Immigration checks at Dublin airport

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<hr>It cannot operate as a mini Schengen zone, because that would require Ireland to recognize UK visas and immigration law, which would be unconstitutional.<hr></blockquote>

Interesting point. But when I first looked into this (1997) Eire and the UK had a common visa: a visa for the Irish Republic permitted entry to the UK and vice versa, and in many countries without an Irish Embassy, prospective visitors were referred to the British embassy to get their visas to visit Eire.

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<hr>Does the non passport photo id actually say your friend is a British citizen though? Sorry, sounds obvious but i did wonder...<hr></blockquote>

Not obvious, but no, it does not say that and the person is NOT a British citizen. One option is to follow the advice of the airline, who have clearly stated that the ID in question is all that is required (and so would presumably be liable for any unfortunate consequences). Another is to use my own knowledge of the law, which in this case is clearly superior to that of the airline.

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<hr>a visa for the Irish Republic permitted entry to the UK and vice versa<hr></blockquote>
Don't think so - visa policy is one reason why the Common Travel Zone cannot be treated like Schengen. If you are a non-EEA person then when travelling between UK & Ireland you are supposed to find an Immigration person to do the immigrating for you

Passport-free travel between UK and Ireland (Common Travel Area) officially only extended to Irish citizens and British citizens born in UK until 1999. Since then, a new law in Ireland called Aliens (Exemption) Order 1999 (Ireland) has exempted all British citizens regardless of how their nationality was obtained. Anyone else needs a passport or official ID (e.g. from EU/EEA countries). Now whether your documents are checked and what form of ID is acceptable when travelling to Dublin (by air, sea or land via Northern Ireland) seem to differ considerably, depending on circumstances, who you are or what you look like or if anyone is there to check anything (at land border, at some ferry terminals). At Dublin Airport, when you get to passport control booths, it's normally acceptable just to show your boarding pass from UK to be waved through, but if they suspect you may not be British or Irish, they can demand to see your passport. While there are usually no document checks as such when arriving on a ferry, I have, on ocassions, seen Immigration Garda officers moving among cars asking for nationality of drivers and passengers, and those who declare themselves not Irish or British are asked to wait until their documents are checked. On land border, again there are normally no checks but sometimes Garda officers board a bus and ask to see documents from selected passengers. Checks by British security forces - much reduced - are now very rare, except perhaps near their barracks.

Mostly people just sail through, but I have seen people of non-European appearance called to one side and asked for identification at both Dublin and Cork airports.

#10 I'm fairly sure there is no such thing as a common UK/Irish visa - in some cases the British embassy will 'represent' the Irish embassy in countries without an Irish embassy or consulate as a courtesy, but this is not the same thing as a joint visa. I've known at least one case of a South African (white) person who was stopped at Heathrow Airport with a valid Irish visa on a through-flight from J'Burg to Dublin. They refused to let him fly on presumably on the basis that he would try to re-enter the UK from Ireland. His brother (who was working in Dublin in my office) had to fly to Heathrow to persuade them to release him.

It may be true that you don't 'need' a passport to cross between Britain and Ireland but the immigration authorities are perfectly entitled to refuse someone entry if they are not satisfied the person is an EU Citizen. It happens all the time. So it would be sensible for the OP's friend to bring as much information as possible, including things like proof of employment, etc.

I came through Dublin Airport from Manchester on Thursday evening. As my arm was in a sling (long story...), I was having trouble finding my ID in my back pack, so I thought I would just waltz through the Immigration booth. No such luck.... I was (rightly) pulled aside, and made locate my driving licence. So moral of the story - even a pale faced injured Paddy, has to have valid ID to enter the country.

Definitely no such thing as a common visa for Ireland and the UK (please, please will people stop using that condescending Eire!). There may have been an arrangement a long time ago when UK embassies would recognise certain Irish interests but I can assure you that it no longer operates in such a manner.

Ireland has either resident or non-resident missions accredited to virtually every country in the world. When you go to the Department of Foreign Affairs website, you can find out which mission you should apply to, depending on where you live. In the unlikely event that your country isn't mentioned, you can apply directly to Dublin.

In an emergency, an EU citizen travelling anywhere in the world can seek the assistance of any EU embassy if his own country is not represented locally. Obviously, that embassy or consulate, in consultation with the person's own country, can act to help the beleaguered citizen out as best they see fit. This does not mean that you can use the embassy or another EU state, such as the UK, for a routine visa application for Ireland.

With regard to the original question in this thread. As has already been pointed out, the Common Travel Area is a bit of a mess. It applies to Irish and British citizens but we can all see the room for flaws where a person's appearance gives rise to doubts. The best advice, as given by many, is to bring your passport if at all possible and just swallow your pride and sense of injustice if you're asked to prove who you are. Dublin Airport was simply not designed for today's more complex Ireland. Then again, it's hard to know what exactly it was ever designed for.:)

i appears to me that the person in question does not hold a british passport... the question he appears to be asking is if say he had a british d/licence would this suffice? doesn't your place of birth appear on a d/licence...??? thus throwing your nationality into question??? if you are indeed not british and hold a non eea passport and require a visa, then fork out for one or is there another motive?

above post #17 should read in the third party, not suggesting that you are the person for which the question is asked OP.... if passport is not available surley the person has a photocopy of it????? (doesn't everyone?)... if this was produced along with i'd i'm sure the person would have no problem??

They now are demanding id from UK flights. You must have ID, does not have to be a passport if you meet certain criteria, but you muct have some sort of ID.

Are you British or Irish?
Were you born on the islands of GB, Ireland, IOM or Channel Islands?

If you answer no to any of the above questions, you need a passport (or National ID if you are EU).
If you answer yes to both, photo ID will do.