Some info here please regarding my friends wife just got refused boarding on plane

[7by7]

13 hours ago, bobrussell said:

If Dublin is similar to the UK airports then you have to go through immigration control to join UK bound flights. If you do this then you are not in any form of immigration "no man's land". You have entered the country and have to possess the correct visa to do so if required!

 

 It seems that everyone transiting via Dublin has to pass through Irish immigration; regardless of their next destination!

 

Flight Connections at Dublin Airport

Quote

Dublin Airport is unique amongst the major European hub airports, insofar as it does not have an effective International Transit Zone, save the minor exception of the "200s" gates in T1. All passengers transiting via Dublin are required to pass Irish Immigration before proceeding to their onward flights, even when they have no intention of leaving the airport or visiting Ireland.

 

In which case the appropriate Irish visa will be required.

 

The UK visit visa held by the OP's friend's wife would not have sufficed as to take advantage of the Irish Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme, which is due to finish at the end of October but may be extended, the passenger must be entering the Republic from the UK.

 

As Donutz rightly says, if one assumes the OP's friend is an EEA national but not Irish, the freedom of movement regulations mean that she does not need a visa to enter the RoI, or any other EEA state except that of which her husband is a citizen, provided she can prove she is his wife and she is travelling with or to join her husband. See "Arriving at the border without an entry visa" on this page.

 

It seems that the check in staff of the airline concerned were aware that she needed an Irish visa to transit via Dublin, but not aware of the EEA regulations which means she could have obtained one at Irish immigration.

 

Whether or not that is sufficient grounds for a complaint and compensation claim only the OP's friend and his wife can decide. Whether such a complaint and claim for compensation would result in success, no idea.

 

[dabhand]

That routing - Bkk/Auh/Dub/Gla - seems to be a fairly popular route for passengers flying Etihad from Bkk to Glasgow. It tends to offer cheaper fares than other routes offered by Etihad between the two destinations.  So, I would imagine that the check-in staff at Bkk will have clear instructions as to what is required of anyone handing over a Thai passport.  

 

My son has been  studying at Glasgow for the last 2 years or so. He has used this exact route a number of times and has mentioned that he has seen other Thais changing at Dublin for Glasgow. He is fortunate in having both a Thai and UK passport so has no visa issues. I believe that he goes through passport/customs at Dublin then checks in for his Glasgow flight. The Glasgow end is just a normal domestic arrival.

 

So, likely that the Bkk staff were merely following clear rules when taking the action that meant a denied boarding of the wife of the OP's friend. Given that Etihad would possibly be hit with penalties if passengers arriving in Dublin are denied entry, they are probably not prepared to take a judgement call on whether any paperwork presented by the passenger will be sufficient to pass the EEA regulation option. So they play safe and deny boarding. Just shows the need to check up on all visa issues at all intermediate stops before finalising travel plans.

 

Good luck with any claim - it will be needed!! 

[7by7]

46 minutes ago, dabhand said:

,snip>

, likely that the Bkk staff were merely following clear rules when taking the action that meant a denied boarding of the wife of the OP's friend.

From Etihad's terms and conditions of carriage

Quote

ARTICLE 7 - REFUSAL AND LIMITATION OF CARRIAGE

7.1.2.7 you do not appear to have valid or lawfully acquired travel documents or you appear in our opinion not to meet requisite visa requirements, you seek to enter a country through which you may be in transit for which you do not have valid travel documents (or meet the visa requirements)................

(7by7 emphasis)

Most, probably all, international carriers have a similar, if not identical, condition; because, as you say, if they knowingly carry a passenger who does not have all the necessary entry clearance(s) and so are refused entry by immigration at any stage the carrier could be hit with a large fine (10,000USD per passenger if memory serves) plus the cost of returning said passenger(s) to their departure point.

 

Even were the check in staff were aware of the EEA regulations, they, like Irish immigration, would have required evidence of the relationship. Having the same surname on their passports would not suffice; their marriage certificate should; at least for Irish immigration.

[Donutz]

Dublin's airport seems of a silly and very rare design (no transit zones for most flights, only for some gates). However I do wonder how reaaonable it would be to ask of passenger's to know that for Dublin airport you may have to go through immigration in most cases even when you are transiting through! And inaddition how one could know if popular tools used by airliner staff and passengers do suggest no visa is needed (which ofcourse is perfectly true if you do not pass immigration). Are there any type of warnings that Dublin is an exception?

 

If I was the OPs friend I'd be sure to contact Irish immigration, and ask them if they would be let through with or without being able to show family relationship. And ofcourse telling them the route that was planned, their family relation, nationalities and  which current visa's are/is in her passport (a UK visa).

 

And regardless of what Irish immigration says or the airliner, a clear warning for routes like this would be very welcome -if there is not one now- so that all this is less likely to happen to other's. So I'd certainly adress that to various parties regardless of trying or not trying to get a refund and compensation.

[bobrussell]

The Irish immigration website lists the countries that require transit visas and this does not include Thai passport holders. This would suggest they are not needed if the passenger has an ongoing flight.

Clearly Irish immigration officers have the right to prevent anyone entering should they believe they may breach immigration rules.

I assume they know that Dublin does not have a system where people can remain airside in transit!

The UKVI website show clearly that a transit visa is required for Thai passport holders if they pass through immigration at Heathrow for example. No such indicator on the Irish visa website.

[NanLaew]

This has absolutely nothing to do with Irish Immigration rules or airline procedures.

 

The international airport at Dublin does not have air-side transit. It physically does not exist. All arriving international passengers are required to pass through Immigration regardless if they are transiting or not. Denying boarding was right otherwise the Thai passenger in question would have been denied entry (and transit) in Dublin and flown back to Bangkok at airline expense.

 

Unless the ticket was bought direct from the airline, I doubt there will be any recourse for monetary compensation although depending on their policy, they may offer some form of non-financial compensation such as baggage allowance waiver, lounge pass or a slight discount on any future travel booking.

 

It is not an unusual aspect of a smaller international airport. When my Thai wife and our son transited through CPH to the UK, there was an air-side transit area but the best airport facilities, including a kids play area were land-side, beyond Immigration. We left Mrs NL at the solitary 7-eleven air-side while we popped through Immigration and had something to eat and the lad played in the play pen. We never checked if she could pass through Immigration on the return flight via Kastrup as the layover was shorter but would assume that since there was an airside transit provision, she would have needed a Schengen visa to do that.

[bobrussell]

I am not going to argue the point as I have never been through an Irish airport however:

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Transit visas

Thailand is not on the list requiring a transit visa.

 

It may be the website is poorly worded but I have to say I would not have applied for a transit visa and might have been refused boarding under similar circumstances.

 

[7by7]

When I first looked into it, Bob, and found that page I thought the same as you.

 

But further digging showed that, although it doesn't say as much on the INIS site, as most passengers transiting via Dublin do not remain airside but have to pass though Irish immigration and actually enter the Republic they need the appropriate entry clearance to so do.

 

This is the advice given on many travel advice sites; including the one I linked to earlier.

 

Remember that the INIS site, on which I found even less easy to find what I was looking for than the UKVI one, only gives the general requirements for all ports of entry; it is not specific to any one port such as Dublin.

 

On ‎29‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 7:13 AM, Donutz said:

<snip>

And regardless of what Irish immigration says or the airliner, a clear warning for routes like this would be very welcome -if there is not one now- so that all this is less likely to happen to other's. So I'd certainly adress that to various parties regardless of trying or not trying to get a refund and compensation.

 

I agree that passengers transiting via Dublin should be warned that they will actually be entering the RoI in order to do so and will need the appropriate entry clearance; but I fear that both the INIS and the airlines will say that it is the passenger's responsiobility to ensure they know what entry clearance they require, if any.

[sanemax]

On 9/28/2016 at 1:54 AM, JusMe said:

Even overflying the US means you must have a valid permit to enter the US.  For example, flying from Canada to Mexico requires US permission and a check of one's passport, even if the flight has no intention of landing in the US, i.e. it's a direct flight.

 

  What does that info have to do with this thread ?

[bobrussell]

If the requirements are really as opaque as the Irish website seems to suggest then really airlines and travel agents have some degree of duty of care to their passengers!

The Irish authorities really should clarify the situation. This cannot be a one off!

That said the passenger should be looking at a transit visa to transit but the website gives no indication that any form of visa is required unless the onward flight is more than 24 hours ahead.

Complying really should never be this difficult!