Travel to Northern Ireland

Can a naturalised UK citizen travel from England (or Wales or Scotland - don't know the ferry routes) using an American passport for ID (IE, without a UK passport)?  I've just found out that I have an extra week at half-term - next week - and would love to go somewhere, but haven't got my UK passport yet.

Yes.  You don't need visa documents for travel within the UK, but if you are flying to NI the airlines usually demand a form of ID, and a passport is the best. 

As far as I know, ferries don't yet require anything, so you could even (shock! Horror!) leave your passport at home.

Vicky

Thanks, Vicky.  That's what I thought.  But it's all moot now, since DH doesn't want to go to NI.  I think he would have been happy to go to France, but I can't go there because I haven't got my UK passport yet.

It always used to be that a U.K. citizen could travel freely between the U.K. and Irish Republic without a passport too (ditto Irish citizens), but I think that changed recently, didn't it?

Not yet Paul.  The Common Travel Area is still in place.  Though, as above, airlines still require ID, it is not actually mandatory for UK nationals to show passports.  There are plans afoot for this to change, and soon there will be immigration officers at ports of entry to check all passports.  They won't be on the land border, and I would guess that little will practically change for UK nationals really.

Vicky

Ah, thanks Vicky, that must have been what I had in mind.

The last time I was in Ireland about 10 years ago the checks coming off the ferry in Dublin were practically non existent:

"Hello."
"Good morning, are you British?"
"Yes."
"O.K., through you go, enjoy your stay."
"Thank you."

No ID asked for or produced whatsoever.

That is about the same now...but not for long 


Vicky