Should I use my British or Irish passport when travelling?

[TinselMakeover]

I have dual nationality.

Both passports are up for renewal. The Irish one expired about 20 years ago.

Do you think one, rather than the other, is easier or more welcome for travel? A friend told me Irish passport more welcome but that could be just the craic 😂

Should I renew just one or both? Obviously extra expense.

I live in England 😘

Irish one I would say

Irish

Easier for travelling within Europe now that Uk is out of the EU they have to queue at passport control for international visitors don't they?

That was quick 😘 !

Irish

I would renew both but travel on the Irish one predominantly. Much easier in the EU!

The Irish one

Irish, the British one is rubbish for travelling into Europe now. Unlike Canada / America / all the other developed countries, we have no agreements with Europe at all so you can find you have to walk to the depths of the airport and then stand in really slow moving queues.

Depends where you are going. Europe, use the Irish one going there and the British one returning. Anywhere else just use the British one if you are living in the UK.
Its much easier to enter the UK on a British passport as you don't have to justify length of stay/visa issues.
Disclaimer - born in the UK, have British and European passports. Took both to Europe this summer, used EU to enter EU and then UK to leave and come back to the UK. Just took the UK one to the USA in the autumn, left EU one behind as there was less to get lost.

I never had a problem at passport control with uk passport, always quick.

But I can see other advantages.

Its unanimous, thank you x

That’s unusual @negomi90 . You’ve obviously thought this through!

If you are based in the UK renew both. And always take both, but use UK passport if travelling around Europe.

We had problems with EU passports entering the UK. (Won't go into details, and it was all ok in the end)
So be wary- the joys of Brexit!

I'm a dual national and I accidentally gave my French passport to border Control and they told me I wasn't registered as right to remain - could they have my British passport please.

@negomi90 though I did read Irish one more welcome in USA (obvious reasons).

I also read if you have an Irish passport you are more eligible for reciprocal health care with EU states.

You can't compare and Irish and other EU passport in this situation. Because of the common travel area between Ireland and the UK you will have no difficulty/ delay in entering the UK with an Irish passport.

@thank you @DancefloorAcrobatics .

I do hope this doesn’t get into a Brexit bashing thread though. PLEASE!

Anyway I’ve made my mind up 1. Irish 2. Probably British as well.

So am relieved. Of course both will cost me an arm and a leg but heyho. But it will cover all eventualities.

Its much easier to enter the UK on a British passport as you don't have to justify length of stay/visa issues.

There shouldn’t be any length of stay and/or visa issues with an Irish passport.

Last summer I travelled with my German and UK one and border control in Italy, Poland, Denmark and Spain all said best to travel into EU with an EU one. I'd personally get both though and use the UK one upon return. But I guess the rules with an Irish passport are different so you may not have the worry of being stamped into UK on a visitor visa.

Agreed you will have no problem entering the UK with an Irish passport. It's not the same as other EU countries due to the Common Travel Area.
But if you have both I would renew both.
P

Irish, as pp said you can enter UK with Irish passport with no issue. (you don't actually need a passport to go from Ireland to UK and vice versa, just photo ID, if you are born in either country.).

Oh, and Ireland has a cute little passport card which is really handy for some trips. (can't remember when you can use that and not passport)

I did find the British consulates/embassies are a bit more on the ball when you have lost passports, but they would probably help you even if you don't have a current british passport.

My son lost his (Irish) passport in a foreign country, he previously held a UK one. I tried getting hold of the Irish consulate with no luck, the UK one had a smooth process to get an emergency passport so I availed of that.

The good thing about having 2 passports is that you can apply for a new Irish one while not having to give up your UK one. So no stupid wait without a passport.

Reciprocal healthcare is dependent on having an EHIC not the passport.

I only have an Irish passport and it's been great for skipping queues on flights from the UK to Europe. It doesn't save me that much time though. DH is always stuck in the queue for British passports so I have to wait for him anyway.

My decision does feel a bit Groucho Marks:

”Those are my principles, and if you don't like them…well, I have others” !!

Renew both, but not at the same time (so you always have one to use when the other's being renewed).