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Do I need any Passport or other ID to travel on a train from Belfast to Dublin?

  • 11-11-2018 8:15am
    #1
    Nomis21
    Registered Users Posts: 1,409 ✭✭✭


    I am a British Citizen but my partner is from Hong Kong and we left our passports in Dublin.


«1

Comments

  • #2
    fleet
    Registered Users Posts: 546 ✭✭✭fleet


    Nomis21 wrote: »
    I am a British Citizen but my partner is from Hong Kong and we left our passports in Dublin.

    What passports and visas does she hold?

    There is no physical border, or systamised checking of ID in either jurisdiction.

    Ireland and the UK also do not require their citizens to carry ID. Nor is there any checking at tourist locations, public buildings etc. as there can be abroad.

    If she's Chinese: then she may run the risk of being asked to prove her visa status during a "random" check, though this is probably more likely on public transport.
    Technically she's need permission to enter the UK unless there is a waiver in place. For instance Ireland honors the reamining days on UK visas for some nationalities (mainland Chinese), but I don't know if this operates the other way round.

    We do ask that non EU citizens carry their GNIB card or passport during their stay. How legal this is is questionable, but I've a GNIB letter here saying just that.


  • #3
    eezipc
    Closed Accounts Posts: 534 ✭✭✭eezipc


    Only if you run into Arlene. Otherwise you'll be fine.


  • #4
    whomitconcerns
    Registered Users Posts: 4,307 ✭✭✭whomitconcerns


    Nomis21 wrote: »
    I am a British Citizen but my partner is from Hong Kong and we left our passports in Dublin.

    Your partner would need a visa/passport. Likelihood of being found out is very slim. Consequences pretty severe though


  • #5
    OldMrBrennan83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,658 ✭✭✭✭OldMrBrennan83


    Nothing needed. Not yet anyway.


  • #6
    goingnowhere
    Registered Users Posts: 4,131 ✭✭✭goingnowhere


    Your partner must have a valid travel document, must have a valid passport.

    While checks are rare, if you got caught it could be a whole world of pain.


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  • #7
    Allinall
    Registered Users Posts: 6,524 ✭✭✭Allinall


    Patww79 wrote: »
    Nothing needed. Not yet anyway.

    Not true.


  • #8
    minikin
    Registered Users Posts: 2,980 ✭✭✭minikin


    If you’re really concerned about it: leave your partner in Belfast to do some shopping, you travel down to Dublin to get the passports.


  • #9
    mikemac2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,926 ✭✭✭mikemac2


    I’ve never seen any checks on the train but a few times Bus Éireann got stopped

    Maybe the checks on the bus are random but they zero on some people. I had no ID but was just asked my name and where I was going. No interest in me at all

    A Filipino couple heading to Dublin airport got taken off the bus to go to Dundalk station. Flights missed for sure. Seemed harsh to me seeing as they were going direct to the airport but dems the rules :(


  • #10
    OldMrBrennan83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,658 ✭✭✭✭OldMrBrennan83


    Allinall wrote: »
    Not true.

    In reality nothing needed.


  • #11
    BeardySi
    Registered Users Posts: 1,705 ✭✭✭BeardySi


    Patww79 wrote: »
    In reality nothing needed.

    In reality valid travel documents are required for the non-EU traveller, even if the chances of them actually being checked are vanishingly small.
    Its alright for you to be flippant about it, but if you're going to give advice that has even a tiny chance of severely negative consequences at least acknowledge the fact...

    OP, in almost 10 years of regular cross border travel by bus, train and car, I think I've seen checks made twice. Both times were on the bus and on both occasions they seemed to be targeting an individual (I'd guess they were working on a tip off). Make what you will of that...


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  • #12
    whomitconcerns
    Registered Users Posts: 4,307 ✭✭✭whomitconcerns


    Patww79 wrote: »
    In reality nothing needed.

    In reality passport/visa is needed. Patww you won't be the one potentially, no matter how unlikely, detained in some poxy police station while they check you out...


  • #13
    OldMrBrennan83
    Closed Accounts Posts: 26,658 ✭✭✭✭OldMrBrennan83


    BeardySi wrote: »
    In reality valid travel documents are required for the non-EU traveller, even if the chances of them actually being checked are vanishingly small.
    Its alright for you to be flippant about it, but if you're going to give advice that has even a tiny chance of severely negative consequences at least acknowledge the fact...

    OP, in almost 10 years of regular cross border travel by bus, train and car, I think I've seen checks made twice. Both times were on the bus and on both occasions they seemed to be targeting an individual (I'd guess they were working on a tip off). Make what you will of that...

    Grand there's a tiny chance but I've crossed that border hundreds of times and even in worse days on public transport and never once has it been any different from getting a train or bus from Rosslare to Waterford.


  • #14
    Isambard
    Registered Users Posts: 5,796 ✭✭✭Isambard


    Patww79 wrote: »
    Grand there's a tiny chance but I've crossed that border hundreds of times and even in worse days on public transport and never once has it been any different from getting a train or bus from Rosslare to Waterford.

    Are you from Hong Kong?


  • #15
    Allinall
    Registered Users Posts: 6,524 ✭✭✭Allinall


    Patww79 wrote: »
    Grand there's a tiny chance but I've crossed that border hundreds of times and even in worse days on public transport and never once has it been any different from getting a train or bus from Rosslare to Waterford.

    You stated that no documents are needed, which is patently untrue.

    It’s akin to saying you don’t need car insurance, so long as you don’t get caught.


  • #16
    Nomis21
    Registered Users Posts: 1,409 ✭✭✭Nomis21


    Thanks for the advice everyone. Looks like we are safe on the train but if we get stopped we will ring the hotel and get the passports sent to Dundalk.


  • #17
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,262 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    Is this thread supposed to be a test for some kind of scam?


  • #18
    kevincool
    Registered Users Posts: 283 ✭✭kevincool


    We will be travelling from dublin to belfast in a car. We don't have irish or british passports. Are their border checks now?


  • #19
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,262 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    kevincool wrote: »
    We will be travelling from dublin to belfast in a car. We don't have irish or british passports. Are their border checks now?

    Where are you from? Do you have a legal right to be in both countries? Do you have a visa for both etc.?


  • #20
    kevincool
    Registered Users Posts: 283 ✭✭kevincool


    cgcsb wrote: »
    Where are you from? Do you have a legal right to be in both countries? Do you have a visa for both etc.?

    I have an irish Visa and I am from China.


  • #21
    kevincool
    Registered Users Posts: 283 ✭✭kevincool


    Just want to know if anyone encounter border checks recently when travelling by car?


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  • #22
    bigar
    Registered Users Posts: 596 ✭✭✭bigar


    There are no check points, although there are Customs cars that can ask you to stop (I have seen them, but never seen them stop anything else than a truck).

    However unlikely that you will be stopped, you will need a UK Visa. It is up to you if you want to take the risk to go there without one.


  • #23
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,262 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    kevincool wrote: »
    I have an irish Visa and I am from China.

    Some Irish visas give you permission to stay in Northern Ireland for a short term. Check the terms of your visa. Without that, you've no legal right to cross the border and your visa can be revoked if you are caught. Travel legally is the best advice.


  • #24
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,262 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    kevincool wrote: »
    Just want to know if anyone encounter border checks recently when travelling by car?

    You are asking how likely are you to be caught if you commit a particular crime, that is against the rules of this forum.


  • #25
    dowlingm
    Registered Users Posts: 5,309 ✭✭✭dowlingm


    There absolutely are GNIB checks on cross border public transport, people have been caught, it is pretty easy to establish this. It is reckless in the extreme for people on here to shrug and post that there aren't any just because they have no experience of it, and the mods should give thought to cleaning up this thread. This refers to the older 2018 posts above.

    https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/gardai-turn-570-people-back-from-border-10460.html
    https://mobile.twitter.com/fallon_donal/status/1089834695574122496
    https://extra.ie/2019/05/09/news/real-life/belfast-dublin-bus-border-passport
    https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/gardai-man-border-checkpoints-to-grab-illegals-entering-from-northern-ireland-31449642.html


  • #26
    dowlingm
    Registered Users Posts: 5,309 ✭✭✭dowlingm


    kevincool wrote: »
    I have an irish Visa and I am from China.
    you should check whether your visa is eligible for this program (and that it is still in operation) before attempting travel.
    http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/British+Irish+Visa+Scheme

    Chinese nationals have got in bother in the past by travelling from one side of the border to the other without visa coverage.


  • #27
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,017 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    cgcsb wrote: »
    You are asking how likely are you to be caught if you commit a particular crime, that is against the rules of this forum.
    It's not a crime to attempt to enter the UK without the required travel documents. You risk being turned back if detected, but you are not committing any offence.


  • #28
    cgcsb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,262 ✭✭✭cgcsb


    Peregrinus wrote: »
    It's not a crime to attempt to enter the UK without the required travel documents. You risk being turned back if detected, but you are not committing any offence.

    It is entering a country illegally, it is a crime to do so.


  • #29
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,017 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    cgcsb wrote: »
    It is entering a country illegally, it is a crime to do so.
    No, it isn't. There is no UK law which makes it a crime to enter the UK without the proper documentation. The risk you run if you turn up without the proper documentation is that you will be refused entry or, if you have entered, will be deported, because the law says that you can be refused entry or deported. But there is no law that says what you have done is a criminal offence, and you cannot be charged, tried, convicted or sentenced.

    It is no moer a crime to enter the UK without a visa than it is a crime to enter a nightclub without proof of age. In both cases you can be excluded; in neither case have you committed any crime.

    The notion that this is a crime is a lie invented to demonise migrants. You should not propagate it.


  • #30
    Isambard
    Registered Users Posts: 5,796 ✭✭✭Isambard


    that's entirely logical. Effectively you are turning up at the border wanting to come in. If you don't have the correct paperwork, you'll be turned away.

    Whether it's an offence to be smuggled in, I don't know. It surely is an offence to smuggle someone in.


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  • #31
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,017 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Isambard wrote: »
    that's entirely logical. Effectively you are turning up at the border wanting to come in. If you don't have the correct paperwork, you'll be turned away.

    Whether it's an offence to be smuggled in, I don't know. It surely is an offence to smuggle someone in.
    Not really relevant in the present context, though. Nobody in this thread is talking about smuggling or being smuggled.


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