United States Border Preclearance - Ireland

Ireland

The U.S. and Ireland entered into a preinspection arrangement in 1986. . These services are currently the only location outside the North American continent (eg Canada, Caribien Islands etc). Shannon Airport initially offered only immigration checks, with customs and agriculture inspections done on arrival in the U.S.—a procedure more properly known as preinspection. In August 2009, Shannon opened an addition to its preclearance facility that provided customs and agriculture inspections as well. The facilities at Dublin Airport, like those at Shannon, initially offered only immigration checks on select flights. In January 2011, a section of the recently opened Terminal 2 dedicated to preclearance opened with full CBP facilities. Both airports now allow U.S.-bound commercial flights that use the preclearance facilities to arrive at domestic terminals instead of international terminals, which in turn allows arriving passengers to leave airports upon landing without further inspection. Since March 2010, the Shannon preclearance facility is also available for use by private aircraft; the Dublin facility is only available for commercial flights. Note: In Dublin, the preclearance immigration facility is only available for U.S.-bound flights departing before 16:00. Passengers on later flights undergo U.S. immigration and customs checks upon arrival in the U.S.