A dramatic shake-up in border rules for passengers crossing the Irish Sea is coming, with passports set to be a requirement for ferry users on routes to and from the Republic from next month.
People travelling to and from Britain by ferry have traditionally not needed to show a passport at any point.
As a result of a shift in UK Border Force policy, all passengers, irrespective of their age or nationality, will soon be expected to carry either a passport or passport card.
The change is coming into effect from Monday, September 28th, and has been mandated by the UK authorities.
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Stena Line said all passengers travelling between Holyhead and Dublin or Fishguard and Rosslare will be expected to show their passport on departure.
“No other forms of ID will be accepted,” the company said in a statement.
“This change is being introduced to meet the requirements of the UK Border Force in relation to the accuracy and integrity of passenger data before boarding.”
It said that all customers with existing bookings are being notified to ensure there are no surprises or complications for travelling passengers from the end of next month.
Stena noted that there would be no change to identification requirements for business or leisure passengers travelling with Stena Line from Belfast to Britain.
Irish Ferries also confirmed it would be implementing the change and stressed that “no other forms of photo ID will be accepted for any passengers, including Irish and UK citizens”.
It also said it would be contacting customers with bookings from September 28th to alert them to the change.
