Husband has Irish Passport - Wife Doesnt.
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Feb 6, 2013 1:56 AM Last Post By: RayCCroc
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Husband has Irish Passport - Wife Doesnt.
Hi, We are travelling from Australia to a few places in Europe this year. I will have my Irish passport and my Australian passport, but my wife will only have her Australian one. Is it worth me even taking my Irish passport? Ie. I will get through the airport queues quicker (potentially), but my wife will have to queue up with everyone else? Or could she come through with me? Anyone had experience with this or any tips? Cheers1
As you have dual nationality I think you are supposed to travel with both passports - this is definitely true for me with dual British/UK. I'm currently living in the UK and have to leave the UK on my British one and arrive in Oz on my Australian one, and vice versa. It may be the same for Ireland too. And, yes, your wfie can go through with you - my husband who doesn't have an Australian passport always goes through with me, in fact you have the choice but border controls prefer people travelling in the same party to go through together.2
This is not the information that I have heard. UK man with small baby, the baby was on a non EU passport, was told that he couldn't go through the EU passport control as the baby was a non EU citizen. He was told both of them should go through the non EU passport control.Perhaps they only get pissy with UK passport holders.
3
Alex I fly regularly between the UK and Australia and my husband, step children and I can always choose which immigration line, and have done for the lasr five years or so. This debate has come up several times on TT, but of course, we cannot search for previous posts any more!4
It happened to my wife who is not an EU passport holder and my kids who are UK passport holders. She went through the EU passport holders queue. She was allowed through but told not to do it again. Not sure what that means.I am not sure whether small children who are UK passport holders are expected to go through the EU control on their own or go through the non EU with their mum.
Seems a bit off if Immigration are allowing Australian spouses to go through EU control with their partner so they can jump the queue but then force small British children to go through the non EU passport control with their non EU parent.
But then these people are complete humourless arse holes.
5
Agree, but you don't always jump the queue, well at least at the other end in my case, as coming home, we obviously all go through EU... in Oz, we choose the shortest queue, which is not always Australian passport holders. Border control, as we all know, is a complete joke here! Maybe Ireland is better?6
I am not suggesting you are jumping the queue. It is natural to stay with a partnet but the UK boarder control get pissy about non EU parents going through EU passport control with small children. Or visa versa UK parent with non EU child but Immigration seem to get very pissy with UK nationals and other EU passport holders and Australian don't seem to get the same treatment.In early Jan 2005 I was travelling with my two kids on temporary passports issued by the British Embassy in Bangkok. So the British Embassy were totally staified that the passports were lost, that my kids were UK passport holders and issued temporary passports.
The Immigration officer at Heathrow was then questioning why the kids were on temporary passports. Not sure what he was going to do, not let them enter the country. So when he asked where the passports were I just said there was this fucking great tidal wave. He shut up after that.
7
You should take both passports as part of full disclosure if anyone asks. I've only encountered the situation twice, going into Oz and going into UK and in the UK case joined the non-EU queue with the non-EU passport person.I actually find border control in Oz to be quite good although for the most part I am in and out through Tulla. There's a queue but it never seems to be more than 15 mins or so and it takes that long for the bags to get through anyway. And I like the customs people. They can take their cute little beagles to work!
9
The EU line is for EU citizens/passport holders.Bring both your passports and use the non-EU line with your wife. Use your Irish one and her Oz one - present yourselves together at immigration. Don't bring her into the EU line as she is not eligible to use it. It takes longer to process non-EU citizens, so by using the EU line, you slow everything up for the EU citizens. Immigration is slow enough without people deliberately being in the wrong lines.
I flew into Paris a few years ago...immigration was a completel mess. A Korean tour leader decided to take her massive group into the EU line and the immigration people didn't give a hoot. Took nearly an hour to get through (longer than the flight) just because people didn't/couldn't read the signs.
Can she not apply for an Irish passport via you?
10
I think it might help if you say where in Europe you are planning to go.11
Apparently since 2006 she can no longer apply for an Irish passport through a spouse, unless we live together in Ireland for at least 3 years!We will be going into Paris, London, Ireland, Spain, Greece.
Not a big deal.. I suppose I could wait in the queues with her.. but basically wondering if anyone has had any experience/tips if travelling as a couple/family with different passports.. I think I'll give it a shot and go to the EU citizens queue first and see if we can make it through
12
I suppose I could wait in the queues with her
Alternatively, she could wait with you. I'm an Australian passport holder married to a UK citizen and generally I've found they're reasonable at most EU airports and entry points. Not always though.However, the difference in the length/time of the Border Control/Immigration queues is seldom worth worrying about except at big hub airports like Heathrow.
At smaller provincial airports, I often get through faster than the EU queue because there's a lot more of them. LHR T5 is a bit of a tooth-grinder though.
