questions
Should my Irish passport have been stamped when entering France?
Ireland is not a member of the Schengen area
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Reader question: I have an Irish passport, live in England but often visit a second home in France. My passport has never been stamped, but Ireland is not a Schengen area member, so does the 90/180 days rule apply to me?
Although Ireland (along with Cyprus) is not a Schengen area member, Irish passport holders are treated in the same way as other EU citizens.
This means that neither the 90/180 day restriction, nor the new Entry/Exit System (EES) applies to those using an Irish passport when travelling through the Schengen area.
Manual passport stamping was mainly used by the EU to ensure visitors were adhering to the 90/180 day rule, so EU citizens would not see their passport stamped.
The implementation of EES also means that manual passport stamping has ended across the Schengen area.
Ireland and Cyprus, which are outside Schengen, continue to operate their own border arrangements.
As an Irish passport holder you are also exempt from the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), due to the Common Travel Area agreement between the two.
There are some points to note, however:
If you spend more than three consecutive months in France, you are considered to be having a long stay and to have established residency in France as far as immigration law is concerned.
Establishing your main home here and/or spending more than half of the year in France is also likely to create an assumption of your having become a tax resident.
If you are a dual passport holder, to benefit from EES/ETA exemptions when travelling between the UK and EU, you need to enter and exit on the correct passports.
This requires you to use your UK or Irish passport to enter the UK, and then an EU passport when entering the Schengen area. More information is available here.
