Going to Ireland (Dublin) on holiday with my SO...

Hey guys,

My SO is coming to England here for a week in around 10 days or so.  That bits all fine and we're as prepared as can be.

I have two weeks off in October and since it won't have been long since he came here and I just got back from the US...we thought we're go to a different place and have a little holiday together.

I've always wanted to go to Dublin, so we're planning on going there.  For my SO is it the same as coming here, he can come in on his US Passport?

With regards to Immigration over there, is our relationship likely to receive as much scrutiny as it does in the UK and US by Immigration?

Just asking so we can be prepared.

Thanks in advance,

- Stephanie

Yes, he can visit without prior entry clearance. It shouldnt come under "scrutiny" since neither of you live in Ireland, so they wont have so much concern that you would try to settle there.  But, that being said, your BF will want to bring all the same kinds of thing he brings when he comes to see you.

Yes, he can visit without prior entry clearance. It shouldnt come under "scrutiny" since neither of you live in Ireland, so they wont have so much concern that you would try to settle there.  But, that being said, your BF will want to bring all the same kinds of thing he brings when he comes to see you.

Yeah of course, copies of our hotels booking and whatnot too?

Not suggesting you shouldn't be prepared, but I once had a rendezvous with DH in Dublin, and immigration was super easy.  Pretty much just "How long are you staying?" and "What is the purpose of your trip?"  Mine was a layover that I'd extended so I could spend time with DH, I said so and they didn't bat an eyelash.  I also went through Dublin once after that, and again no problems with IOs.  My impression is that they're generally less intense and less suspicious of American women than the UK is.  That's just my experience, of course, but FWIW. 

I used to travel back and forth to Ireland from England frequently to visit my then-BF and I never had any issues (I'm American). Sometimes they would even stamp me for 3 months just so I wouldn't have to get a new stamp and fill up my passport. If he has the hotel reservations and a return ticket, he'll be great.

We always travel into the UK via Dublin.

On our last trip in March, I found the officer to be less than friendly.  I was asked why I was visiting and told the officer I was traveling with my husband, a UK citizen, and that we were visiting his family.  The officer wanted to know how long the trip was - i told him we were due to fly out April 2nd.  He stamped by passport good thru April 4th rather than the usual 90 days.

Maybe he was just in a bad mood.  Maybe he was suspicious when I told him I was married to someone from the UK.  At any rate, he did not give me the usual privileges.

We always travel into the UK via Dublin.

On our last trip in March, I found the officer to be less than friendly.  I was asked why I was visiting and told the officer I was traveling with my husband, a UK citizen, and that we were visiting his family.  The officer wanted to know how long the trip was - i told him we were due to fly out April 2nd.  He stamped by passport good thru April 4th rather than the usual 90 days.

Maybe he was just in a bad mood.  Maybe he was suspicious when I told him I was married to someone from the UK.  At any rate, he did not give me the usual privileges.

You really want to be careful going from Dublin into the UK as this route has long been used for those who want to sidestep UK immigration.

If you ever come to the UK on a Settlement visa you need to make sure that you avoid going through Ireland as your visa will not be stamped and validated once you arrive in the UK and you will have subsequent issues when you try to apply for your next visa as you'll need to prove when you arrived in the UK, which you won't be able to since your visa was never stamped by UK immigration. 

You really want to be careful going from Dublin into the UK as this route has long been used for those who want to sidestep UK immigration.

If you ever come to the UK on a Settlement visa you need to make sure that you avoid going through Ireland as your visa will not be stamped and validated once you arrive in the UK and you will have subsequent issues when you try to apply for your next visa as you'll need to prove when you arrived in the UK, which you won't be able to since your visa was never stamped by UK immigration. 

Thanks WebyJ.  I've read that if I come on a settlement visa it means flying directly into the UK.

In reference to my comment above, my husband is from Northern Ireland.  We usually fly routes that land in Dublin instead of Belfast as they are for some reason less expensive.  This last experience was actually via Heathrow - immigration in Heathrow had cleared me for 90 days but Dublin did not.

My SO got into the UK just fine after all that worrying.

Our next time together is in Dublin, we found a cheap hotel for 12 nights just on the outskirts and we're gonna rent a car, be nice to spend time away from the UK and US!

I'm gonna be 'meeting' him there, I arrive the day before he does so gonna stay at a hotel near the airport and arrive at the airport to meet him the next day.  It just makes more sense than having him fly into the UK to meet me, then us flying together, it works out a lot less expensive.

Obviously his reason for visiting Ireland is vacation and I guess it's best not to say any more unless they ask? In saying that I mean, vacationing with his English girlfriend. He's never been denied entry to the UK or anything, just questioned the first time, they didn't bat an eyelid the last time he was here. He's only spent 3 weeks in the UK in 10 months.

I heard a couple of horror stories regarding Americans being turned away from Ireland recently, but after reading said news stories it seems like they were turned away with good reason.

I told him to bring the usual, letter from employer, enough money, proof of our hotel booking, car rental, return ticket information, tickets for the band we're seeing, stuff we're gonna do whilst we're there etc.

Again, I'm worrying over nothing.  Anyone else have any experience with Ireland?  I'm guessing it's the same as the UK as US, they want people to visit but just want to make sure people aren't going to overstay their welcome...

I told him to bring the usual, letter from employer, enough money, proof of our hotel booking, car rental, return ticket information, tickets for the band we're seeing, stuff we're gonna do whilst we're there etc.

With all this, he'll be fine! The problem with the Americans who were recently turned away was because they had no lodging set up, they had no idea how long they were going to stay (they were backpacking through Europe), and they basically had no itinerary.

That's excellent that you're renting a car! You'll get to see loads!

With all this, he'll be fine! The problem with the Americans who were recently turned away was because they had no lodging set up, they had no idea how long they were going to stay (they were backpacking through Europe), and they basically had no itinerary.

That's excellent that you're renting a car! You'll get to see loads!

There was another woman I saw in the news too and she had no return ticket and when asked how long she was gonna stay, apparently she said "it depends how I feel"...the ignorance of some people amazes me.  I would not dare turn up to a foreign country with no idea what I was doing.

Yeah, because we're about 8 miles away from Dublin (staying at the Maldron Citywest) we thought a car was a good idea, I hate public transport!

We just wanted to spend some time away from the UK and US and I've heard lots of good things about Ireland.

The 'warning' stamp he has in his passport from the UK the first time around isn't likely to become an issue is it? It certainly wasn't when he came back to the UK, the IO actually had a little laugh about it with my SO and just checked that he had everything in order this time.  When I say warning stamp it wasn't really, just that different stamp they use to record ones intentions on file.

It shouldn't be a problem. If they question him he can show them that he travelled to the UK since then.

Just a note on public transport...if you're going to come into Dublin city centre, definitely take public transport. It is a nightmare to drive around here!

Bmore! I forgot you're in Dublin. I'll be there on Tuesday  

Bmore! I forgot you're in Dublin. I'll be there on Tuesday  

Hopefully the weather holds out for you! We're having a bit of a 'heat wave' right now and it's beautifully sunny!

Hopefully the weather holds out for you! We're having a bit of a 'heat wave' right now and it's beautifully sunny!

Fantastic!  

We're staying at a hotel in Temple Bar, so should be a pleasant walk to most attractions