(Replying on this thread rather than make a new one for a similar query):
I'm British, my husband is American here on a spouse visa (4.5 months in!). I have a query relating to the Common Travel Area specifically flying between the UK mainland and Dublin Ireland. We visited Dublin briefly last October and thought we could both go through the UK/EEA line together at passport control. At the desk my husband was told he had to go in the Rest of the world line, cue a 45 minute wait for him!
We had thought as he has UK residency with BRP that we'd be OK on the UK "side", and when he got to his passport control officer the guy was surprised he'd been sent through that line with said residency permit.
So, in order to prevent another delay next time we fly over later this year, can anyone please advise what the rules are in our situation? I've had a dig around re the CTA rules and Ireland and can't find anything that covers it.
Finally a related question, when we fly back to the UK from further afield, is it correct that he still needs to fill out a landing card to be processed through passport control? Heathrow were most adamant he needed one despite having the BRP when we came back from Eastern Europe last month, we hadn't realised he needed one.
Thanks