Value of Dublin pre-clearance

[PortoBoy]

What value would you put on immigration pre-clearance from Dublin? I'm Dublin based, and looking at our options, there are a couple of indirect flights that might save us a few hundred, but given the route I don't think we'd qualify for pre-clearance. Any thoughts on whether saving ourselves the immigration queues is worth the extra spend?

[Tinkjon]

I may be wrong but, from what I understand, pre-clearance at Dublin isn't a thing that you qualify for or not, it's a thing that just happens automatically (assuming you're flying to the US as your first indirect stop).

But I'm prepare to be corrected

[Glasgow101]

It will only be for direct flights from Dublin to the USA. Effectively the border is extended so you pass into the US customs/immigration zone when you clear in Dublin. If you touch down anywhere else before you reach the US, you'd pass out of that zone and have to go through clearance again when you reach the US

[Glasgow101]

We've found it can save you up to a couple of hours at the other end.

[Thorpy]

Originally Posted by PortoBoy

What value would you put on immigration pre-clearance from Dublin? I'm Dublin based, and looking at our options, there are a couple of indirect flights that might save us a few hundred, but given the route I don't think we'd qualify for pre-clearance. Any thoughts on whether saving ourselves the immigration queues is worth the extra spend?

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Firstly I've never arrived pre cleared, so I'm not really experienced in what I'm comparing here, and I'm not based in Dublin.

If however I work to the imaginary scenario of pre-clearance being in my home airport, you're essentially talking about a comparison of indirect and immigration versus direct and pre-cleared.

You then have to take into account the party size cost. Which for us means £200 per person, £800 total, at that rate I'd be seriously considering taking the hit for one day, probably have to be £3-400 difference in total before we'd even consider the indirect.

We did a Glasgow direct flight instead of Manchester direct. That was a 4 hour drive instead of 40 mins for a saving of £300+ each, so saving nearly a thousand overall as we only had one daughter at the time.
It all comes down to personal circumstances, but I know plenty of dibbers will pay a couple of hundred extra to be direct never mind with clearance as well.

[sha9]

We did Dublin for the first time last year. We took around an hour to get through pre clearance so didn’t feel like we saved that much time however it was an indirect flight for us so I would rather be spending time at the second airport doing something useful. Had I been going direct from Dublin I wouldn’t have felt much benefit as the Aer Lingus flight leaves late afternoon so we didn’t arrive until very late Orlando time.
For me pre clearance only works if you have a decent flight time. Had we went with BA we’d have arrived earlier even with immigration due to an early flight time.

[Potterer]

We have done it and are doing it again in August. My sons are teenagers so we don't mind landing mid evening. It feels better to get off the plane and just collect luggage than stand in the immigration queue with the vast majority of our plane plus any plane that has landed before us from the UK.

But our local airport would be Manchester and so the cost saving to us was well over £1k even after taking into account the Man-Dub flight plus overnight hotel in Dublin.

Pre-clearance works for any US bound flight so as long as your indirect lands in the US then you qualify. I am not a good flyer so just want to get on the plane, get off, collect bags and go.

[Tinkjon]

Originally Posted by Glasgow101

It will only be for direct flights from Dublin to the USA.

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I might be thinking of the wrong thing then! By pre-clearance, I thought you meant that you go through US immigration whlist in Dublin, so that when you arrive in the US you don't have to go through a second immigration. Because you can *definitely* do that on indirect lfights, not just direct (we did it). But pre-clearance may be something else...

[Warkman58]

Originally Posted by Tinkjon

I might be thinking of the wrong thing then! By pre-clearance, I thought you meant that you go through US immigration whlist in Dublin, so that when you arrive in the US you don't have to go through a second immigration. Because you can *definitely* do that on indirect lfights, not just direct (we did it). But pre-clearance may be something else...

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You clear US Custons at Dublin if yiur flights next stop us somewhere in the USA.

So DUB-MCO clear customs, arrivevinto orlandonas a domestic passenger

DUB-PHL-MCO Clear customs at Dublin arrive into PHL as a domestic,-MCODomestic flight

DUB-LGW-MCO, no Dublin US clearance, so have to enter MCO as a non US flight

Same for any flight where the next country that you land in, is NOT the USA.

Every tine we have used Dublin, Customs has never been more than ten mins

[pad406]

As long as your first landing from Dublin is in the US you will pre-clear. No choice about it. So DUB-JFK-MCO, pre-clear. DUB-LHR-MCO no pre-clear.

There's some information in the guidebook here and also a link to a video explaining it all.

And just to be sure, you still have to have an ESTA

To the OPs original question re value.

Hard to say tbh. We're a family of 4 so they're could be substantial savings to be had, but we generally prefer to fly AL so even in-direct generally is US first landing anyway.

The make up of your party could be significant too. Young kids? Definitely pre clearance. Two young adults, save the money

Edit: Forgot to add, big advantage is that you're in Dublin Airport anyway so may as well 'waste' the time there clearing and just walk out on arrival.