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Hi there,

(Quick summary: I'm from N.Ireland but have been working in Spain for years. My wife (Japanese) and kids are moving back to UK (N.Ireland) via Surinder Singh route.)

We are traveling to Northern Ireland very soon and have a Family permit already in my wife's passport (thanks to advice on this forum!). So we're in pretty good shape but I just had 2 things to ask.

We are flying to Dublin and then travelling up to N.Ireland from there. So...

1. Since the family permit is really an entry permit for UK, will we have any problems with Irish immigration?

2. Since we're not flying into UK directly I wonder if we need to inform someone that we're there. After all, we're travelling up from Dublin to N.Ireland and since there's no border checks between Ireland and N.Ireland, we won't pass through UK immigration at all. So should we be informing UK immigration somehow?

Many thanks!

It is likely that your wife will have a Spanish Residence card. Ireland accepts these in lieu of visa. In any case she is not a visa national. She will not have problems entering Ireland.

You do not need to tell the UK authorities of your move when you cross the border. Your wife can apply for a UK residence card as soon as you return to the UK.

Yes, she has permanent Spanish residence so it sounds like we're fine then, especially as she's non-visa anyway. Many thanks for that, much appreciated!

What exactly does she have? Is her PR based on the fact that she is married to you (an EU citizen)?

She got her PR card after living here as a resident for 5 years (with an EU residence card).
And to your question: Yes, she got residence for those first 5 years (and the subsequent PR card) based on her being married to me. (I'm from N.Ireland but have been working for years in Spain)....

Then she should have no problem entering Ireland. You should also carry your marriage certificate (just in case)

OK, will do. We have a file of stuff including marriage cert. so should be fine then. Thanks again