The United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands maintain a common travel area, somewhat akin to the Schengen Area on continental Europe. Broadly speaking. Crossing the borders is very simple compared with most other international borders.
Ireland and the United Kingdom have been separate countries for many decades. but for the most part both have found it beneficial to maintain relatively open borders. However, because of the way it has developed over the years, the Common Travel Area arrangment is not as formalised as other similar arrangments (such as the Schengen Area), and so the exact rules can be quite complex for some third country nationals.
Nationals of a "Common Travel Area" country can travel to any of the others without a passport but can be asked to provide identity documents.
Citizens of the European Economic Area have the right to travel between the two countries and they require a national ID card or a passport.
Visitors from other countries that do not require a visa and have been checked through immigration in one part of the area (e.g. England) would not normally have to go through immigration procedures when continuing a journey to another part of the Area (e.g. Ireland) but must carry a valid passport.
Visitors from a country needing a Visa to enter one Common Travel Area Country will need to apply for a Visa to enter the other. Whilst both countries have very similar Visa rules, it is important to remember that unlike the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom and Ireland maintain separate Visa systems.
In general, if you have a passport or EU national identification card, you can avoid any hassles by carrying it, and using it for identification. Also check the identification requirements of any airline or ferry you may be taking.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Britain and Ireland
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Britain and Ireland - updated Apr 2024
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Britain and Ireland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
