Standard UK visa or Ireland visa for a short stay? (Filipino girlfriend.)

[A.M Bellingham]

I am planning on taking my Filipino girlfriend to Ireland on a short stay tourist visa. As I live near the border we would visit Northern Ireland frequently as she wants to visit the Titanic Centre and the Giant’s Causeway but even shopping (Buttercrane, The Quays etc. regularly.) It is unlikely that we will actually stay in the North or mainland UK so she will stay in my home (Louth) for the entirety of the visit.

I’m thinking of flying her from Manila to Belfast, her entering on a standard UK visa, taking her straight to my house but we can go back and forward over the border as we wish without the need for an actual Irish visa (waiver?)

Most of what we want to do is north of Drogheda hence the query.

I would be financing her visit.

Anybody done it this way? Is it a viable idea or would it prove ultimately more difficult?

Thanks all.

[max307]

I am planning on taking my Filipino girlfriend to Ireland on a short stay tourist visa. As I live near the border we would visit Northern Ireland frequently as she wants to visit the Titanic Centre and the Giant’s Causeway but even shopping (Buttercrane, The Quays etc. regularly.) It is unlikely that we will actually stay in the North or mainland UK so she will stay in my home (Louth) for the entirety of the visit.

I’m thinking of flying her from Manila to Belfast, her entering on a standard UK visa, taking her straight to my house but we can go back and forward over the border as we wish without the need for an actual Irish visa (waiver?)

Most of what we want to do is north of Drogheda hence the query.

I would be financing her visit.

Anybody done it this way? Is it a viable idea or would it prove ultimately more difficult?

Thanks all.

Philippines is not under the Ireland - UK short stay visa waiver programme. Technically she will need a multi entry Irish visa to enter and leave the Republic of Ireland even just for an hour trip to Dublin or Belfast.

I have travelled from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland several times and never encountered an immigration check point but they do random check points and if she gets caught could get in trouble and jeopardize any future visas to the UK or Ireland.

See below link to the news reported last year: http://www.thejournal.ie/immigration-du ... 9-Feb2017/

[A.M Bellingham]

Thanks for the reply. Back to plan A and a multi-entry Irish visa.