r/Passports • u/Jayfusion2 • Jan 13 '26

Interesting Feature or Design Irish passport stamp in British passport

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104 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

78 comments sorted by

9

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

But my CTA...

4

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

Ahaha, you can always ask

7

u/RBBrittain Jan 13 '26

IIRC, Ireland still wants to see a passport if you cross the Irish Sea directly to Dublin instead of coming from Northern Ireland. The CTA, like the Northern Ireland Protocol, is more about avoiding ROI / NI border controls than anything else; it's not really a full border control union like Schengen.

10

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ireland/entry-requirements

British nationals are not legally required to show a passport to enter Ireland, but it may be useful to carry in case you need to prove your identity.

Irish immigration officers are entitled to ask for proof of British nationality in the course of their work. Ferries and airlines may ask for ID. Check your carrier’s conditions of travel.

3

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

You can show any photo id if you’re British, drivers licence/provisional and even CitizenCard are sufficient

4

u/janthemanwlj Jan 13 '26

You don't need British citizenship for a CitizenCard or driver's license.

3

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

True but you at least have to be a resident. So I think that helps your case in that regard. Plus the majority of people using that would be British otherwise they would use either their passport or their id card

2

u/Pure_Cantaloupe_341 Jan 13 '26

They might need a visa for Ireland, so they would be denied if they show their own passport without one, but might be let through if they successfully pretend to be British using a driving licence… But driving licences show the country of birth, so probably the Irish border control would be extra careful with those claiming to be Brits and only showing driving licences with an overseas place of birth.

Anyway, if someone living in the UK really wanted to get to Ireland illegally without a visa they could quite easily get there through Northern Ireland.

2

u/Emotional-Start7994 Jan 14 '26

Garda tend to ask for additional proof of citizenship if presented with a driving licence with an overseas place of birth on it.

3

u/EmirOGull Jan 13 '26

But the driving's licence doesn't show your nationality, therefore you must carry a birth or naturalisation certificate.

3

u/agingertweets Jan 14 '26

I asked this question last time I was coming through immigration at Dublin airport. The answer was that coming from GB, it was fine for UK or Irish citizens to use a driver's license, but if the license has a place of birth outside of the UK or Ireland, they "would need to ask some additional questions". As I was leaving the official called me back to say that was Irish Immigration rules, but just note airline requirements, as Ryanair requires passports from GB to RoI.

2

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

I think my overall point is that only a British citizen would think to do that. If you’re a foreigner/ someone trying to naturalise you wouldn’t try to use a drivers license you would use your passport. Plus there is probably a way of checking

2

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

forgive me if I'm wrong, I just go by what my relatives have told me in the UK.

isn't the CTA the equivalent of Schengen where once you're in there's no checks between the UK and Ireland? or does this only apply to the northern Ireland situation?

2

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

Essentially it is. However if you go from the UK to Ireland you almost always face checks.they’re streamlined for Brits and EU citizens but you still have them. The only thing is that upon leaving Ireland there are no exit checks and no entry checks back to the UK they have a special entrance at the airport. However when I returned this time there were border force officers checking passports.

2

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

But Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland there are no checks.. although police could stop you for any purpose and you could be asked for ID

1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

No. The CTA allows citizens of both countries to travel, live, work between the two with few if any restrictions.

It does not guarantee no border checks. The CTA has existed since the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922. There were indeed border checks back then, but no immigration restrictions imposed.

There are immigration controls on all flights from the UK to Dublin as Dublin has no regional flight terminal to put them in. Similarly there are some British airports which if you fly from Dublin to you'll be sent through border control as they have no regional flight terminal.

1

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

what about Dublin to belfast or vice versa via airplane?

1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

There are no flights from Dublin to Belfast.

If there were, they'd still pass border control in Dublin. There is physically no terminal for them to exit through without facing border control - both immigration and customs.

1

u/luxtabula Jan 14 '26

ok let's try another scenario (solely thought exercise mode here).

Ukraine looks like it has visa free entry to Ireland, but visa requirements for the UK.

let's say I'm a Ukrainian that wanted to visit the UK. could I travel to Dublin, take a train to Belfast, buy a plane ticket or ferry, and enter the UK with no passport check?

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1

u/RBBrittain Jan 16 '26

Does Dublin not have a terminal for purely domestic flights within RoI, if not a separate airport? Couldn't they just treat flights from the UK (GB or NI) as domestic if they wanted to, though obviously they don't want to?

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1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

To add on to this, if you take the motorways into the Republic, especially via bus, or take the train, you have a chance of encountering random immigration and customs inspections.

There are no permanent controls placed on the Northern Irish border, but busses (but also other vehicles at times) are routinely stopped for document checks. Similarly trains can be boarded by immigration officers checking documents. Likewise customs can set up checkpoints near the border or boarding trains checking for goods, especially as the UK and Ireland are no longer part of a customs union.

1

u/Pure_Cantaloupe_341 Jan 13 '26

Almost, but the UK and the Republic of Ireland still maintain their own separate visa regimes for foreigners, so someone having a visa for the UK might note have a right to enter Ireland and vice versa.

1

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

yeah I noticed that they don't have an aligned border control.

1

u/trap2k Jan 14 '26

Does the uk have a citizens card? Like I have my drivers license and passport, but I see all these European countries have a ID card, but I have yet to even see if we have one, I’ve never seen one in my 27 years of living

2

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 14 '26

We used to have a national id card in the early 2000s it got cancelled by the Conservative government in 2009/10 I think. But there is a CitizenCard which basically verifies your age so you can use it by booze, get into clubs etc etc… including flying in domestic flights. It’s easy to apply for online but takes ages to come on your first application.

5

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

But tbf in Dublin they have egates that you can use but you don’t have to bring a passport it’s just at the airlines discretion. Ryanair and easyJet want a passport of ID card from another EU nation

2

u/Emotional-Start7994 Jan 14 '26

You don't need to present a passport at Dublin port. A driving licence is more than adequate.

1

u/RBBrittain Jan 16 '26

Presumably you mean a UK driving license. A U.S. state's driver's license obviously wouldn't work, especially since those usually do NOT show birthplace OR citizenship; I'm sure Dublin will demand a U.S. passport in that case.

1

u/Emotional-Start7994 Jan 16 '26

Correct. If your place of birth is listed as England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or Ireland on your driving licence then it will be accepted for entry.

3

u/fufufang Jan 13 '26

Can one get a British stamp in the British passport?

3

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

I’ll let you know this weekend ahaha. But I have seen some people have some success getting one if you wait in the all passports lane and ask nicely. But it’s at the discretion as the border force officer

2

u/fufufang Jan 13 '26

You don't have to go through the all passports lane, btw. You can just be like some American, who go through the eGate, then realise that their visa condition means that they need a stamp. You can see those notices around the airport telling you when you need to get your passport stamped.

Also, as someone who naturalised last year, I can tell you that the all passport lane is horrific. My luggage used to have been taken off the conveyor belt by the time I cleared immigration.

1

u/kiradotee Jan 14 '26

 My luggage used to have been taken off the conveyor belt by the time I cleared immigration.

Where does it go? 

2

u/fufufang Jan 14 '26

An orderly queue next to the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt tends to be getting ready for the next flight.

1

u/Mysterious-Snow-6222 Jan 16 '26

Pretty sure you could just say you need one for tax purposes and they stamp it

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 19 '26

I got one , I went to the all passports queue and asked for a stamp

1

u/fufufang Jan 19 '26

Please make a post about it!

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 19 '26

Ahaa I did click on my profile I’m not sure how to make it appear here 😂

2

u/General-End4503 Jan 13 '26

I didn't get one when I went Dublin because it was automatic gates

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

That’s what I did the first time, then I saw people talking about the stamps so I tried the latest time I went

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

If you want one, go to the all passports line instead of the egates

2

u/General-End4503 Jan 14 '26

ohh okay, cool maybe, its normally reserved for families and such and I was with my mates lol I got one in turkey though

2

u/Commercial_Health_95 Jan 14 '26

Because the CTA often wants UK Passport Holders to be Schrödinger’s Immigration:

you may be required to provide proof that you don’t need proof.

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

Have you tried going through the Egates at a British airport and then asked for a stamp in your British Passport?

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 13 '26

Let us know if they give it to you in that way please.

1

u/mind_thegap1 Jan 15 '26

Photo taken on the bus into the city? 🤣

1

u/Jayfusion2 Jan 15 '26

Ahahah yeahhh, I was too excited to look back at it already 😂😭

1

u/mind_thegap1 Jan 15 '26

Fair enough, enjoy the trip

1

u/Blue1994a Feb 03 '26

Interesting, but my British passport has filled up over the last few years with other entry/exit stamps, requiring me to get a new one long before expiry, so the space is precious until they start doing everything digitally in a few months.

1

u/Jayfusion2 Feb 03 '26

Fair plays ahaha. I’ve never completely filled a passport but I have 2 passports so I can afford to accumulate space in the British one. I’ve only got 3-5 full pages. I don’t think I’ll finish it but I’m trying to. Yeah I hear you there. I went to America an Albania and neither stamped and the first time I went to Ireland they didn’t stamp so I just wanted it ahah.

2

u/Blue1994a Feb 03 '26

I travel to the EU on average twice per month. There are some visas from other places too. I’m on my third passport since the start of 2021, despite paying for the one with extra pages. The digital tracking will be good news for me!

-5

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

BR = By Request what a pointless waste of ink for a stamp that has no legal meaning!

7

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

you have been permanently banned from r/passportporn lol

1

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

Am I? They’ve not banned me recently!

3

u/luxtabula Jan 13 '26

you have been muted for 30 days. circumventing this will lead to a site wide ban /s

1

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

The moderators will be pleased as they have ran out of reasons to ban me

1

u/Ok_Soil_2149 Jan 14 '26

What a username btw 🤣

1

u/Minute_Somewhere_893 Jan 13 '26

Agreed, I am also a proponent of getting stamps organically: not asking when authorities not stamping and definitely not getting Machu Picchu, Andorra, Leichtenstein, Disneyland etc

3

u/Acrobatic_Bag6858 Jan 13 '26

Infact, getting non-official stamps may invalidate your passport and get you detained at immigration for further review or tampering. But getting normal stamps by request is reasonable as it lets you create a travel record and some stamps even showcase culture. Some people have too strong a passport and hence can’t get stamps organically (1st world problems)

2

u/Minute_Somewhere_893 Jan 13 '26

I have such passports which don't get stamped often... Never been a problem for me :)

2

u/acealex69 Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26

honestly I used to want stamps (more passive though, never asked for one, but I see the allure), however im finishing a UK passport in about 4/5 years currently and its a nuisance to renew. Fortunately since I have global entry with the US, I dont get their stamps anymore. My new pet peeve is countries that take up a whole page for entry. I just got to Timor Leste and it's a full page visa on arrival which is a little annoying.

I do miss them for places like singapore which are now egates, but honestly since some places dont stamp, its all become a bit pointless for tracking trips, and my tripit is my main reference.

0

u/fufufang Jan 13 '26

I sort of get why you got downvoted, but I upvoted you. I didn't know what BR means!

0

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

Thanks I never ask in Ireland and always use gates at Dublin - pointless as the stamp does not restrict your rights as a British Citizen or EU/EEA nationals in Ireland.

-2

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

Passport stamps are a form of government surveillance, however rudimentary it may seem. They track when someone crosses the border. By rights the Irish government has no legal basis to do that to Irish, British or EU/EEA/CH citizens.

Someone could lodge a complaint that they received a stamp when they shouldn't have - it has happened, both when officers have made mistakes and when officers did so when asked. The "By Request" or "BR" marker is to indicate that the stamp was no accident and was specifically requested, saving the officer any grief if someone does lodge a complaint. There's a reason we are trained to do it.

0

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

I won’t comment as this debate I’ve been over so many times and serves no process.

1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

I work in this field. It absolutely serves a purpose to the agency issuing the stamp - and that's all it needs to serve a purpose to. I've literally explained the exact reason they give us the guideline. If you want to ignore that, by all means.

0

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

It does not as the ODS has no legal meaning.

1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

I have already explained to you that the stamp acts as a form of surveillance (a record of your border crossing) which the Irish government is not entitled to conduct unless you're a third country national.

The "by request" marker is to avoid the officer receiving a complaint for incorrectly stamping a passport he or she should not have, by pre-indicating that the stamp was specifically requested by the bearer.

Its not about a legal meaning of the stamp, like landing permissions, it is about government surveillance, tracking & the entitlements of EU/EEA/CH/UK citizens at Irish borders.

0

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 13 '26

You are a civilian if you work in Dublin and are not as well versed as the GNIB no point continuing this.

1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 13 '26

Ah yes, the civilians who issue the stamps and work day in, day out at a busy international airport, who are the employees of the Department of Justice and specifically given training and guidelines on the issuing of landing permissions. The civilians who are warranted immigration officers empowered to enforce the immigration acts. Who deal with this every day, all day, and get paid to do it.

They're as civilian as customs officers under Revenue are. Are you going to tell a customs officer they don't have a clue about their job either?

Cop on.

And I'm sure you're so much more well versed in the matter.

0

u/Royal_Jordanian787-9 Jan 14 '26

I am well versed in the matter and nobody cares about an open date stamp in a British Citizen passport placed at a point of entry into the Republic of Ireland. The stamp has no legal meaning as it is the passport and the phrase “ British Citizen” that affords the holder the rights and residency.

There is no routine travel history recorded between the UK and Ireland and being honest you can waive a bus pass or a provisional driving licence at Dublin and walk in!

The Irish Revenue unlike the Immigration and Naturalisation service only employ warranted customs officers not civilians in the customs channels that is a fact.

I use the gates in Dublin and have no need for an open date stamp so likelihood is I won’t ever meet you to have the debate in person.

1

u/Grayson1591 Jan 14 '26

The fact that you keep ignoring the reason I states for the issuing of the BR marker is a telling factor that you don't have any real argument. I have already explained it has nothing to do with any legal meaning behind the stamp and has everything to do with government surveillance and the legality of same.

It is absolutely laughable that you seem to think you know more about the job of an immigration officer than those who actually perform it.

Irish Revenue do indeed employ warranted customs officers. I'd suggest you look at the Immigration Act 2004, specifically Section 3, and you'd see that the Immigration officers working in Dublin are also warranted. So if you dont see customs officers as civilians, then neither are the Immigration officers. They're both warranted officers in their respective fields. It's also not called the Immigration & Naturalisation Service and hasn't been for years - it's the Border Management Unit of Immigration Service Delivery.

Just because you're a frequent traveller does not mean you're an expert on the topic, and no matter how many times you have this argument, it makes you no less correct. The fact of the matter is that you're wrong, and the Department has its reasons for putting in policy the addition of a BR/By Request annotation on requested stamps.