Passport required or not?

[kenny1234]

We have some friends who are wanting to come on a short break to Eire with us.One of them does not have a current passport and is reluctant to have to pay for one just for this particular holiday.Having made enquiries to numerous places, a definitive answer is still not certain.DOES ONE NEED A PASSPORT FOR EIRE OR NOT?

[sandyRoe]

You don't need a passport to go to Eire. But you do need photographic ID for the flight. Do UK driving licences have a photo on them?

[danchip]

i went 3 years ago just with my driving license but i believe it has changed now so you do need a passport

[ChuckFickens]

You've kinda forgotten to say where they are coming from! if it's Mongolia then they will require a passport!

If they are coming from somewhere in the EU then you don't need a passport for entry into the country but you may require one to board the plane, check with the airline as it's their rules.

[merciasounds]

I thought not too, BUT if you are flying Ryan air, they insist on one. You will need some sort of official identity, a birth cert, a driving licence. Google or phone who they're going to travel with - never been bothered on the ferry, but flying is a diferent matter

[ChuckFickens]

In fact, you've not even said how they will be travelling.

So you may need to check with the ferry company rather than the airline.

[mccfluff]

they might be swimming chuck

[ChuckFickens]

Then they'd probably require goose fat rather than a passport.

[merciasounds]

Answer
In most cases, Yes. But the situation is complex.


Officially, citizens of the UK or Ireland don't need a passport to enter Ireland from the UK, but all other nationalities do. But you need some form of ID to prove you are an Irish or British citizen, and the only form of ID generally accepted are a drivers license or a passport. The drivers license must be a UK or Irish license and you must have been born in the UK or Ireland. This is because the drivers license doesn't state your citizenship, only your place of birth. To use it as evidence of citizenship, you have to have been born in either the UK or Ireland. Technically, only those born in the UK before 1983 can use their license to travel, this is because UK law was changed in 1983 and anyone born after this date is not guarenteed to be a citizen.

In short, you may enter Ireland from the UK without a passport if:


•You are a UK citizen, or

•You are an Irish citizen, and

•You are born in the UK before 1983 or in Ireland, and

•You have a full UK or Irish drivers license
Anyone else needs a passport. If you needed a visa to enter the UK, you need a new Irish visa to enter Ireland.

These rules are enforced in the airports and to a lesser degree in the shipping ports, but hardly at all on the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. When entering the Republic from Northern Ireland, non-UK and Irish citizens (including all EU nationals) are technically required to register their passport at the nearest Garda station (Police station), but this rule is not enforced at all.


just googled this for you

[kenny1234]

We are travelling from LANCS via coach to Holyhead-- Ferry to Dublin-- coach to Killarney(hope that helps)

[McMouse]

There are two sorts of 'regulation'. The first is what individual national immigration authorities demand - there is no discretion here. Secondly, carriers such as airlines and ferry companies can impose whatever arbitrary rules they like whatever the immigration people require. Some carriers in UK will not allow you to board a plane in England to travel to Scotland without showing a valid passport......

[danchip]

my oh's cousin tried to fly from bristol to prestwick with ryanair and was refused because he only had a driving license as photo id, it seems ryanair require a passport even for internal flights so will require one for flying from the uk to eire