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by iso1631 17 days ago
Of course there aren't passport checks on planes or boats between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, but that only applies to Irish and British citizens.

On planes/boats between Northern Ireland and Great Britain there aren't passport checks, but they can and do check your passport.
2 comments
maccard 17 days ago
> Of course there aren't passport checks on planes or boats between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, but that only applies to Irish and British citizens.

And the only way to enforce that is to not enforce it all, or to check everyone for documents. Both cork and Dublin airports have a manned border check for all inbound flights (can’t speak for other airports) but a passport isn’t required. If you fly between European countries there’s no border check _at all_. (Your airline may check but that’s different).

> On planes/boats between Northern Ireland and Great Britain there aren't passport checks, but they can and do check your passport.

That’s a domestic flight so yeah. Anecdotally I don’t think I’ve ever been stopped for a passport check in 15 years of flying between the Uk and Belfast.

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iso1631 15 days ago
> If you fly between European countries there’s no border check _at all_. (Your airline may check but that’s different).

On the flip side I was asked for a passport on a train from Denmark to Germany last year, Schengen allows them to demand passports. Previous time I went to Denmark (2011) I went to Malmo for the evening and again was asked for a passport on the train.

> Anecdotally I don’t think I’ve ever been stopped for a passport check in 15 years of flying between the Uk and Belfast.

I haven't been asked for a passport on a Belfast-London flight, but I have been asked for ID by the police on a Belfast-Liverpool ferry

Legally you do not have to have a passport or identity card to travel from GB to Ireland as a British/Irish citizen, although it will make things easier to prove your citizenship. This is the same as when you take a train from Denmark to Germany.

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rjsw 17 days ago
The UK and the Republic of Ireland make up the Common Travel Area [1], the lack of passport checks didn't happen automatically.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area

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