We are from the US and visiting London, Dublin, and Bath. We are flying from Gatwick to Dublin and then from Dublin to Bristol. Does anyone know how customs works if we are flying between Gatwick and Dublin? Do we still have to go through it once we land in Dublin? I assume so, but I'm finding it hard to get any info on it. Also, while I'm at it, what about when we land in Bristol? Will we have to go through customs there?
Thanks
Christine, you don't go through customs, customs is for your luggage. There is no customs between Ireland and the UK, because both are in the EU.
What takes time is immigration (passport control). This will take place when you land after both flights (at Dublin and Bristol). Expect anything from 5 to 45 minutes for non-EU passport holders (which I assume you are).
I have had varied experiences. First neither are part of the Schengen Agreement, so each country technically handles it's own Border Controls. The UK and Ireland do however have an agreement commonly called the Common Travel Area (CTA) in which many border checks between them were eliminated. That said, on a trip in the early 2000's (2004 I believe) I did have an immigration check when arriving by air at the Dublin airport from Leeds Airport, and given a month or so stay in my passport (US Citizen, told them I would be there for a week). I do not believe that I had any immigration on return to Leeds though, can't recall. I was flying on RyanAir, heard later that the check was something prompted by them, not sure if that is true, but the guy stamping my passport was Border Control, not an airline employee. It may have been the terminal we arrived in as well, they may have used the international gates as opposed to domestic for convenience. There were changes to the agreement since then (2008 and 2011) so my experience may just be due to the time period.
I believe that the CTA also primarily pertains to UK and Irish citizens, not necessarily foreign travelers, so the UK people on here likely will say no border controls, North Americans may have other experiences.
For Americans, here's how it works:
Arriving in Dublin you will go through Passport Control.
Arriving in Bristol, you will not.
I have flown into both Dublin and Shannon from the UK last year and had to go through Passport Control in both.
I have flown from DUB to numerous UK airports and never went through Passport Control. And that was as recent as last year.
Thank you so much Frank. I got that same answer from a friend who just recently visited.
