Can you travel to Ireland with an UK + Schengen Visa (if you are Indian and are travelling from Austria)?

score:9

Accepted answer

Your first link (British Irish Visa Scheme, Ireland), only applies to 'Indian nationals who are living in India at the time of the application' and must be endorsed with ‘BIVS’. The second link (BIVS, UK) also states: 'must apply at a UK/Irish visa application centre in India or China'.

Since your friend lives in Austria, both cases won't apply.

This Short stay visa waiver programme - Immigration Service Delivery also applies to Indian citizens with a UK short stay visa not endorsed with ‘BIVS’.

Unfortunately this page does not contain the clear statement that the BIVS page has:

you may be permitted to travel directly to Ireland from a 3rd country without arriving into the UK again.

The question also arises whether the airlines are aware of this special rule when entering the Common Travel Area (CTA) in Ireland.

If you enter the CTA though the UK (i.e. changing planes in the UK), you will recieve a new leave to enter that will also be valid for Ireland.

You may enter (without travelling through the UK) and stay in Ireland if your friends previous leave to enter from the UK has not expired.

Check the UK entry stamp and the amount of days granted.

Sample: 2022-06-01 + 180 days = 2022-11-28 (last day allowed to stay in Ireland, but no more than 90 days alltogeather).

Upvote:7

Timatic, the database used by airlines to check for documentation requirements says:

Travelling to Ireland

Passport

Passport required.

Document Validity:

Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be valid for the period of intended stay.

(…)

Visa

Visa required.

Visa Exemptions:

Nationals of India with a short stay visa issued by the United Kingdom if they have first entered the United Kingdom and been granted a stay of 180 days in the United Kingdom. They are visa exempt for a maximum stay of 90 days in Ireland (Rep.) or until the end of the period of stay granted in the United Kingdom, whichever is shorter. Information: Passengers arriving in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, and traveling to Ireland (Rep.), the visa waiver programme will apply and only a visa issued by the United Kingdom will be required. The visit to Ireland (Rep.) must be within the stay granted within the United Kingdom.

Passengers are permitted to travel to a third country before traveling to Ireland (Rep.) if the visa issued by United Kingdom is still valid. Furthermore, re-entry into Ireland (Rep.) from a third country is permitted if the visa issued by the United Kingdom is still valid and period of the stay granted in the United Kingdom is still valid. Passengers with a long term visa must visit Ireland (Rep.) within a period of the current stay granted in the United Kingdom.

Passengers arriving first in Ireland (Rep.) and traveling to the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, and then returning to Ireland (Rep.) will require separate visas issued by Ireland (Rep.) and the United Kingdom. However the visa issued by the United Kingdom will be accepted under the visa waiver programme for the return journey to Ireland (Rep.).

Information: Not applicable to short stay visas issued for the purpose of transit, marriage or to enter into a civil partnership.

Nationals of India with a short stay visa endorsed "BIVS" issued by the United Kingdom. Passengers must have first entered the United Kingdom and they are visa exempt for a maximum stay of 90 days or until the end of the period of stay granted in the United Kingdom, whichever is shorter. Information: Passengers who first arrive in the United Kingdom (UK), including Northern Ireland with a BIVS visa issued by the United Kingdom are permitted to:

  • travel to a third country, before traveling to Ireland (Rep.) if the visa is still valid; or
  • re-enter Ireland (Rep.) from a third country if the UK visa and period of the stay granted in the UK are still valid. Passengers with long term visas, with the endors*m*nt "BIVS", must visit Ireland (Rep.) within a current period of stay granted in the UK.

(Emphasis mine)

So yes, they can visit Ireland within 180 days of their entry into the UK, for a maximum of 90 days.

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