Visiting UK and Ireland with a single visa
I have to travel to both Dublin, Ireland and London, UK on short 2 day duration trips. Since both require visa for my country to enter, I started the Irish visa process and paid the fees. I later realized that they have something called as Common Travel Area thing where you can travel to both on a single visa from one. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/british-irish-visa-scheme/british-irish-visa-scheme#visiting-the-uk-and-ireland
Now I am confused on what to do. If I end up applying for both the visas one after the other, the turnaround time means that it will take about 6 weeks for me to get both the visas. The Irish visa thing in the policy mentioned above covers four short term visas but doesn't cover the one I applied for which is Short Stay-Other. My option seems to be to apply for the UK visa and then use that to travel to Ireland and just forget about the loss on fees for the Irish visa. Does this make sense?
Also, if I am not understanding the CTA policy correctly, do clarify on that as well. Thanks.
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Do you need separate visa for UK and Ireland?
No. Only short-stay visas are eligible under the scheme. If you travel to Ireland on a long- stay student visa, you must apply for a separate British Visa if you wish to visit the UK.Can I go to Ireland with UK tourist visa?
People with UK visas or residence permits The Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme allows nationals of a number of Eastern European, Middle East and Asian countries who have a short-term UK visa to come to Ireland without the need for a separate Irish visa.Is UK tourist visa a single entry?
These have now been replaced by one single visa known as the UK standard visitor visa. This acts as a UK multiple entry visa, and has replaced the following types of visitor visas: Family Visitor visa.What is the British Irish Visa Scheme?
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