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Written question asked by Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 15 June 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 June 2026. It was answered by Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 June 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Undocumented Migrants: Republic of Ireland

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many illegal migrants who have gained entry to the UK via the Republic of Ireland have been returned to the Republic of Ireland in the last five years.

Answer

As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from Ireland to the UK, with no immigration checks being undertaken on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

The UK does however carry out intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes, including between Ireland and Northern Ireland but away from the land border. This is to detect those who intend to abuse CTA arrangements. Operational activity is intelligence led and focussed on abuse of the CTA by criminals.

There is a high level of cooperation between multiple law enforcement agencies, including Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, NCA and Police forces to achieve this. We regularly monitor and review any identified trends and we work closely with our colleagues in Ireland in taking action to address this.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL986
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Deportation Undocumented migrants Republic of Ireland
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk