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Can I travel to Ireland? The rules for travelling from the UK right now

By Sarah James

Ireland is part of the common travel area. This means that, even when there were Covid-related quarantine rules for international arrivals entering   England , Scotland , Wales or Northern Ireland in place, those travelling from Ireland to the UK didn’t have to quarantine on arrival. 

Since Sunday 6 March 2022, if you are travelling to Ireland, you do not need to show any proof of vaccination or proof of recovery. You do not need to show proof of negative test or Irish passenger locator form receipt regardless of your vaccination status and are not required to quarantine or test on arrival.

So what impact does this have on holidays to Ireland right now? Here’s everything you need to know about visiting at the moment.

Is it legal to travel to Ireland?

Yes. UK residents have been legally allowed to travel for leisure to certain places from Monday 17 May, and from Monday 19 July Ireland has allowed British and US travellers, as well as EU visitors, into the country. Any UK travellers may enter Ireland without proving their vaccination status or presenting a negative test.

What are the entry requirements for Ireland?

There are no entry requirements related to coronavirus in Ireland or Northern Ireland at the time of writing (Monday 14 March 2022).

What are the lockdown restrictions in Ireland?

Since Monday 19 July, international travel has been permitted for Irish citizens and residents. Theatres and cinemas are open, as are galleries, museums, bars, cafés, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and self-catered rentals.

What if I’m travelling from Northern Ireland?

There are no restrictions on travel to or from Northern Ireland into Ireland.

Note: It's always a good idea to check official government entry guidelines before booking or travelling anywhere, as well as to purchase travel insurance with Covid cover that is appropriate for your destination.

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Can I travel to Ireland from the UK? All the rules you need to know

Ireland has tightened its entry requirements for all visitors, article bookmarked.

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With countries around the world adjusting entry rules and travel testing requirements in the face of the omicron variant, Ireland has announced its own rule changes for visitors.

Those from Great Britain may still enter the country, but the required paperwork is set to increase.

The Irish government announced on 2 December that it would be requiring a negative test result from all travellers from abroad, regardless of vaccination status - with the change coming in from 5 December 2021.

Here’s everything we know so far.

What are the new rules?

From 5 December onwards, anyone entering Ireland from abroad must show a negative Covid test result on arrival.

Vaccinated travellers who had their second jab more than 14 days prior to arrival, and have their proof of vaccination with them, may present a result from either a PCR test (taken within the 72 hours beforehand) or an antigen test (taken within the 48 hours beforehand).

Unvaccinated travellers must take a PCR test within the 72 hours prior to arrival.

One exception is travellers from Northern Ireland who have not been outside Northern Ireland or Ireland for the 14 days prior to entry - visitors who meet this criteria do not need a passenger locator form, proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or test results upon arrival.

Children under 12 are also exempt from the test result requirement.

Test results must be from a professional-administered Covid test with results sent to travellers electronically, the rules specify, and, as with all other international travel, UK residents may not use free NHS tests.

All passengers must complete Ireland’s passenger locator form online within the 72 hours before travel.

This means the full checklist for visitors from outside the island of Ireland is as follows:

Vaccinated people aged 12 or over

Negative result from an antigen or PCR test

Proof of vaccination

Valid ID (passport or driver’s license accepted)

Unvaccinated or partly vaccinated people aged 12 or over

Negative result from a PCR test

Anyone who has been in one of seven named “scheduled states” - Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe - within the 14 days before arrival will be subject to further restrictions and testing, details of which can be found here .

From which date do I need to present a test?

The new rules kicked in from 00.01 on Sunday 5 December.

Arrivals from this time onward into Ireland must have their negative test result ready for checking at the border.

The government had announced that testing would be compulsory from 3 December onwards, but later announced that there was a 48-hour delay.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson told the Irish Examiner : “The Irish government notified airlines last night that the new Regulations will now have an operational date of 5 December and not 3 December as previously advised.

“We will implement accordingly.”

How long will the rules be in place?

Although the Irish government has not stamped the new rules with an end date, a spokesperson for Tourism Ireland told The Independent that the testing requirement will be in place for “an initial two week period and will be reviewed again then”.

Many governments are in the process of tightening travel restrictions to contain the spread of the omicron variant until more is known about its potential impact, and the efficacy of vaccines on this type of Covid-19.

Assuming Ireland is taking a similar approach, it is likely that they will review testing rules within a month or so, once more is known about the variant.

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Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK

What is the common travel area, your rights within the common travel area, border control and the common travel area, brexit and the common travel area.

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is an arrangement between the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland that gives a variety of rights to citizens of those countries. It includes more than the basic right to travel freely between both countries.

When the Common Travel Area arrangement began in 1922, it was not contained in any legislation. It was an understanding between Ireland and the UK based on their common history. Over time, some of the rights came to be included in different pieces of legislation in both Ireland and the UK.

While the Common Travel Area is recognised under the Treaty of Amsterdam, it is not dependant on the European Union and the continuing membership of both countries.

On 8 May 2019, the Irish and UK governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (pdf) reaffirming the Common Travel Area and identifying the rights and privileges of Irish and UK citizens within the CTA. It also reaffirmed the commitment to maintain the CTA following Brexit (pdf) .

Common Travel Area rights can only be exercised by citizens of Ireland and the UK. If you are not a citizen of Ireland or the UK, you cannot exercise Common Travel Area rights.

For the purposes of the Common Travel Area, the UK covers:

• Northern Ireland
• The Isle of Man
• The Channel Islands

Irish and UK citizens have the right to live, travel, work and study within the Common Travel Area. The rights of Irish citizens have been recognised in the UK’s Immigration and Social Security (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 .

Irish and UK citizens can live in either country and enjoy associated rights and privileges, including:

• Access to social benefits
• Access to healthcare
• Access to social housing supports
• The right to vote in certain elections

The Common Travel Area does not relate to goods or customs issues. You can read about the trade agreement between Ireland and the UK in Brexit and Ireland .

There are no routine passport controls in operation for Irish and UK citizens travelling between the 2 countries.

However, you must show identification to board a ferry or an airplane, and some airlines and sea carriers only accept a passport as valid identification. You may also be asked by an immigration officer to prove that you are a citizen of Ireland or the UK, so you should carry a passport with you. You can also use an Irish passport card, or other proof that you are an Irish citizen.

If you have family members who are not UK or EEA citizens, they may need a visa to enter Ireland or the UK. A residency scheme for family members of UK citizens who move to Ireland after 1 January 2021 is now in place.

The Common Travel Area also involves some co-operation on immigration issues. A non-EEA national, for example, may be refused permission to enter Ireland if they intend to travel onwards to the UK and they would not qualify for admission to the UK. Irish immigration officers have the power to carry out checks on people arriving in the State from the UK and to refuse them entry to the State on the same grounds that apply to people arriving from outside the Common Travel Area. These checks are carried out selectively.

EU and EEA citizens travelling to Great Britain from Ireland

If you are a citizen of the EEA (the EU, plus Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) or Switzerland, you may be asked for identification when you enter Great Britain from Ireland. You are not asked to show identification if you are entering Northern Ireland from Ireland.

You must have an EEA passport to enter Great Britain from Ireland unless you have:

• Settled or pre-settled status in the UK, or you are awaiting a decision on your application and have received confirmation that your application is valid.
• An EU Settlement Scheme family permit, or the equivalent from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man
• A Frontier Worker Permit
• An S2 Healthcare Visitor visa
• A Service Provider from Switzerland visa

If you are in any of the above categories, you can use an EEA or Swiss national identity card to enter Great Britain from Ireland.

Electronic Travel Authorisation

An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) gives you permission to travel to the UK and is required by some nationalities before travel.

You do not need an ETA if you:

• Are a British citizen
• Are an Irish citizen (unless subject to a deportation order, exclusion order decision, or an international travel ban)
• Are a British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC) with a BOTC passport
• Have entry clearance or permission to enter or stay in the UK, including people who are settled

If you live in Ireland legally, you don't need an ETA when entering the UK from Ireland.

Cross border workers

Irish and British citizens can live and work in both Ireland and the UK and they can live in one country and work in the other country. For example, you might live in Ireland and work in Northern Ireland. This is called frontier working or cross-border working .

EEA and Swiss citizens who were living in Ireland and working in Northern Ireland before the end of 2020, must have a Frontier Work Permit to continue working in Northern Ireland. EEA and Swiss citizens who live in Ireland and start working in Northern Ireland from the beginning of 2021 must apply for permission to work in the UK through the UK’s points-based immigration system .

People with UK visas or residence permits

If you are a citizen of a country whose nationals need a visa to enter Ireland and you have a valid UK visa or residence permit, you may be required to have a visa to enter Ireland before you arrive in Ireland.

Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme

The Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme allows nationals of a number of Eastern European, Middle East and Asian countries who have a short-term UK visa to come to Ireland without the need for a separate Irish visa.

Reciprocal visa arrangements

A British Irish Visa Scheme applies to visitors from China and India. This scheme allows visitors from these countries to travel freely within the Common Travel Area (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), using either an Irish or UK visa. British Irish Visa Scheme visas are endorsed with ‘BIVS’.

Both schemes are provided for in the Immigration Act (Visas) Order 2014 (SI 473/2014) as amended by Immigration Act (Visas) Order 2016 (SI 502/2016) .

You can read more about visa requirements for entering Ireland , or you can get further information about visa applications from Irish embassies and consulates abroad .

The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) has not affected the rights of Irish citizens and UK citizens within the Common Travel Area. The right to live, work and access public services in the Common Travel Area is protected.

Your Common Travel Area rights do not extend to your family. This means that if your spouse or partner, or other relative, is not an Irish or UK citizen, they may have to apply for residence in the UK .

You can read about residence rights of British citizens in Ireland.

Common Travel Area in law and the Protocol

The Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 places many of the Common Travel Area rights in legislation for the first time. The Act empowers the relevant ministers to legislate in the areas of providing equal access to healthcare and social welfare.

The withdrawal agreement between the UK and the European Union recognises the Common Travel Area in its Protocol, which deals with Ireland and Northern Ireland . Article 2 provides for the continued operation of the Common Travel Area.

You can read more about the UK leaving the EU in our pages:

• Background to Brexit
• Brexit and Ireland

You can get more information on the Common Travel Area from the Department of Foreign Affairs and on legal matters and rights from gov.ie .

Related documents

• Studying in the UK including Northern Ireland Many people leave to study in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK where there are different application procedures and fees. 1954.3262
• The Schengen Area What countries are in the Schengen Area, and what does it mean for travellers to and from Ireland? 1926.7264
• The euro area The euro is the national currency of 19 EU member states. This document explains how it operates. 1868.0232

If you have a question about this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0818 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm).

You can also contact your local Citizens Information Centre .

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Visas and passports

Here's what you need to know about Ireland’s visa and passport requirements.

Ireland’s visa and passport requirements vary for different nationalities so check with your local embassy or consulate before you travel

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Most people need a valid passport to enter the Republic or Northern Ireland but there are some exceptions:

• If you're a UK citizen, you can also use official photo identification.
• If you're an EU citizen, you can use your national identity card to travel throughout the island of Ireland (including Northern Ireland), as long as you are arriving and exiting the island via an airport or ferry port in the Republic of Ireland. If you’re travelling direct to Northern Ireland from the EU or travelling on to Great Britain from Northern Ireland, you’ll need a passport. 

Air and sea carriers require some form of photo identification (usually either a passport or driving licence), so ALWAYS check what form of ID is required with your individual airline, ferry company or travel agent before travelling.

While e-passports are commonly used now, you don't need one to enter Ireland.

Killaloe, County Clare

Stand-up paddle boarding with Soulkite

Whether you need a visa to enter Ireland depends on your citizenship.

Currently, if you’re a citizen of a European Economic Area (EEA) member state (27 countries of the European Union, together with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) and many other countries including Great Britain, the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, you don’t need a visa to visit the Republic or Northern Ireland. South African visitors can visit the Republic of Ireland without a visa, but need a UK visa in order to enter Northern Ireland. Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has a full list of countries whose citizens do NOT need a visa to visit Ireland .

If your country is not on this list, contact your local Irish embassy/consulate before you travel to find out your visa requirements. If you’re planning on travelling to Northern Ireland, contact your local British embassy/high commission or consular office.

Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme and travel to Northern Ireland

The UK is launching an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme – an ETA is a digital permission to travel to the UK, including Northern Ireland, and also travel to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland. However, British and Irish nationals, and eligible residents of Ireland, will NOT require an ETA to travel within the Common Travel Area. For further information, please visit the UK Government website.

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System)

Getting to Ireland from Great Britain after the ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is introduced will be as easy as ever. Thanks to the Common Travel Area, visitors from Great Britain will not need an ETIAS to travel to Ireland.

Short-Stay Visa Waiver Scheme

This scheme allows visitors from certain countries who have a valid UK visit visa to also visit Ireland without the need for an Irish visa. The scheme is valid until October 31st, 2026 and you can get a list of participating countries from the Irish Immigration Service.

Work and Student Visas

Wondering about a working holiday in the Republic of Ireland? You can talk to your local Irish embassy or consulate about a Working Holiday Authorisation (WHA). And if you’re interested in studying in Ireland, you can find out more from INIS. If you want to work or study in Northern Ireland, contact UK Visas and Immigrations.

Useful links

1. Department of Foreign Affairs

The Irish government website gives information on visas and passports, and contact details for embassies.

2. Citizens Information Board

Ireland's statutory body is a great source of information about what you need to travel to Ireland.

NI Direct: Visas

This is where you will find information and advice on visa requirements for Northern Ireland.

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Ireland plans to send asylum seekers back to UK under emergency law

Taoiseach wants to reduce arrivals through Northern Ireland amid concern that Sunak’s Rwanda plan is driving people to Ireland

Ireland and Britain are on a collision course over asylum seekers, with Dublin vowing to send arrivals to Ireland back to the UK and London insisting it will not accept any.

A diplomatic row erupted on Sunday after the taoiseach, Simon Harris, asked the justice minister, Helen McEntee, to bring proposals to cabinet next week to allow the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK, amid concern that Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan was rerouting asylum seekers from Britain.

“This country will not in any way, shape or form provide a loophole for anybody else’s migration challenges,” Harris said on Sunday. “Other countries can decide how they wish to advance migration. From an Irish perspective, we intend to have a firm rules-based system where rules are in place, where rules are in force, where rules are seen to be enforced.”

The planned legislation follows a claim by Sunak that the Conservative party’s deterrence was working, and after it emerged that 80% of recent asylum seekers to Ireland came via the land border with Northern Ireland.

A UK government source said it would not accept any asylum seekers from Ireland without a wider deal with Brussels. “We won’t accept any asylum returns from the EU via Ireland until the EU accepts that we can send them back to France. We are fully focused on operationalising our Rwanda scheme and will continue working with the French to stop the boats from crossing the channel.”

Ireland had previously designated the UK a “safe third country” to which asylum seekers could be returned but last month the Irish high court ruled that this breached EU law, impeding further returns.

McEntee said she would shore up Ireland’s controls and discuss the return of refugees with James Cleverly and other British officials during a visit to London on Monday.

“That’s why I’m introducing fast processing, that’s why I’ll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK and that’s why I’ll be meeting with the home secretary to raise these issues on Monday,” she told RTÉ.

In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Sunak said the Rwanda legislation signed into law last week was already having an impact because people were worried about coming to the UK.

“Illegal migration is a global challenge, which is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third-country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe will follow where the UK has led.”

Last week, a protest in County Wicklow over proposed refugee accommodation led to violent clashes with police who used shields and sprays and arrested six people. Police said rocks and other missiles were thrown and they recovered an axe.

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There have been protests and arson attacks on proposed refugee accommodation centres and demonstrations outside ministers’ homes, fuelling anxiety over far-right agitation.

At a speech in County Monaghan the taoiseach said warning signs around the abuse of public figures should be taken seriously. “We have had too many warnings and we need to take them seriously before the unthinkable happens.”

Ireland has taken in more than 100,000 refugees, about three-quarters from Ukraine. There is an acute housing crisis that has driven up rents and homelessness and fuelled anti-immigrant sentiment. A riot last November wrecked parts of central Dublin.

• Immigration and asylum
• Northern Ireland
• Rishi Sunak
• Simon Harris

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Ireland Threatens to Return Asylum Seekers to U.K., Sparking Diplomatic Squabble

The Irish government said it was drafting emergency legislation to return asylum seekers to Britain, after seeing a surge of people leaving there for sanctuary in Ireland.

By Mark Landler

Reporting from London

Britain’s newly ratified plan to put asylum seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda has drawn objections from human rights groups, British and European courts, the House of Lords and even some members of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.

To that list, add another aggrieved party: Ireland.

The Irish government said last week that asylum seekers in Britain who fear being deported to Rwanda are instead traveling to Ireland . It is drafting emergency legislation to send them back to Britain, triggering a clash with its neighbor, which said it would refuse to accept them.

Irish officials estimate that 80 percent of recent applicants for asylum crossed into the country via Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and with which the Republic of Ireland has an open border. That suggests that Britain’s vow to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is already having something of a deterrent effect, which was Mr. Sunak’s sales pitch for the policy.

But it comes at the expense of Ireland, which is already struggling to absorb an influx of refugees from Ukraine and elsewhere, and has seen violent clashes over immigration erupt in small towns and major cities. On Sunday, Ireland’s prime minister, Simon Harris, said, “This country will not in any way, shape or form provide a loophole for anybody else’s migration challenges.”

“Other countries can decide how they wish to advance migration,” said Mr. Harris, who became prime minister earlier this month. “From an Irish perspective, we intend to have a firm rules-based system where rules are in place, where rules are in force, where rules are seen to be enforced.”

British officials, however, countered on Monday that they would not accept any asylum seekers from Ireland, a European Union member, unless they had a broader agreement with the E.U. to return them to France, another E.U. member, from where many refugees set off for Britain in small boats across the English Channel.

“Of course we’re not going to do that,” Mr. Sunak said to ITV News about accepting returnees from Ireland. “I’m determined to get our Rwanda scheme up and running because I want a deterrent.” He added, “I make absolutely no apology for doing everything I can to tackle illegal migration.”

The Rwanda policy has unexpectedly put the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic back in the spotlight, echoing the tensions between Britain and Ireland after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016. The Republic of Ireland fought to keep an open land border with Northern Ireland, which necessitated complex negotiations between London and Brussels over trade arrangements in the North.

After years of friction, Mr. Sunak last year struck a deal with the European Union, known as the Windsor Framework, which finally seemed to defuse the issue. But Britain’s abrupt cancellation on Sunday of a meeting between its home secretary, James Cleverly, and Ireland’s minister for justice, Helen McEntee, added to the sense of a fresh diplomatic crisis. A meeting of lower-level British and Irish officials produced only a vague agreement to “monitor this issue closely.”

“It’s something that needs to be solved, and I don’t see any easy solution,” said Bobby McDonagh, a former Irish ambassador to Britain. “It clearly isn’t workable if a very large number of refugees are going through the U.K. and coming down here through Northern Ireland.”

The problem is, political pressures on both sides militate against resolving the issue. For Mr. Sunak, who lobbied for months against legal challenges to pass the Rwanda plan, the diversion of asylum seekers to Ireland is proof that his policy is working. Far from taking back these people, he has vowed to round up thousands of those still in Britain and put them on planes to Rwanda.

Mr. Harris, analysts in Dublin said, is under pressure to act firmly because the swelling numbers of asylum seekers, combined with Ireland’s acute housing shortage, are causing social unrest. Last week, protesters in County Wicklow clashed with the police over proposed accommodations for refugees. A riot rooted in anti-immigrant hatred convulsed parts of Dublin last fall.

“The protests have become increasingly ugly and violent, orchestrated by groups that see Ireland as fertile ground,” said Diarmaid Ferriter, a professor of modern Irish history at University College Dublin. “The politicians are under pressure to be seen as doing more, and they’re trying to reduce the ground for anti-immigration forces.”

The tensions are even altering Ireland’s political landscape. For example, the poll ratings of the main opposition party, Sinn Fein, have fallen in recent months because of criticism that it is not hard-line enough on immigration.

Sinn Fein’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, criticized the Irish government for failing to level with residents about how immigration would affect their towns and cities.

“You need rules and regulations,” Ms. McDonald said at a recent briefing for journalists in London. “Particularly in more deprived areas, where services are poor, they feel the struggle all the more when they consider the people coming in.”

Mr. Sunak predicted that Britain’s use of Rwanda to process asylum applications would be copied by other countries. But critics say that would pose a thorny challenge to the global legal system for protecting refugees. If more countries outsource the processing of asylum seekers, they may simply end up displacing the flow of refugees to their nearest neighbors, as Britain has.

Mr. Harris, moreover, faces some of the same legal obstacles that dogged Mr. Sunak in his quest to enact the Rwanda policy. Ireland’s high court has ruled that the government cannot designate Britain as a “safe third country” and return asylum seekers there, because of the risk that Britain would send them to Rwanda.

Britain’s Supreme Court struck down an earlier version of the Rwanda legislation because it determined that Rwanda was not a safe country. Mr. Sunak then signed a treaty with the Rwandan government and revised the legislation, essentially overruling the court. Parliament passed that law last week.

Immigration experts in Ireland have expressed doubts about the government’s claim that 80 percent of recent asylum applicants crossed the border from Northern Ireland. Some, they said, could have arrived at airports or seaports in the Irish Republic and not immediately applied for asylum status.

Still, said Nick Henderson, the chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, “If people are moving to Ireland from the U.K. in numbers, it should be viewed in the context that the U.K. is not a safe country for people seeking protection.”

Mark Landler is the London bureau chief of The Times, covering the United Kingdom, as well as American foreign policy in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He has been a journalist for more than three decades. More about Mark Landler

UK won't take back asylum seekers from Ireland, says Rishi Sunak

• Published 3 days ago
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The UK will not take back asylum seekers who have crossed into Ireland as the Rwanda deportation scheme gets going, Rishi Sunak has said.

The Irish deputy PM has said people are crossing from Northern Ireland because they fear being sent to east Africa.

Irish ministers are preparing emergency laws to override a recent Irish court ruling that banned returns to the UK.

But the prime minister said the UK was "not interested" in accepting people back from Ireland.

"We're not going to accept returns from the EU via Ireland when the EU doesn't accept returns back to France where illegal migrants are coming from," he told ITV. "Of course we're not going to do that."

The UK is aiming to begin sending asylum seekers to Rwanda from July, under a scheme to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats from France.

• Is the Rwanda policy driving migrants to Ireland?
• Rwanda plan: Ireland 'won't provide loophole', says Taoiseach
• What is the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda?

The standoff developed after the Irish government announced last week it plans to bring forward emergency legislation to allow it to return asylum seekers to the UK.

It came after the Irish Supreme Court ruled last month that the UK was no longer a safe "third country" to return asylum seekers to, because of the Rwanda policy.

Speaking earlier after a scheduled UK-Ireland conference, Ireland's deputy leader Micheál Martin said the new law would allow it to send people to the UK under a post-Brexit agreement.

"There was an arrangement, an agreement in terms of managing this issue," he added, without setting out further details.

But Downing Street has said that, even if Ireland passes new legislation, it is "up to the UK government to decide who we do and do not accept into the country".

Speaking after the UK-Ireland meeting, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said "in no way [do] we want to upset our relationship with Ireland" on asylum claims.

However he added that since Brexit the UK has been directed to "deal with the EU as a whole entity".

The issue was thrust into the spotlight after Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee told the Irish Parliament recently that 80% of recent asylum seekers had arrived from Northern Ireland.

She did not put a timeframe on the claim, and on Monday Mr Martin told reporters it was "not statistical" and was not based on any specific evidence or database.

"But it is very clear from the presentations of migrants that there's a change in the nature of where migrants have come from," he said, adding that Irish officials had noticed a shift "over the last year or two".

Ms McEntee had said that so far this year, a significant majority of people seeking asylum in Ireland had applied at an international protection office and not at a port or airport, suggesting people were coming from the UK via the land border.

Mr Sunak has argued any increased flow of people into Ireland shows his Rwanda policy is working.

Rwanda law passed

The Rwanda scheme has been best by legal delays, but ministers are now hopeful of beginning flights this summer after legislation to enable them entered into effect last week.

On Sunday, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Simon Harris said he would not "allow anybody else's migration policy to affect the integrity of our own one".

He said he had asked Ms McEntee to bring forward legislation to be discussed at the Irish cabinet on Tuesday.

The UK government is paying £500m to fund more border patrols to prevent small boat crossings to the UK, and a new detention centre in France, following a new deal between the two countries in 2022.

However, there no specific agreement since Brexit allowing the UK to return asylum seekers to France once they have crossed the channel.

Asked by ITV whether there were any negotiations ongoing with the EU on returns, Mr Sunak said: "No, I'm focused on getting our Rwanda scheme up and running."

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Rwanda Bill causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of UK, deputy PM Micheál Martin says

It comes at a time when tension over immigration levels is high in Ireland, with the country experiencing a housing crisis.

Tuesday 30 April 2024 16:44, UK

The threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK, Ireland's deputy prime minister has said.

The Rwanda Bill, which will see asylum seekers "entering the UK illegally" sent to the central African nation - regardless of the outcome of their application - was passed on Tuesday , despite human rights concerns.

Micheál Martin told The Daily Telegraph that the policy was already affecting Ireland, as people were "fearful" of staying in the UK.

The former Taoiseach said: "Maybe that's the impact it was designed to have."

Mr Martin, who is also Ireland's foreign secretary, said asylum seekers were seeking "to get sanctuary here and within the European Union as opposed to the potential of being deported to Rwanda".

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

His words follow those of justice minister Helen McEntee, who told a scrutiny committee in the Irish parliament earlier this week that migrants and refugees were crossing the border with Northern Ireland.

Ms McEntee said "higher than 80%" of people seeking asylum in Ireland entered the country through Northern Ireland, a border crossing that is open as guaranteed under a UK-EU Brexit treaty.

More on Ireland

UK will 'not take back asylum seekers from Ireland until France takes back Channel migrants'

Ireland pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to UK in wake of Rwanda bill being passed

Anti-immigrant camp in Dublin 'not about racism', residents say

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It comes amid increasing tension over immigration levels in Ireland, which is grappling with a housing crisis that has affected its own people as well as asylum seekers.

Overnight, six people were arrested during a protest at a site earmarked to house asylum seekers in Newtownmountkennedy in Co Wicklow.

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Gardai said officers came under attack after workers were brought onto the site, suffering "verbal and physical abuse throughout the day, which escalated into rocks and other missiles being thrown this evening".

Fires were lit, an axe was found and officers were "forced to defend themselves" with incapacitant spray, helmets and shields.

Read more from Sky News: Anger as Venice begins charging visitors to enter city Dozens of whales die after 160 stranded in Australia

Three patrol cars were also damaged.

Irish broadcaster RTE said protesters accused gardaí of using unnecessary force, and intimidating and aggressive tactics against a legitimate and peaceful protest.

According to RTE, there have been protests during the past six weeks at the site, known as Trudder House or River Lodge.

It is reportedly being considered as a site for 20 eight-person tents housing asylum seekers but some locals have said it is unsuitable and the village's resources are already over-stretched.

pic.twitter.com/jJbhmmdl6p — Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) April 25, 2024

Ms McEntee said there was "a lot of misinformation about migration at the moment".

She tweeted late on Thursday to promote the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which she described as "a real game changer" and "something we must opt into".

Related Topics

Rwanda Bill has caused migrants to pour into Ireland, says deputy PM

Micheál Martin speaks out after Dublin reveals more than 80pc of recent asylum seekers have crossed the border from the UK

The threat of being deported to Rwanda is causing an influx of migrants from the UK into Ireland, the country’s deputy prime minister has complained.

Micheál Martin said that the policy was already “impacting on Ireland” as people were “fearful” of staying in the UK.

“ Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have ,” the former Taoiseach said after Dublin revealed that 80 per cent of recent asylum seekers in Ireland had come into the country from Northern Ireland.

The Rwanda Bill , under which asylum seekers will be flown to live in the central African nation, was passed in Westminster on Tuesday after months of difficult negotiation and accusations it violated human rights.

Mr Martin’s comments came as Downing Street rebuked Emmanuel Macron for describing the Rwanda policy as a “betrayal of values” that would prove “totally ineffective”.

Tensions over immigration are high in Ireland, amid an increase in migrant arrivals and an acute housing crisis that has forced some asylum seekers to sleep in tents.

More than 140,000 immigrants arrived in Ireland in the year up to April 2023 – a 16-year high.

The figures from the Central Statistics Office showed net inward migration of 77,600 after emigrants were stripped out, amounting to a 50 per cent increase over the previous year.

Mr Martin, who is also Ireland’s foreign secretary, said that asylum seekers were seeking “to get sanctuary here and within the European Union as opposed to the potential of being deported to Rwanda”.

Dublin believes migrants and refugees, many from Nigeria, are travelling from Britain to Northern Ireland before crossing the land border with the Republic , which is open as guaranteed by a UK-EU Brexit treaty.

“We have 11 million people displaced from Ukraine and millions in Sudan,” Mr Martin said on Wednesday during a trip to Jordan. “But the sort of knee-jerk reaction like the Rwanda policy, in my view, isn’t going to really do anything to deal with the issue .”

During the Brexit negotiations, Dublin insisted that the border on the island of Ireland be kept “invisible” without infrastructure such as checkpoints. It argued this would protect the peace process and safeguard Ireland’s place in the EU’s Single Market.

The UK and EU ultimately agreed to create the Irish Sea border between Britain and Northern Ireland, which is now known as the Windsor Framework.

“This is the challenge that we have, that we have advocated for an open border on this island,” Helen McEntee, the Irish justice minister, told a scrutiny committee earlier this week. “It is absolutely a challenge.”

Tory MPs said that Mr Martin’s comments showed the policy was having the effect intended despite criticism of the plans from Europe.

Marco Longhi, a member of the home affairs committee, said: “The fact that asylum seekers are now starting to go elsewhere is clear evidence that the deterrent effect is taking place.”

A source close to James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, said: “The message of the Rwanda partnership is ‘if you want to come to the UK, and you do so illegally, you will not get to stay in the UK’. That is the point of a deterrent.”

Richard Tice, the Reform UK leader, referring to the Brexit deal on the Irish Sea border, said: “Oh the irony of the Irish Republic whining about the very border arrangement they insisted upon with the Protocol.

“Truth is, as usual, Irish leaders blame Brexit for all their own failings .”

It came as Mr Macron said he did “not believe in this model that some people want to put in place which means that you go and look for a third country, for example in Africa, and take people there who arrived illegally on our soil who don’t come from that country”.

“This will create a geopolitics of cynicism that is a betrayal of our values. It will create new dependencies and will prove totally ineffective,” Mr Macron said in Paris on Thursday.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said: “We don’t agree. We think that our approach is the right one.

“In terms of breaking the business model of the criminal gangs, we’ll need a strong deterrent.”

Mr Cleverly, the Home Secretary, also hit back, saying that third-party agreements to tackle migration were “not anything new” and were recognised as international solutions.

However, earlier on Thursday he appeared to downplay the importance of the Rwanda plan when he was asked whether it was at the centre of his plan to tackle illegal migration.

“No, it’s not,” he said at a lunch with journalists. “Not mine.”

The comments appeared to be an attempt to shift the responsibility for the Rwanda plan. The Prime Minister has made Rwanda a key part of his pledge to stop the boats.

Tory MPs also hit out at Mr Macron for his dismissal of the Rwanda policy .

David Jones, the Tory MP and the deputy chairman of the European Research Group, said: “Mr Macron’s criticism might be more tenable if, in return for the £500 million the UK pays to France, he were to tell French police to stop illegal migrants boarding their dinghies on the Channel beaches, rather than standing by and watching them.”

He added: “It’s very hard to see how the Rwanda effect can have caused the difficulties Ireland is now facing – the legislation was enacted only this week.

“The fact is that all of Europe is facing huge challenges caused by international human traffickers. Ireland and the rest of the EU – especially France – should work with the UK to address the problem.”

“So much for the Entente Cordiale: what a bloomin’ cheek,” said Mark Francois, the chairman of the European Research Group of MPs.

In March last year, Mr Sunak and Mr Macron agreed a deal to tackle the small boats illegally crossing the Channel.

Under its terms, Britain agreed to pay France about £480 million and fund a detention centre over three years. Paris agreed to increase patrols of its beaches.

At the time, Mr Macron said the UK should try to strike a replacement EU-wide migrant returns deal but that has been ruled out for the foreseeable future by European Commission sources.

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Ireland to resume sending asylum seekers back to the UK 'by end of May'

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak say the increase in migrant numbers crossing over to Ireland proves that his controversial Rwanda policy is working.

The Irish government has said it is planning to enact legislation by the end of May that would allow it to resume sending asylum seekers who arrive over the border with Northern Ireland back to the United Kingdom.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the emergency legislation would allow for faster processing of migrants.

“This has never been a panacea when we talk about returns, the most effective way that we can have an immigration system that's firm but fair is a fast processing system and what this means is that people's applications are turned around much more quickly,” she said.

Ireland’s High Court ruled last month that Ireland could not send back people who arrive from the UK seeking asylum because the Irish government had not specified whether they would be at risk after their return.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the legislation is about giving practical legal meaning to an agreement in place between the UK and Ireland since 2020.

Harris has urged Westminster to stand by the agreement, which allows asylum seekers to be returned in either direction.

Helen McEntee said that Ireland hadn’t returned anyone to the UK since 2020 as the agreement had been suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.

Immigration is an increasingly hot topic in Ireland, where asylum applications have been rising sharply.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claims that the increase in migrants crossing over to Ireland proves that his controversial Rwanda policy, which aims to send some asylum seekers arriving in Britain on a one-way trip to the African country, is working.

Human rights activists and migrants’ groups call the policy unethical, inhumane and costly.

Irish officials estimate that more than 80% of arrivals into Ireland came via the land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.

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• Entering and staying in the UK

Travelling to the UK from Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey or Jersey

Information for people travelling to the UK from Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, and information for people passing through the UK on the way to Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

The Common Travel Area

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is made up of the UK, Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man).

For the UK, the CTA arrangements means that you won’t always go through UK immigration control when travelling to the UK from somewhere else in the CTA. This is different to when you come to the UK from outside of the CTA.

You will never go through immigration control at the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

British and Irish citizens

Under the CTA arrangements , Irish citizens in the UK and British citizens in Ireland have the right to live, work, study, and access healthcare, social security and public services in each other’s countries without having to apply for permission.

Read more about what the CTA means for Irish citizens .

You don’t need to show your passport to a Border Force officer when travelling from Ireland to Great Britain. However, you may be asked to show a document that confirms your identity and nationality.

This could include:

• a valid passport or passport card (if you’re Irish)
• a copy of your passport or passport card with your identity and nationality clearly visible
• an expired passport or passport card, which Border Force are satisfied was issued to you originally
• evidence of having obtained British or Irish citizenship

This list is not exhaustive and other documents including providing more than one may be accepted. These are considered on a case by case basis by Border Force.

You will not pass through any immigration control when you enter the UK from Ireland across the land border, so you don’t need any documents to enter the UK on that route.

If you’re not a British or Irish citizen

There are different rules if you enter the UK from the CTA than if you enter the UK from a place outside the CTA. Usually, you don’t need to get permission to enter the UK if you are arriving from the CTA for a visit of up to 6 months.

However, there are exceptions to this. Some people need permission to enter the UK for a short visit wherever in the CTA they travel from. Other people only need permission if they’re travelling from Ireland.

If you enter the UK illegally from another part of the CTA, you may be removed from the UK.

People who need permission to enter the UK from anywhere within the CTA

For most people, there are different arrangements in place depending on whether you travel to the UK from Ireland or the Crown Dependencies .

You need to seek permission to enter the UK from anywhere in the CTA if:

• you are subject to a deportation order
• your exclusion has been deemed conducive to the public good
• you have previously been refused permission to enter the UK and haven’t, since the time you were refused permission, been granted permission to enter or remain in the UK or any of the Crown Dependencies

Travelling from Ireland to the UK

If you’re from an eea country or switzerland.

However, you may be asked to show your passport (which should be valid for the whole of your stay) or identity card to enter Great Britain when travelling from Ireland if you are encountered by Border Force.

You cannot use an EEA or Swiss national identity card to enter the UK, and can only use a valid passport, unless you:

• have settled or pre-settled status under the  EU Settlement Scheme , or Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man’s settlement schemes
• have an EU Settlement Scheme family permit, or the equivalent from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man
• have a Frontier Worker permit
• are an S2 Healthcare Visitor
• are a Swiss national and have a Service Provider from Switzerland visa

Irish citizens can use a passport card.

If you’re waiting for a decision on your application for settled or pre-settled status

You can still use your EEA or Swiss national identity card to enter the UK if all of the following are true:

• you’ve applied for settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man’s settlement schemes
• you’ve been issued with confirmation your application is valid
• you’re not applying as a joining family member

If you’re not from an EEA country or Switzerland

However, you may be asked by Border Force to show your passport, which should be valid for the whole of your stay, to enter Great Britain.

Permission to enter requirements

If you have permission to enter or remain in the UK (for example if you have a UK visa) you do not need further permission to enter the UK from Ireland.

You only need to get permission to enter the UK when arriving from Ireland if:

• you arrived in Ireland from outside of the CTA and did not obtain immigration permission to enter Ireland
• you’re a visa national who doesn’t have a valid UK visa, or a visa granted under the British-Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS)
• you entered Ireland unlawfully from outside the CTA
• you entered the UK or the Crown Dependencies unlawfully and went directly from there to Ireland
• your permission to enter or stay expired before you left the UK and since then you haven’t been given permission to enter or stay in the UK or any of the Crown Dependencies
• you are the subject of an international travel ban
• you were refused admission or subject to a removal decision under specific regulations - unless you were later given permission to enter or stay

In these situations, you must either apply for:

• a visa before you travel
• permission to enter from a Border Force (immigration) Officer at the UK border

You may not be able to get permission to enter the UK from a Border Force Officer if you enter the UK from the CTA. This is because there are usually no immigration controls on these journeys, and none on the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

For more information on who needs permission to enter the UK from Ireland, see the guidance on arriving in the UK from within the CTA .

Use the check if you need a UK visa tool to find out if you need a visa and what type.

Visas issued by Ireland are not acceptable for travel to the UK except for visas issued under the British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS) .

If you don’t need permission to enter the UK from Ireland

Some people automatically have permission to enter the UK when they arrive from Ireland. This permission is called ‘deemed leave’. You don’t need to apply for it. You won’t get a stamp in your passport showing deemed leave because you won’t necessarily meet a Border Force officer when travelling from Ireland to the UK.

You can enter on the basis of deemed leave when you either:

• enter Ireland from a country outside the CTA, and then travel on to the UK
• were in the UK with permission to stay for a limited time, went directly to Ireland and while you were in Ireland your permission expired, and you then came directly back to the UK

The length of time you can stay in the UK and the things you can do here on the basis of deemed leave are different depending on why you are entering the UK. If you don’t need to apply to enter the UK from Ireland, you can enter and stay in the UK on Article 4 deemed leave.

You can be in the UK for up to 6 months on your first visit from Ireland. This time starts from the date you entered the UK. You can prove the date you entered the UK by, for example, your ticket or boarding pass.

Your deemed leave ends when you leave the UK.

On following visits to the UK from Ireland, you can be in the UK for up to 2 months on the basis of deemed leave if you haven’t left the CTA since you were last in the UK.

You cannot do any paid or unpaid work if you’re in the UK on Article 4 deemed leave except for activities allowed under Appendix V: Visitor of the Immigration Rules .

If you want to come to the UK to do something that isn’t allowed under Article 4 deemed leave, you must apply for the relevant visa before you travel to the UK.

Use the check if you need a UK visa tool to find out which visa is right for what you want to do.

Other ways for non-visa nationals to enter the UK using deemed leave

You can also use deemed leave if you enter the UK from Ireland either:

• as an S2 healthcare visitor
• to do a permitted paid engagement

The rules of your deemed leave will be different depending on what you are coming to do.

Travelling to the UK for S2 healthcare treatment

S2 Healthcare Visitor arrangements apply to patients who applied before 11pm on 31 December 2020 to come to the UK for a course of planned healthcare treatment under the ‘S2 healthcare route’.

These arrangements also cover people who come with or join S2 Healthcare patients to support or care for them during their treatment.

See more information on S2 Healthcare Visitors including the documents you need .

If none of the exemptions apply to you and you enter the UK from Ireland with a valid S2 certificate you can enter and stay in the UK under Article 5 deemed leave. This is also true for anybody accompanying or joining you to provide care or support.

Under Article 5 deemed leave, you have permission to enter for 6 months, starting from the date you enter the UK from Ireland. You can prove this date, for example, with your travel ticket or boarding pass. This deemed leave ends when you leave the UK.

You cannot do any paid or unpaid work.

You can apply for permission to stay in the UK for another 6 months if treatment needs to continue. There’s no limit to the number of 6 month extensions you and your accompanying person can apply for, as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

If you go from the UK to Ireland and then back to the UK without having left the CTA, you’ll automatically be able to stay in the UK for up to 6 months if you still have a valid S2 healthcare certificate. This permission will start from the date you return to the UK.

Irish citizens in the UK automatically have rights to enter and stay in the UK and don’t need deemed leave for healthcare purposes (except in a rare circumstances).

If you’re a visa national you must hold a visa issued under the S2 Healthcare Visitor route in the Immigration Rules before you get to the UK, including from Ireland.

See more information on the S2 Healthcare Visitor route .

Travelling to the UK for permitted paid engagements

If you are coming to the UK for a permitted paid engagement from Ireland, you can stay in the UK on the basis of Article 6 deemed leave for up to one month.

Your deemed leave starts from the date you first enter the UK from Ireland. You can prove this date, for example, with your travel ticket or boarding pass. This deemed leave ends when you leave the UK.

On further visits to the UK you can only stay for up to 7 days on the basis of Article 6 deemed leave on each visit from Ireland, as long as you haven’t left the CTA in between visits to the UK.

If you want to use the longer deemed leave period given by Article 4 then you must first leave the CTA. You cannot switch between Article 4 and Article 6 deemed leave while still in the CTA.

You can do a different permitted paid engagement activity each time you visit the UK.

Your permitted paid engagement must:

• have been arranged before you travel to the UK
• be evidenced by a formal invitation
• relate to your area of expertise and occupation overseas

Travelling to the UK through Ireland under the Creative Worker visa concession

If you are travelling to the UK through Ireland under the Creative Worker visa concession you must apply for remote clearance at least 72 hours before you arrive in the UK.

Travelling between the Crown Dependencies and the UK

You don’t need a passport when travelling from the Crown Dependencies to the UK. However, you may need to show a Border Force officer document confirming your identity.

• a copy of your passport or passport card with your identity clearly visible
• a driving licence
• an armed forces identity card

This list is not exhaustive and other proof may be accepted. This will be considered on a case by case basis by Border Force.

You may also need to show that you have permission to enter the UK such as:

• a biometric residence permit
• proof of your digital status (or eVisa)
• a vignette in your passport
• confirmation of immigration permission from one of the Crown Dependencies

This list is not exhaustive and you may be able to confirm you have permission to enter the UK in another way. Your circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis by Border Force.

If you get permission to enter or stay in the UK, that permission and any conditions attached to it also apply in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey (the Crown Dependencies). The same is true if the Crown Dependencies give you permission to enter or stay and you then travel to the UK.

You only need one UK visa if you plan to travel directly to the UK or any of the Crown Dependencies, or stop in any one of those places on the way to another.

Submit and pay for visa applications for permission to enter the Crown Dependencies in the same way as for the UK.

Travelling through the UK on your way to another part of the CTA

Even if you only enter the UK as part of your journey to Ireland or the Crown Dependencies you must still follow the UK’s immigration laws while you’re in the UK .

You must follow the immigration laws of whichever part of the CTA that you are in at the time. This includes visa requirements, restrictions on employment and length of stay.

Travelling to Ireland from the UK

Check travel advice for Ireland .

Added link to advice on travel to Ireland.

Updated section on 'Travelling to the UK through Ireland under the Creative Worker visa concession' to reflect that this concession is no longer available to sporting workers.

Updated information on use of ID cards to enter the UK if you're an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen.

Updated information for Irish citizens travelling to the UK from Ireland or the Crown Dependencies.

First published.

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Ireland aims to enact legislation on returning asylum seekers to UK by end of May

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