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I'm going with an American friend from Belfast to Dublin by bus. Despite the lack of border control at the land border due to the Common Travel Area agreement, non-EU/EFTA nationals are supposed to get processed and stamped into Ireland even when entering from the UK - the Immigration section of the Gardai (Irish Police) has consistently told me this by E-Mail and on the phone

I e-mailed the Gardai asking about entering by bus from Belfast, and they said we should go to the Garda Station in Dundalk for entry processing.

However, Belfast-Dublin buses do not stop in Dundalk, but run non-stop between Newry (UK) and Dublin.

What is the proper procedure in this case?

UPDATE: just found the following on the INIS website:

If you arrive via the border with Northern Ireland, you must report to an immigration officer at Burgh Quay Registration Office Dublin or your local Garda Síochána (police) station as soon as possible.

I've noticed a common belief here on Travelstack that, due to the Common Travel Area, you need to do nothing as long as you were admitted to the UK. That is then clearly not the case.

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    'Non-EU/EFTA nationals are supposed to get processed and stamped into Ireland even when entering from the UK' Are you sure about that? – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Sep 28 '17 at 14:02
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo Yes, the Gardai has confirmed that to me multiple times by E-Mail and on the phone – Crazydre Sep 28 '17 at 14:12
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    @Crazydre since you're in contact with the Gardai, why don't you ask them? – phoog Sep 28 '17 at 14:28
  • Can you cut & paste the email content (your email question and their answer) into your question here? – RedGrittyBrick Sep 28 '17 at 21:45
  • @phoog Because when I said the bus won't stop in Dundalk, they just said "it's a non-EEA passenger's responsibility and Obligation to present themselves for inspection" – Crazydre Sep 29 '17 at 8:11
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If you look at the Aliens (Amendment) Order, 1975 , point 5 has the following:

5. (1) An alien coming from a place outside the State other than Great Britain or Northern Ireland shall, on arrival in the State, present himself to an immigration officer for leave to land.

My understanding is that a non-EU national does not need to be stamped if the traveller have been landed in the UK (given permission to enter) and is travelling direct from the UK to the Republic of Ireland.

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  • "My understanding is that a non-EU national does not need to be stamped if he has a valid UK entry stamp or visa and is travelling direct from the UK to the Republic of Ireland." Not what the Gardai has told me per E-Mail or on the phone – Crazydre Sep 28 '17 at 14:11
  • Well, if you want a stamp, you can always go to the GNIB Immigration Branch at 13/14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. Also, you can look at travel.stackexchange.com/questions/97771/… and travel.stackexchange.com/questions/95868/…. – Rodney Hawkins Sep 28 '17 at 15:02
  • I've had acquaintances travel on the ferry from the UK to Ireland on non-EU passports. When they arrived in Ireland, the passports were inspected but not stamped. – Rodney Hawkins Sep 28 '17 at 15:08
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    I would be surprised is Ireland depended on UK passport stamps for anything (I suspect they must have access to the computer entry records) since I am a non-EU national who doesn't get UK stamps. I can confirm that Irish immigration examines but does not stamp passports coming off the ferry, though on the two most recent trips I took there was no immigration officer to look at the passport. If they expect you to check in anyway they don't tell you that anywhere and make it impossibly inconvenient if you're driving (try to park near that Burgh Quay office). – Dennis Sep 28 '17 at 17:20
  • Maybe stamp is a bad term to use @Dennis. I'm going to replace the "valid UK entry stamp or visa" with "if you have been landed in the UK (given permission to enter)" – Rodney Hawkins Sep 28 '17 at 20:51
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So, just found the following on the INIS website:

If you arrive via the border with Northern Ireland, you must report to an immigration officer at Burgh Quay Registration Office Dublin or your local Garda Síochána (police) station as soon as possible.

I've noticed a common belief here on Travelstack that, due to the Common Travel Area, you need to do nothing as long as you were admitted to the UK. That is then clearly not the case.

Improve this answer

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