Originally Posted by aristoph
That is odd. I had always thought that the UK and Ireland was like a mini-Schengen zone. In other words, if you have the right to be in the UK (which immigration must assume if you arrive from the UK) then you have the right to enter Ireland without any formal immigration requirements. That should apply not just to British citizens but to anyone already inside the "zone". Looks like I was wrong.
(Either that or it was the same sh***y Irish immigration officer I met!)
Generally correct, though there is confusion as the Common Travel Area is not comprehensively documented anywhere! One key difference from Schengen is that the UK and Ireland still issue their own separate visas. If you need a visa to enter Ireland then you still need one even if you are travelling there from the UK and have leave to remain in the UK. With Schengen, on the other hand, a visa issued by one Schengen country will be accepted by all.
See
http://oasis.gov.ie/moving_country/m...nd_the_UK.html for the Irish view