa Warning because you were a visa national (needed an Irish Visa) and reached Ireland without a visa, implicitly requesting a waiver claiming to be family member of an EU citizen. You were unable to convince them completely. But for reasons unknown to me, or in compassion, you were allowed a limited entry.

Please note: if you state on your application that you are travelling with your EU family member, then you will be issued with a visa stating "accompanying EU family member". If you then travel without that EU family member you may be refused entry to Ireland and/or have a visa warning entered on your passport.

Source: Embassy of Ireland in Germany

Although this quote directly relates to visa applications, the fact that there is no border control between ROI and the UK, you were able to report at Irish border without a visa.

You were stopped for extra questioning, your initial story didn’t sound convincing to them, but at the end they were satisfied and let you in. There is absolutely no reason to think of it or report it as a refusal of entry.

So the answer to your question is: No, you were not refused entry.

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  • Thanks for your reply! I did not know what the W meant, I just remember the official saying it was a visa warning. So when I see the V W i thought it meant Visa Warning.
    – Vane
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 11:45
  • So, should I press "YES?" at the "refused entry at the border of any country other than the UK" and explain this situation? I added extra information on the main question.
    – Vane
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 12:09
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    @Vane If they let you in, you weren't refused entry. Being detained at the border while they assess whether or not you can be let in isn't the same thing, and shouldn't require you to say that you were refused entry.
    – Anthony Grist
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 12:29
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    Yeah really, your experience is what I expect from US CBP, and I'm a US citizen, they have to let me in...
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 21:23
  • @Harper I actually have personal testimony to that; I travelled to the US by plane without all of my paperwork in order—the guy who let me on the plane had to study regulations a bit and get a decision from his boss or so; then when I got to the US I just declared my situation to the customs agent, showed my expired passport, they were very surprised that I was allowed on the plane at all, I had to sit in some rooms for maybe an hour and answer some cursory questions... but eventually I was indeed admitted back in rather than refused entry.
    – CR Drost
    Commented Aug 16, 2019 at 18:28
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they stamped my passport with permission to remain

That's not a refusal.

A refusal is when they make you sit in the office until the next boat comes, escort you to the boat, and make you go back to the UK.

Merely getting called into the office and being made to sit around for hours while they decide what to do with you, isn't anything at all (as far as your question). They could do the same thing to their own citizens, who are entitled to enter...

At the end of the day, they plainly admitted you. That's what matters.

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