Key points:
- The UK runs no routine immigration controls on Common Travel Area journeys, and none on the Irish land border.
- In 2025/26, 934 of 1,284 Home Office arrests in Northern Ireland were linked to abuse of CTA routes.
- Police say “criminal haulier networks” exploit the CTA for financial gain.
- The UK and Ireland agreed in March to expand immigration data sharing.
- Drivers who are not British or Irish may need an ETA to enter Northern Ireland from Ireland.
Where the gap is
The Common Travel Area (CTA) allows British and Irish citizens to move freely between the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. According to the Home Office, the UK does not carry out routine immigration controls on journeys within the CTA, and there are no immigration controls on the land border.
This does not mean that everyone can cross freely. People of other nationalities arriving in the UK, including in Northern Ireland, must still meet the Immigration Rules. In practice, however, someone who lands in Dublin can travel north by bus, car or truck without meeting a border officer.
How criminals use it
Recent operations show what the authorities are dealing with. During Operation Lockstream in August and September, the PSNI said it targeted “criminal haulier networks who exploit the Common Travel Area for their own financial gain”. In Belfast, officers found more than £170,000 in cash hidden inside a vehicle.
In a separate week of action in September, the Home Office reported 49 arrests across the UK. Among the cases:
- two Romanian women were arrested at Belfast International Airport after travelling from Ireland without the required permission. Officers identified them as possible trafficking victims,
- at Belfast Port, police stopped a vehicle carrying four Romanian nationals and found £130,000 of counterfeit Apple products.
Detective Chief Inspector Shaw of the PSNI warned that organised crime networks “look for every opportunity to exploit potential weaknesses in the Common Travel Area and transport networks”.
The numbers
Home Office figures for Northern Ireland show how enforcement has grown:
- 1,736 arrests between October 2022 and June 2024,
- 2,233 arrests in the same length of time from July 2024 to March 2026, up 29%,
- 934 arrests in 2025/26 under Operation Gull, which checks CTA routes at Northern Ireland’s ports and airports.
Between July 2024 and May 2026, 963 people were returned from Northern Ireland, 493 of them to Ireland.
What checks are coming
Neither government plans to bring back a hard border. Instead, they are focusing on data and intelligence:
- data sharing: at their summit on 13 March, the UK Prime Minister and the Taoiseach agreed to expand immigration data sharing to stop people not entitled to CTA rights from abusing them. They also agreed to develop any future digital identity solutions together,
- more officers: the Immigration Enforcement budget will double by 2028/29, and its workforce will grow by 60%,
- ferry checks: since 28 September, Irish Ferries and Stena Line have required passports on several Irish Sea routes, including for HGV drivers who are British or Irish citizens.
Political pressure for tougher measures is also growing. In September, Reform UK proposed spot checks on buses and trains arriving in Northern Ireland from the south, and £10,000 fines for operators for each illegal migrant carried. The Conservatives have said they would be prepared to introduce checks similar to those carried out on the Irish side. The UK government says its intelligence-led approach works without “unworkable land checks”.
What it means for hauliers
For transport companies on Irish Sea and cross-border routes, the main change is more intelligence-led checks at ports such as Belfast, as well as more vehicle searches. Operators should check every driver’s documents before dispatch:
- a valid passport for ferries that now require one,
- an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) or visa for drivers who are not British or Irish. This also applies when entering Northern Ireland from Ireland, unless the driver can prove legal residence in Ireland and would not normally need a UK visa.
An ETA costs £20 and is valid for two years, or until the passport expires. More details on the ferry rule are in our article on the new passport requirement. Hauliers moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland should also check the new customs platform.
