Passport Control: EU citizen with Non EU National

[keloid]

No. No airline flying between Ireland and Britain makes online check-in mandatory. The UKBA does not habitually place control on flights arriving in Britain from Ireland, regardless of the nationality of any if the passengers on a flight.

Thanks for this Ben.

Do you therefore recommend those travelling to the UK on a GNIB card to check-in online or to check in at kiosk? By which method did you have success yourself?

Secondly, we all know that the requirement for a EU FP is an illegal one by the UKBA, but should one travel on solely on a GNIB card and be stopped by UKBA upon arrival in UK, what would be the best way to approach the situation?

Thanks once again.

[Ben]

I couldn't recommend either check-in method, for travel from Ireland to Britain "on a GNIB card", as you state, because a GNIB card is not a travel document and the holder of this card is not entitled to enter the UK without being in possession of a valid passport.

If the person, however, is also in possession of a valid passport and if the person is entitled to enter the UK without a valid entry visa due to provisions under EC law, then the most "fuss-free" method of checking-in, as it were, is, in my opinion, to use the airport self-service machines offered by Aer Lingus (so you have to fly with Aer Lingus).

Upon arrival in the UK, if, in the unlikely event of a non-routine spot check, the person is met by a UKBA officer and questioned as to why he is not in possession of a valid entry visa, the person is required, under EC law, to demonstrate to the UKBA officer that he is not required to be in possession of a valid entry visa due to provisions under EC law.