Warning, some Irish Customs and Immigration Officials are not aware of their own immigration laws and may not understand that Ireland has its own Immigration policies distinct form other EU nations that are covered under Schengen (Ireland is not a Schengen signer)

As a US citizen I landed in Crosshaven Ireland on my non-EU yacht in 2018 on a passage from the Azores. (I had cleared into the EU (and also Schengen) in Horta in the Azores. When I arrived in Crosshaven Ireland no one seemed to understand immigration formalities for non-EU yachts arriving from the Azores, Neither the Marina Staff at the Royal York Yacht Club (this site indicates that they will arrange Customs and Immigration formalities for you) or Irish Customs and Immigration who I contacted by phone (Received number from Yacht Club) handled my clearance properly. Both insisted that I did not need to clear into Ireland because I had already cleared into the EU in the Azores. “You have already completed all Formalities because you cleared into Europe in the Azores”.

I repeatedly argued that although Ireland is a member of the EU (covering customs treaties) it is not a Schengen Country (covering immigration treaties) and therefore Irish immigration will not be covered under my Portuguese clearance. I still needed an Irish stamp in my passport. (Irish Customs officers I spoke with did not know what the Schengen treaty was, and kept insisting that immigration was also covered under EU custom treaties). Repeatedly I was told that I was OK; Welcome to Ireland with no need for a passport entry stamp. (A customs officer that later was patrolling the docks told me that if I wanted a stamp in my passport “as a souvenir” the Gardia station in Carrigaline would probably stamp it for me; but its not necessary.)

After repeated requests no Irish Immigration Officer came to the vessel to give me legal clearance into Ireland; No instructions on what I was actually required to do were provided either. I never received an Irish entry stamp in my passport.

Later that season I returned to the US by plane leaving the vessel in dry storage over the winter of 2018-2019. Upon returning to Ireland in the spring of 2019, The immigration officer at the Cork Airport noticed I did not have a stamp in my passport to indicated that I had properly cleared with immigration in 2018 and therefore I had entered Ireland illegally. After much scolding, discussion and recounting my my repeated attempts to clear in I was allowed the standard 90 day visa so I could continue cruising with my Yacht.

Its important that you get an Irish Immigration stamp regardless of what officials may say. I was told at the airport that if Immigration will not come to the boat to clear you in, it is the arriving yachtsman’s responsibility to report to the nearest Police Station (Gardia Station) and have them stamp your passport; US citizens arriving by yacht must have a passport stamp within 12 hours of arriving in Ireland.

You will also need this stamp to demonstrate when you legally entered Ireland if you plan to sail on to the UK. Because of the open boarder between Northern Ireland (the UK) and the Republic of Ireland, Irish-UK immigration policies are covered under the “Common Transit Area” regulations (the CTA is analogous to but different from Schengen; it applies only to the UK and the Republic of Ireland). Under the CTA these two nations respect each others visas and serve as surrogates. Your Irish visa (stamp) becomes your UK visa (stamp) upon UK entry and vise versa. You clear into the UK from Ireland by phone generally with no additional UK visa stamp provided. You will likely not be visited by UK Customs and immigration at your first port of call in the UK. When clearing into the UK from Ireland using the Yacht line, I would recommend that you request that your Clearance into the UK be e-mailed to you so you have proof of when you officially entered the UK and when that visa expires.