Is a UK 'Leave to Enter' stamp still valid after being in the Republic of Ireland on a work permit?
I am a Canadian citizen and do not usually require a visa to enter the UK for tourism or a family visit. In late February, I travelled from Canada to the Republic of Ireland for work and connected through London Heathrow and was given a 6 month UK 'Leave to enter' stamp in my passport even though I was only connecting with a flight to Dublin. Once in Ireland, I was issued an Irish work permit which is valid until the end of August. I am almost finished work now and so if I want to travel to the UK directly from Ireland, is my original 'Leave to enter' stamp still valid till the end of August or was it effectively cancelled when I entered Ireland and obtained a work permit? If it is effectively cancelled, does that mean that I could then stay in the UK for up to 90 days as per the common travel area rules? I am assuming that if I enter the UK via ferry (or even by air) that there will be no border control and so I will not be able to receive a new 'Leave to enter' stamp.
Best Answer
For all intents and purposes your original 6 month entry stamp is still valid, as long as its been less than 6 months since you've arrived to the UK. If its been more than 6 months, your original leave to enter is no longer valid and you need to "channel hop" to France or some other country to get a fresh 6 month stamp from the UK.
The UK does not issue entry stamps for travelers inside the UK, so there's no way to do it without leaving the country. As a consolation, tickets to/from Ireland and UK to mainland Europe are dirt cheap if you don't care about the exact times/destination, so it shouldn't be too expensive.
Pictures about "Is a UK 'Leave to Enter' stamp still valid after being in the Republic of Ireland on a work permit?"
Can I leave the UK on my Irish passport and re enter on my British one?
You can use whichever passport is more convenient for leaving country A, and whichever passport is more convenient for arriving in country B. They do not have to be the same passport. But you must enter and leave a country on the same passport.Can I enter Republic of Ireland with UK residence permit?
People with UK visas or residence permits If you are a citizen of a country whose nationals need a visa to enter Ireland and you have a valid UK visa or residence permit, you may be required to have a visa to enter Ireland before you arrive in Ireland.Can I work in Ireland with UK leave to remain?
If you are a family member of a UK national and you lived in Ireland legally before 31 December 2020, you retain your residence rights in Ireland. This means that you can continue to live, work or study in Ireland.Does Ireland stamp UK passports?
A few countries issue only entry stamps, including Canada, El Salvador, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Macau and South Korea do not stamp passports upon entry nor exit.The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England Explained
More answers regarding is a UK 'Leave to Enter' stamp still valid after being in the Republic of Ireland on a work permit?
Answer 2
The visa you were granted when you arrived in Ireland does not curtail the period of Leave to Enter given when you connected through the UK. The Common Travel Area agreement does grant reciprocal visa arrangements, security measures, and shared immigration data, but a permission granted by one country's authority does not invalidate that of the other.
As a non-visa national, you would need to leave the Common Travel Area before the end of your Leave to Enter period, and apply for new immigration permission. You could accomplish this by takng a short trip to France (either directly from Ireland or from the UK) and return to the UK border. It would help to have evidence of the time spent entirely in Ireland for work, so that an Immigration Officer grants entry for the period you would like.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Luciann Photography, vectors icon, Lukas Kloeppel, Luciann Photography