Originally Posted by
mtkeller
Oh, good grief, that's even worse. My one trip to ROI was a flight from LHR to BFS and then a group coach down to Dublin. I then flew from DUB back to LHR, where it was as if I'd flown down from EDI. I had imagined that the reverse was also true.
You would think so but indeed, at DUB, everyone goes through passport control (an issue many BA forum regulars are painfully aware of as it makes back to back connections at DUB much harder than many would think!!) However, while the "old" DUB-LHR arrived as domestic, now DUB-LHR typically arrive at gate A23 at the very end of the A gates where someone normally has a look at your passport and should then direct you as domestic or passport control depending on your passport type for the reasons that you very rightly point out below!:
Originally Posted by
mtkeller
(The lack of common visa/immigration regime raises an interesting problem in some cases, as if you have a UK work or student visa, it is imperative that you do not enter the CTA via an airport in the ROI. They won't stamp your visa for your official first entry, and then good luck finding a way to get it stamped upon arrival in the UK.)
And yes, as you point out, it makes the situation even worse when it comes to comparing the merits of an LHR transit vs direct flight (or even connection anywhere else which would at least not impose a double passport check!)