Travelling to UK with nephew - passport won’t ready on time

I have regularly travelled between Dublin & London Stansted & Shannon & Stansted with Ryanair and also Dublin and London City Airport ( with Aer Lingus, City Jet & currently British Airways) over many years and have never been required to present a passport or any form of I.D at on arrival at either of these airports.

The reason being the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement between Britain & Ireland which means there are no routine passport controls in operation for Irish and UK citizens travelling between the 2 countries. These agreement is still in place despite Brexit. Here is some information from Citizens Information:-

Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK (citizensinformation.ie)

So once you get off the plane in London & go inside the terminal you just walk out into the arrivals hall. I don't know about Heathrow, but that is 100 % the case at London Stansted & London city airport. There is no border security at all for arrivals from the Irish Republic. It is treated as a domestic flight because of the Common Travel Area agreement and there is a specific channel for arrivals from Ireland & Channel islands. You do have to walk through customs but that is not the same as passport control.

The main issue you may face is the policy of the airline and what I.D. they require. So you don't need to present documentation on arrival at London Stansted or London City airport (in my experience). I cannot comment on anywhere else & I have never travelled with children, but you will need to present some I.D. when boarding the plane which is checked by the airline staff.

Sounds like you may not have booked the flight yet if you have checked with Aer Lingus and are wondering about Ryanair. On Ryanair's website under the Help section - Travelling with children it says the following:-

You can add 4 passenger types to your booking: adults, teenagers, children, and infants.

Adults are over 16 years of age, teens are between 12 and 15 years of age, children are between 2-11 years of age, and infants are those under 2 years of age (as of date of flight departure).

If you have already made your booking and need to change the passenger type please contact us here.

Here is the link below:-

Travelling with Children – Ryanair Help Centre

On British Airways website it says regarding flights between Ireland & Britain:

"If you are a citizen of the UK or Republic of Ireland who was born in that country you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries but you do require some form of photographic identification, such as a driving licence."

"All other travellers require a valid passport to travel between the two countries." Link:

Passports, visas and API | Information | British Airways

I could not find any information regarding photo I.D. for a child on Ryanair's website, so you may need to contact them directly and be specific with which ever Airline you go with as to what their I.d. they will accept / what are their requirements are for I.D. for the child aged 16.

Hope that is of some help.

I just had a look at Aer Lingus website & it says the following in relation to travelling with children:-

"Citizens of Ireland and Britain under the age of 16 don’t need a photo ID if travelling with their parent/guardian."

Link to this on Aer Lingus:-

Travel to/from Britain - Aer Lingus

Irish Ferries also confirm that photo I.D. is not necessary for under 18's. Here is what they say;

Ireland / Britain routes - Passports and Identification:

"Useful means of identification when travelling on these routes include:

• Birth certificates (for under 18’s with no photo ID)

Here is the Link:-

Passport & ID FAQs | Irish Ferries

They also say they will accept a bus or train pass or student I.D. I checked with a friend & he told me he used his bus pass for I.D. to fly from Dublin to London once.

Stena Line ferries say the same:

 "A birth certificate will provide adequate proof of identity for children (17 years and under with no photographic identification) to travel on our sailings"

Link:-

What identification documents do I need to travel? | FAQs | Stena Line

So, overall it seems Aer Lingus will accept just a birth cert as a form of I.D. Same with the ferries. If the child has any photo I.D. from his school / student I.D. etc or a bus pass or train pass would also be accepted. But, seems its not necessary. Looks like you could get away with just birth cert. (Whoever you decide to travel with , I would print out the section from their websites they says O.K. to travel with birth certs for child as I.D. and bring that with you when you travel. You could also get them to confirm that on an email and bring it with you when travelling (Belt & Braces).

I think Ryanair may be more strict about their I.D requirements. They don't seem to confirm birth certs only are Ok on their website.

Let us know how you get on?

There are no routine passport controls in operation for Irish and UK citizens travelling between the 2 countries. The airlines & ferry companies and authorities will accept other forms of I.D. with photos. e.g. Driving licences, Social Security / Social Welfare cards, Employment I.D. Government issued I.D. cards etc. In order to obtain such cards you would have to divulge some information about yourself such as your PPS number or social security number (UK), proof of residence etc. This seems to suffice. A passport is the best form of I.D. to prove citizenship, but in the absence of that a birth certificate or proof of Parents citizenship also seems acceptable. Though an adult wont be permitted to travel with just a birth cert, looks like only a child can. But if an adult has other forms of photo I.D. it is adequate for common travel area between Britain & Ireland.

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We know that there’s No passport control. It’s getting on the plane you need to worry about.

Aer Lingus say you don’t need any .

https://www.aerlingus.com/prepare/passports-and-visas/travel-to-from-britain/

“Citizens of Ireland and Britain under the age of 16 don’t need a photo ID if travelling with their parent/guardian”

Ryanair say:

https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/useful-info/help-centre/terms-and-conditions/termsandconditionsar_368204930

Aged under 16 and travelling with an adult aged 16 or over

• No photo ID is needed

Hello

For what it's worth. My recent experience of Heathrow.

I recently travelled with Aer Lingus from London Heathrow to Shannon earlier this month on 8th March on a one way ticket. The flight departed from Heathrow Terminal 2.

I had checked in for the flight on-line. I am sure I was not required to type in my passport number / details when checking in on-line. When checked in I printed out my boarding pass.

On arrival at Heathrow the boarding pass was needed to scan into the security bag check area. No other documents checked. So far nothing unusual there.

When I went to the departure gate to board the plane there was no checking of documents or passports by the Aer Lingus airline staff. They were using what I would describe as an automated turnstile. Again, like at security each passenger just placed their boarding card on the top of the turnstile. It read the barcode on the boarding pass and it opened to walk through to board the airplane. No interaction with Airline staff whatsoever. There was someone there if anyone needed help. I have not seen that method of boarding at a departure gate anywhere before. There were about 4 turnstiles at the departure gate.

So, maybe that system at Heathrow would help simplify your return flight to Ireland. But, departing from Ireland may be a different matter, more likely for docs to be checked by staff.

I would check with the airline regarding on-line check in before you book.. If your planning to do that. I know Ryanair ask for passport details, passport number etc when checking in on-line. But I think Aer Lingus just required the booking reference number. Might prevent any further complications as your nephew is without a passport.

Also, Terminal 2 at Heathrow is on two floors, once you go through security you are on the upper floor. Even though it was early March when I travelled I found there to be a shortage of seating while waiting for my departure gate to show on the board. It was quite busy. There is more seating / waiting areas & shops downstairs on the lower floor and all departure gates are on the lower floor also. Just a tip!

Hope it all works out.

May the force be with you...

+100%. The biggest issue here in travelling with a young child when you are not the child's parent. You need to have letters from parents saying it is ok for you to take the child out of the country. Make sure there is a contact number on the letter for verification. I would go as far as having the Gardai witness this letter.

Even if the child had their own passport you would still need authorisation from parents. I hope it goes well for you, its a lovely gesture! Enjoy when you get there :-)

I sure hope you meant trafficking 'excepted' not accepted.