Are there normally passport checks when entering Great Britain from Northern Ireland?
When I arrived by ferry from Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK) to Birkenhead (Merseyside, England, UK), police were checking all (foot) passengers for their passports (perhaps car passengers too — I couldn't see). When asked, I was told this was because of the seamless border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. There were no such checks when we travelled in the opposite direction.
I found those checks surprising, as this is a domestic ferry and even on ferries between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain there should be no passport checks.
Is it normal that there are passport checks when travelling from Northern Ireland to Great Britain?
Best Answer
It is definitely not uncommon, despite it not being an "official" border. Certain nationals, such as South Africans, can enter Ireland but not the UK visa-free. For the same reason, there are spot checks on buses and trains from Dublin to Belfast as well.
It's similar at the land border between Switzerland and the neighbouring countries (despite all of them being in the Schengen Area), where the Swiss frequently stop long-distance buses entering the country and collect all passports for inspection.
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Answer 2
I Am Not a Lawyer, but it seems that British police can legally demand that you identify yourself in the context of ferry travel (even purely domestic ferry travel). See this answer on Law Stack Exchange. Ferries aren't specifically mentioned, but the link given for domestic air travel seems pretty clearly to apply to ferry travel as well. Police can apparently not only check your ID, but search you and detain you for up to nine hours.
Note that this was an ID check, not a passport check. It's not a requirement for British or Irish citizens to even own a passport for travel between the UK and Ireland (never mind two parts of the UK).
I don't know how common police checks are, but all the ferry lines seem to have a policy requiring photo ID.
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