Passport?

[mr_doubtfire]

Please can anyone settle a difference of opinion in the Doubtfire household. We would like to visit the Republic of Ireland next year. Mrs. D seems to think that we don't need passports to travel there, only some form of photo ID. Is this correct. Sensible answers please. Thank-you.

[sddsddean]

Heres your answer
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ireland/entry-requirements

[rockyracoon]

It's not a requirement to get into the country BUT, most airlines insist on a passport to travel there, I've bever been asked for a passport or ID when travelling by ferry.

[sunny-dave]

Ryanair in particular will not accept 'photo id' - it has to be a valid passport or you don't fly.

[sinderella]

So you are wrong
she is right

[Zacs-Master]

Erm....no. Other way round.

[black_cat51]

hmm i thought mr doubfire is wrong and his wife is right. If you are a british citizen you don't need a passport (from the link)

[jno]

as said... you don't need one to enter the country, but you may need one to get there in the first place.

[Buenchico]

For clarification of the answers above:

The UK and Ireland have a 'open border' policy, allowing free movement of citizens of the two countries across the border. (The concession does not apply to British citizens born abroad, nor to citizens of other countries). So, as far as 'the authorities' are concerned, Mrs D is correct (assuming, of course, that you are both British-born UK citizens).

However all airlines require passengers to provide some form of photographic ID. Ryanair ONLY accepts passports as ID for ALL of its flights (even those which are entirely within the UK) but all other airlines flying between the UK and Ireland accept other forms of photo-ID, such as driving licences and bus passes. e.g Aer Lingus:
http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/knowbeforeyoufly/visaspassports/#d.en.4568

Ferry companies operating between the UK and Ireland also accept a wide range of photo-ID. e.g. Irish Ferries:
http://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/faq/passports-identification/

Similarly, British citizens entering Ireland by rail (from Belfast) are advised to carry photo-ID but passports aren't required.

[mikey4444]

It seems that you may need some kind of photo ID, and I can't think of a better form of that then a passport. A driving licence might do it but a bus pass probably wouldn't, so carry your passport if you have one ! Simples !

[ummmm]

You'll need passports if you fly with Ryanair.

The last time I flew with Airlingus they accepted photo ID....but that was a few years back.

[Dee Sa]

I was once on a coach day trip to Ostend, a party of elderly Irishmen came back to the coach drunk, when we got to Calais immigration every was asked to get off the coach and go to the immigration building and show your passports, one drunken idiot insisted on showing them his bus pass, the outcome was we missed our slot on the ferry and had to sit on the coach for two hours dockside until there was a space on another ferry. The moral being if your mrs insists she wont take her passport you could be denied boarding or loose a lot of travelling time.

[mr_doubtfire]

Mrs. D and I would like to thank everyone for their sensible answers.