Hello!
We will be flying from Dublin to London Heathrow later this month. The challenge is trying to time our arrival factoring in immigration control. I have read some online message boards stating the terminal 1 can be lax and that sometimes there is no passport check. I wouldn't think there is any way this is true...can anyone share a recent experience with this?
Thanks,
Sharon
There is no immigration control between the RoI and the UK.
Flights from other nations also use the terminal. Those passengers pass through immigration.
Thanks for the information Ed. I knew that there was a travel zone agreement with the UK, ROI and Isle of Man (I think?), but I was not sure if that would be applicable to someone traveling on a passport from a country outside of their agreement.
I was not looking forward to dealing with 2 immigration officers in the span of 2 days, so this is welcomed news.
Sharon
There never is any routine passport check - and there is nothing 'lax' about it - it is the long standing policy of HMG not to check anyone arriving from elsewhere in the CTA. The relevant Immigration rule is paragraph 15, and since it seems to come up a lot recently I quote in full:
United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland collectively form a common travel area. A person who has been examined for the purpose of immigration control at the point at which he entered the area does not normally require leave to enter any other part of it. However certain persons subject to the Immigration (Control of Entry through the Republic of Ireland) Order 1972 (as amended) who enter the United Kingdom through the Republic of Ireland do require leave to enter. This includes:
those who merely passed through the Republic of Ireland;
persons requiring visas;
persons who entered the Republic of Ireland unlawfully;
persons who are subject to directions given by the Secretary of State for their exclusion from the United Kingdom on the ground that their exclusion is conducive to the public good;
persons who entered the Republic from the United Kingdom and Islands after entering there unlawfully or overstaying their leave.
Note that the Irish government does take the position that the CTA only applies to British and Irish passport holders though.
Thanks, Marco! I did try to find that info, and thought that it would be a bit easier for me as I am a paralegal and am used reading legal code. I was not counting on how complicated and nuanced immigration code would be as I work in labor and employment law. That said, I appreciate that you provided the relevant section.
Sharon
