Travellingmomma3

I am a Canadain citizen married to a British citizen....I have maxed out my allowable days in the UK.

Does anyone know if I can enter the UK via Ireland and not go thru UK immigration?

UKtravelbear

I would advise you NOT to do anything like this.

If you are discovered to be in the UK without a valid visa / leave to remain etc it will not bode well for future applications.

alanR

UK & Irish immigration systems are linked, so it's unlikely you'd be successful. You'd also need to enter the UK formally as the Common Travel Area applies to British & Irish citizens ONLY (i.e. you'd be an illegal immigrant if you entered the UK)

Your spouse is also going to be in trouble as it's going to be very hard for them to argue that they didn't know.

Don't do visa runs as pretty soon you'll be denied entry - doubly so if they find out about your British spouse.

Do it properly and get the correct visa before you get banned from the UK for several years.

Aviatrix

Foreign nationals DO need to be in possession of their passport (or national ID card where applicable) to travel between the UK and Ireland. However, with one exception - arriving by air into DUB - there are no routine checks and neither is there a requirement for foreign nationals to make any special arrangements to see an Immigration Officer. Travelling between the two countries is like travelling between Schengen countries.

Why should the spouse be in trouble? Would my spouse be in trouble if I was caught shoplifting? I didn't think we had Sippenhaft in the UK...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sippenhaft

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What I don't understand is this...:

I didn't think there was a maximum for non-visa nationals (i.e., no Schengen-style "90 days out of 180" rule). It's six months at a time, and you can be denied entry if they suspect that you are living in the UK illegally (i.e., just leaving for a day every six months), but as far as I'm aware there is no formal upper limit.

jedikiah

There is no formal stated upper limit, but flags may be raised on entry if there is a suspicion that a person is attempting to live for prolonged periods in the UK without appropriate clearances by taking advantage of sequences of 6 month entry as a tourist.

The old rule of thumb was 6 months in any 12, but this no longer appears in the published guidance at any rate.

UKtravelbear

Aviatrix - maybe the 'allowable days' is down to UK tax rules rather than immigration - in the country for more than X days they become liable for UK Income Taxes?

As to the spouse getting into trouble yes they could as they would knowingly be abetting someone to breach immigration laws. It would not be simply because they were family but because they took an active decision to allow the OP to break the law.

alanR

They would know that OP intended to enter the UK illegally or was in the UK illegally.

Aviatrix

This would assume having an income. If someone has stayed in the UK six months then where would that income be coming from?

We shouldn't really be speculating... but it did occur to me that maybe this person is a victim of the new UK immigration rules which basically make it impossible for UK citizens to bring in a non-EU spouse unless they are earning megabucks. If the OP's spouse is earning below the limit then there is no way for the OP to settle in the UK legally. (Well, there is a way - but it requires them to go and live somewhere else in the EU for a while first)

antichef

You can drive to the UK from the Republic of Ireland, or take the train, and there are no border checks at all as the border with Northern Ireland is completely open. Nobody will even know you are in the UK and there are no records of your entry or exit. If your spouse wants to travel within the UK to meet you then there will be no way that anybody even knows you have met. To be in the RofI you have to be in the Common Travel Area anyway.

If you leave Northern Ireland and travel within the rest of the UK there will possibly be checks as you have to make bookings for the ferry or flight and occasionally the Border Force will meet ferries or flights.

stifle

The answer to your question is yes it is absolutely possible to do this. The consequences are a completely separate story and may include deportation, difficulty obtaining leave to remain in the future, etc.