Migrants afraid of being deported to Rwanda, as part of former Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s deal, decided to board coaches to Dublin’s main bus station. It was noted that around 80% of people who claimed asylum in Ireland – part of the EU – had arrived from the UK.

Following Labour coming to power, the Rwanda scheme was cancelled, and two years later, it was revealed that some migrants are now catching the bus to Belfast and crossing into the UK via the land border, where routine immigration checks are not carried out under the Common Travel Area arrangements.

Jim O’Callaghan, Irish minister for Justice, Home Affairs and migration, said: “My UK counterpart [Shabana Mahmood] has concerns about people arriving in Dublin, going to Belfast then travelling to the UK.”

The Sun’s investigation also found various TikTok videos that let people know about the new route. In one video, captioned “Ireland to UK” and posted in December, a man stands next to a bus, letting migrants know that travelling to the UK via the Republic is cheaper and safer than travelling by small boat.

He said: “You see, this bus is the one people take from Ireland. In Europe, you survive either by using your intelligence or by using your money.”

According to Irish bus drivers, fake tickets are typically used to board the coaches, which means only the traffickers receive payments.

Drivers at Dublin’s central station, Busaras, say they’ve seen an increase in the number of migrants going to Belfast, including Sean Johnson, who says he is “taking about 20 a week” on one bus.

Another driver, who did not want to be named, said that Dublin used to be where many migrants headed, but the flow has reversed.

The driver added: “A couple of years ago, we were regularly stopped by Garda immigration officials at junction 20 of the M1 (the border between the North and the Republic) and several people would always be hauled off.

“Now, there are fewer checks ­heading south and you are never stopped going north.”

Mr O’Callaghan suspects that thousands of migrants who received deportation orders in the past 12 months have likely travelled back to Britain via the open border.

In September, he told the Irish parliament: “We have already served 3,029 deportation orders this year. Obviously, not all of those people have been removed yet, but we believe that a very significant number of them will have left the country. They may go back into the UK or other parts of Europe if they do not get asylum here.”

Ireland has made its system stricter. Employed asylum seekers must contribute 10-40% of their weekly income towards accommodation costs; those seeking residency must wait 5 years rather than 3.

It’s also reported that 81% of new claims are rejected at the first attempt.

MIGRANTS WHO FLED FROM UK TO IRELAND RETURN DUE TO ONE LABOUR MOVE – STARmer FACES FRESH BORDER CRISIS AS COMMON TRAVEL AREA COMES UNDER SCRUTINY!

A fresh immigration controversy has erupted between Britain and Ireland after reports that migrants who previously left the United Kingdom for Ireland are now making their way back across the border following a major policy decision by Keir Starmer’s Labour government.

The development has reignited questions about Britain’s border security, the future of the asylum system, and whether the government’s decision to abandon the previous Conservative Rwanda deportation policy has created an unexpected problem for immigration enforcement.

What was once a political dispute between London and Dublin has now become a wider debate about the effectiveness of Britain’s immigration controls.

Critics argue that Labour’s decision to scrap the Rwanda scheme removed an important deterrent and potentially changed the direction of migration across the Irish Sea.

The issue is particularly sensitive because Britain and Ireland share the Common Travel Area, an arrangement that allows British and Irish citizens to travel and live between the two countries without routine immigration controls.

This creates a unique situation.

Unlike many international borders, the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland does not operate with the conventional system of passport checkpoints and routine immigration inspections.

For immigration authorities, this presents practical challenges when attempting to establish where people have travelled from and whether they have the legal right to remain in either country.

And for Starmer, the latest developments have created another uncomfortable political question: has Labour’s immigration strategy made it easier for people to move between Britain and Ireland without effective checks?

THE LABOUR DECISION THAT CHANGED THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

The controversy goes back to July 2024, when Starmer’s government formally abandoned the previous Conservative government’s Rwanda asylum removal policy.

Under the previous scheme, certain asylum seekers arriving irregularly in Britain could potentially have been sent to Rwanda for their claims to be processed.

The policy was one of Rishi Sunak’s central immigration commitments, although it faced significant legal challenges and never resulted in anyone being forcibly relocated to Rwanda before Labour cancelled it.

Starmer argued that the scheme was expensive, ineffective, and failed to provide a practical solution to the Channel crossings crisis.

Instead, Labour promised to focus on tackling people-smuggling organisations, improving border enforcement, and speeding up the asylum application process.

However, the decision had consequences beyond the English Channel.

During 2024, Ireland experienced growing concerns about the number of asylum seekers arriving from the United Kingdom through Northern Ireland.

Irish officials suggested that the possibility of deportation to Rwanda had influenced some people’s decisions to leave Britain.

The result was an increasingly tense political relationship between London and Dublin.

Ireland wanted greater cooperation over the return of asylum seekers, while the British government questioned why Britain should accept returns when other European countries were not accepting equivalent arrangements.

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NOW THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL APPEARS TO BE CHANGING

The latest controversy concerns reports that some migrants who previously travelled from Britain to Ireland are now returning in the opposite direction.

A report published by The Irish Sun describes how the cancellation of the Rwanda scheme has contributed to changing migration incentives.

According to the report, some migrants who travelled to Ireland during the previous government’s deportation controversy have subsequently returned to Britain.

The Common Travel Area is central to this story.

Because routine immigration checks are not generally carried out at the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, travelling between the two jurisdictions can be relatively straightforward.

People can travel through Belfast and onward into other parts of the United Kingdom using ordinary transport connections.

However, the absence of routine border checks does not mean that immigration laws have disappeared.

People who are not British or Irish citizens still need an appropriate legal basis to enter or remain in the UK.

The authorities also retain immigration enforcement powers.

Nevertheless, identifying and tracking individual movements can be more complicated when people travel through an area without conventional border checkpoints.

The reports have raised questions about whether the government has sufficient information-sharing arrangements to monitor movements and identify individuals who may have returned after leaving Britain.

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IRELAND IS ALSO STRUGGLING WITH ITS OWN ASYLUM CRISIS

The controversy is not simply a British problem.

Ireland has experienced considerable pressure on its international protection system, with accommodation shortages and rising demand creating political difficulties for successive governments.

In 2024, Irish officials expressed serious concern about the number of asylum applicants arriving through Northern Ireland.

The issue became particularly controversial after Irish authorities suggested that more than 80 per cent of recent asylum applicants were entering through the land border with Northern Ireland.

The Irish government responded by seeking legislative changes that would allow certain inadmissible asylum applicants to be returned to the United Kingdom.

However, legal difficulties prevented the immediate resumption of returns.

In March 2024, the Irish High Court found that the existing legal framework for designating the UK as a safe third country was flawed.

The government subsequently proposed changes to the International Protection Act to address the legal problems.

The objective was to restore a mechanism allowing Ireland to return individuals to Britain when the UK was considered the appropriate country to examine their protection applications.

This demonstrates that Dublin has been trying to strengthen its own immigration arrangements rather than simply accepting the consequences of Britain’s decisions.

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THE NUMBERS THAT HAVE RAISED FRESH QUESTIONS

Official figures provide another important dimension to the controversy.

Ireland recorded 13,160 asylum applications in 2025, representing a decline of approximately 30 per cent compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, UK asylum applications increased by approximately 13 per cent to 110,051.

These figures have attracted attention because they suggest that the two countries experienced different asylum application trends during the same period.

However, they do not prove that migrants who previously travelled from Britain to Ireland were collectively returning to the UK.

Migration patterns are influenced by many factors, including changes in national policies, international conflicts, accommodation availability, and the decisions of individual applicants.

There is also evidence of significant immigration enforcement activity in Northern Ireland.

According to a written parliamentary answer published on 15 September 2026, Home Office Immigration Enforcement conducted 2,913 enforcement visits in Northern Ireland between July 2024 and May 2026.

These visits resulted in 2,425 arrests.

Of those arrested, 963 people were subsequently returned, with 493 having Ireland recorded as their destination.

Importantly, these figures include both asylum-related and non-asylum immigration enforcement cases.

They should not be interpreted as proof that all those individuals were asylum seekers or people returning to Ireland after previously leaving Britain.

Nevertheless, they demonstrate that immigration enforcement across Northern Ireland and the Irish border remains an active government priority.

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THE COMMON TRAVEL AREA: A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR BORDER SECURITY

The Common Travel Area has existed in various forms for almost a century.

It allows British and Irish citizens to move freely between the two countries and supports close cooperation in areas including employment, education, healthcare, and social security.

It is particularly important for people living along the Northern Ireland border, where communities frequently travel between the two jurisdictions for work, shopping, education, and family responsibilities.

Introducing conventional immigration checkpoints would create serious practical and political difficulties.

It could also undermine the delicate arrangements surrounding Northern Ireland.

This is why British and Irish governments have generally sought to maintain the Common Travel Area while improving cooperation through information sharing and targeted enforcement.

The difficulty is ensuring that arrangements designed to protect freedom of movement for British and Irish citizens cannot be exploited by individuals attempting to avoid immigration controls.

Both governments therefore face pressure to improve communication and identify people who may be attempting to circumvent immigration procedures.

LABOUR FACES ANOTHER TEST OVER ITS IMMIGRATION PROMISES

For Starmer, the political implications are significant.

Labour promised to replace the previous government’s approach with a more effective system focused on enforcement, cooperation, and tackling criminal smuggling networks.

But critics argue that abandoning the Rwanda policy without immediately establishing a sufficiently effective alternative created uncertainty.

They believe the government underestimated the importance of the relationship between British and Irish immigration systems.

The opposition has an obvious opportunity to challenge Labour over these developments.

Conservative politicians can argue that the previous government’s policy created a deterrent, even though it was never implemented through actual deportations.

Reform UK can use the controversy to strengthen its argument that Britain needs substantially tighter immigration controls.

Meanwhile, Labour ministers must explain how the government intends to prevent abuse of the Common Travel Area while protecting the historic arrangements between Britain and Ireland.

The government also needs to demonstrate that immigration enforcement is effective without imposing unnecessary restrictions on ordinary travellers.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The situation will depend heavily on cooperation between London and Dublin.

Both governments need reliable information-sharing arrangements, effective immigration enforcement, and clear procedures for dealing with people who have no legal right to remain.

Ireland also needs a functioning return mechanism for individuals whose asylum claims should legally be processed in another country.

Britain, meanwhile, must establish how it will manage people who return after leaving the country and whether additional monitoring arrangements are necessary.

The issue cannot be solved through political announcements alone.

It requires practical cooperation, accurate information, and a system that respects the legal rights of individuals while enforcing immigration rules.

Ultimately, the controversy demonstrates how closely connected Britain’s immigration challenges are with those of its closest neighbour.

A decision made in Westminster can influence asylum applications in Dublin, while developments in Ireland can create new enforcement challenges for British authorities.

THE BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER STARMER’S GOVERNMENT CAN CLOSE THE GAPS IN IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT WITHOUT UNDERMINING THE COMMON TRAVEL AREA THAT HAS CONNECTED BRITAIN AND IRELAND FOR GENERATIONS.

For Labour, this is another opportunity to demonstrate that its immigration strategy is capable of delivering real results.

For Ireland, the priority is maintaining control over its asylum system while securing cooperation from London.

And for British taxpayers, the demand remains clear: an immigration system that is properly managed, transparent, enforceable, and capable of preventing individuals from exploiting weaknesses between neighbouring countries.

The political argument is far from over, and the relationship between Britain’s immigration policies and Ireland’s border arrangements is likely to remain under intense scrutiny.