Visa requirements for holiday in Ireland

Hi All,
Me and my husband are on work permit visa to UK. Do we need to stamp any other visas on our passports to go for a holiday to Ireland.
We are both currently inside UK
Please advise.

Regards
CP

Yes, if you would normally require a visa to visit Ireland you will still do so, even if you're inside the UK. What is your nationality?

Christophe wrote:Yes, if you would normally require a visa to visit Ireland you will still do so, even if you're inside the UK. What is your nationality?

Thanks Christophe. Both of us are Indian nationals having UK WP visa. One of my friends (African nationality on HSMP visa) went to Ireland and didnt require any extra visa stamping. Nobody checked.
So I am quite unsure now about the whole visa thing.

Regards

Well, currently the UK and Ireland have a common travel area agreement that allows visa free travel, but this is only meant for UK and Irish citizens. However, this will be coming to an end in 2009. Plus, Ireland does tend to check when flying in, but there isn't much between the border of Northern Ireland and Ireland. Again, this only for citizens of those countries, and EU-nationals.

In your case, you will need a visa. There is no way around it. India is not one of the countries under the Visa Waiver Program. Your friend's country might be included in that list, as there are several African countries that are. Unless you have an EU4FAM stamp (meaning married to an EU national) or are a citizen of a country listed in Schedule 1 (Visa Waiver Program), both of which you are not, you will have to apply for a visa.

You can check out the following website: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categ ... ng_ireland. Also, don't hesitate to visit or contact the embassy.

Cheers!

Well, it could be that no one will check your passports, because the UK and Ireland are part of the Common Travel Area, and there is no routine passport control for travellers within this area (which also includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).

However, three points: first, you really don't want to be in Ireland in breach of the immigration rules, because that is just asking for trouble, especially if anything goes wrong. The fact that no one might check your passports doesn't mean that you don't require a visa.

And secondly, more and more passengers who travel to Ireland from the UK are being checked on arrival in Ireland, so it is not unlikely that your passport will be checked. If so, and you don't have a visa, you won't be allowed in to the country.

And thirdly, in theory an airline would be within its rights to deny you boarding if you don't have the necessary paperwork, including a visa.

iamwhoever, I think our posts crossed in the ether!

Christophe wrote:iamwhoever, I think our posts crossed in the ether!

Yeah, I was just thinking that.

Also, I second what Christophe says about not wanting to get caught without a visa. Trust me, you don't want to risk it in Ireland. I mean, they almost didn't let a naturalised citizen vote. I'd advise just going through the process of getting a visa.

Good luck! Cheers!