One for the legal heads

Owen

As the Legal forum seems to now have a password in place (Sheesh, I go away for one week, and the place gets rennovated), would anyone know the legal requirements for an Irish Citzen to show when passing immigration on the way back into Ireland from an EU country? Just curious, I couldn't find my bloody passport tonight, and I did have my Irish driver's license, but the guy wouldn't accept it.

5starpool

I believe only a passport is sufficient, although you don't need a passport if from the UK I think due to the common travel area, so a drivers licence should be ok there. Maybe you need proof of origin though if UK? I am in no way the legal expert you were seeking I must add, just adding my 2c.

P. Breathnach

I can't point to the particular legislation but, so far as I know, the only country from which one can enter Ireland without a passport is the United Kingdom.

Are you posting from airside, and hoping that somebody here will give you a hand at talking your way past immigration?

Owen

P. Breathnach wrote:

Are you posting from airside, and hoping that somebody here will give you a hand at talking your way past immigration?

Thankfully no, I'm at home now. The Driver's License wording is a bit vague on the Dept of Foreign Affairs website. A UK Citizen coming to Ireland can show a UK driver's License instead of a passport from a UK originating flight. This I know, but shouldn't an Irish Citizen be allowed into Ireland from an EU originating flight with their Driver's license too?

P. Breathnach

The problem is that we opted out of the Schengen Agreement -- I suppose, more correctly, I should say that we didn't opt in.

We did that because the UK did, and if we went in without them we would have wiped out the common travel area agreement we have with them -- and the border on this island would become a controlled international frontier.

So it's all down to the British being reluctant Europeans.

shrapnel222

i'm pretty sure it's passport or identity card. i know noone has them in Ireland but a lot of european countries use them and you can travel with them in Europe, but need a passport if you're going further afield.

BuffyBot

ned78 wrote:

As the Legal forum seems to now have a password in place (Sheesh, I go away for one week, and the place gets rennovated), would anyone know the legal requirements for an Irish Citzen to show when passing immigration on the way back into Ireland from an EU country? Just curious, I couldn't find my bloody passport tonight, and I did have my Irish driver's license, but the guy wouldn't accept it.

FYI, you were clicking on the Public Gallery forum, not the Legal Discussion forum (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=633)

mikedragon32

Ned, how did you get through in the end?

A driving licence isn't proof of nationality, merely that you passed your test in the jurisdiction.

Owen

mikedragon32 wrote:

Ned, how did you get through in the end?

I asked the guy to quote me legislation to state that he could legally deny an Irish Citizen access to Ireland, and he couldn't. We had a calm discussion about the validity of his claim, and mine, and eventually, he just waved me through, most likely due to the queue behind me.

P. Breathnach

Your approach worked, Ned, and I am sure that is what mattered most to you in the circumstances. But not having a passport with you meant that you didn't actually have proof that you are an Irish citizen.

Now that I think about it, you probably should not have been allowed board the plane in the first place.

Owen

P. Breathnach wrote:

But not having a passport with you meant that you didn't actually have proof that you are an Irish citizen.

There is that section in the Driver's License that says Nationality, wouldn't that count? I'm open to being corrected though!

P. Breathnach wrote:

Now that I think about it, you probably should not have been allowed board the plane in the first place.

If you read my first post, you'd see my passport was buried down the bottom of my bag. I had it when boarding, but it was a nightmare to get it back out again, so I wanted to use my License, and that's when the merry-go-round started. Had it come to a stand off, I'd have gladly emptied my bag.

Dodge

ned78 wrote:

There is that section in the Driver's License that says Nationality, wouldn't that count? I'm open to being corrected though!

You're not asked to provide your passport to prove your nationality when getting your drivers license, so no it wouldn't

BTW Ireland is part of the Schengen agreement. We just haven't signed up fully.