andycoppock

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone knows whether we'd need a uk passport for our daughter to travel with us to Dublin from Holyhead via ferry?
She's just turned 1 and doesn't have one yet.
Thanks
Andy

NorQuin

Hi Andy
UK citizens do not need passports to visit the Republic of Ireland.

Mike.

Horus

When I moved over I came on the ferry from Holyhead. Drove on and off without showing my passport at either end.

With the open borders policy I think you only need them if you're flying

NorQuin

Yep..........we come twice a year every year, since last 13yrs, never needed them yet.!!!!..................don't know about flying....can't fly

Mike.

Mitzyboy

None the less, you should carry a passport when you visit Dublin as it is theoretically possible that you could be stopped and asked for it.

Ive driven to Paris and back without a passport but it doesnt mean that I shouldnt have had it with me

NorQuin

Correct Mitzyboy.................we always carry them.!!!!!

Mike.

andycoppock

Thanks everyone, i'll probably take her birth certificate to be sure!
Thanks
Andy

jdr

I would get a passport for her, unfortunately in this day and age of children being smuggled out of countries, you could have a problem proving who she is and a birth certificate would be no help if you were pulled at a border.

Horus

I live here - I don't...do you think I should?

JAJ

Have you ever heard (verifiably) of that happening between the UK and Republic of Ireland, or is it simply speculation?

(of course a passport is advisable but there may not be time to get one).

jdr

Not that border, but others and the way things are at the moment i would rather have passports or ID cards to travel.
Don`t they also advise a letter of confirmation to travel from the other parent if the child is only traveling with one parent ?

LivingHere

I had this problem last year and contacted the ferry company. They said I didn't need a passport for the children but the adults needed photo id. Although it was never checked.

JAJ

Who's "they"?

Most of these stories come from either Canada or some Latin nations (Brazil/Portugal, etc).

There is no United Kingdom law mandating this. It is acceptable for sole parents to take children on vacation for less than a month without needing permission.

Mitzyboy

I live in Spain and I've only ever been asked by tax office and once by the Police. But I am aware that it is a requirement that I carry an official form of identity at all times, and the British Consul here tells me thats a valid passport.

jdr

There is probably no law mandating this as you say, just common sense really with all the child abduction that happens now and a border is an easy place to crack down on it.
We used to travel to France a lot with our children and their friends back in the 70`s, this always worried me in case we were refused permission to take them through the border.
I contacted the embassy and they advised to take a letter of permission from the parents and some contact numbers if possible.

Like you I googled to see if any info was available on the issue, but like you say it was mostly the Canadian borders that showed up, this is an advice snippet from one of the links about international travel with only one parent.

"If you are crossing an international border with a child under 18, traveling without one parent (or both parents if you are a grandparent or other guardian/chaperone), and traveling without custody papers, you could have problems. Border officials the world over are paying close attention to one-parent families in an attempt to block runaways, of course, but also to stop abductions in child-custody disputes."