Does the UK-Ireland Common Travel Area have both border agencies at ports?
For example in Dublin airport, does the UKBA check that you have a valid UK visa? And vice versa?
If not, doesn't that mean travelers can use that as a loophole? Let's say someone has trouble getting a UK visa because they overstayed or whatever.. Can't they get a visa for Ireland and then walk over the border to Northern Ireland which is the UK?
In order to prevent these loopholes you would have to have both border agencies active in both countries, wouldn't you?
Best Answer
Flying from the UK to Ireland, you'll be checked (and stamped, if applicable) by the Irish on arrival. Flying from Ireland to the UK, you won't have any border checks, and it will be on check-in staff to make sure you're allowed into the UK.
By sea, there may be spot checks by the country of exit or entry. For example, when I took the bus from London to Dublin, I got off at Holyhead at night for a check by UK Immigration Enforcement (not Border Force). However, in Dublin, there was no check.
I'm told that, as a pedestrian at the Irish ferries terminal in Dublin, you will be checked and, where applicable, stamped, though I cannot personally confirm this.
By land, checks are very sporadic, so indeed, this can be used as a loophole. However, TIMATIC, the database used by airlines, states that passengers who have been refused entry to the UK (ie with a refusal stamp) could be refused entry to Ireland, and I know one case of denied boarding due to this alone.
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Does Ireland Recognise the Common Travel Area?
The Common Travel Area (CTA) is an arrangement between the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland that gives a variety of rights to citizens of those countries. It includes more than the basic right to travel freely between both countries.What is the UK Ireland Common Travel Area?
Details. The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement between the UK, the Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Isle of Man) and Ireland that pre-dates both British and Irish membership of the EU and is not dependent on it.Is there a border between UK and Ireland?
The Republic of Ireland\u2013United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British\u2013Irish border, runs for 499 km (310 mi) from Lough Foyle in the north-west of Ireland to Carlingford Lough in the north-east, separating the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland.Can you freely travel between Ireland and UK?
Ireland and the UK are part of the Common Travel Area (CTA), which means Irish and UK citizens can travel freely between the two countries without a passport.Common Travel Area: rights of UK and Irish citizens
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