Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the revised guidance on the Common Travel Area from UK Visas and Immigration, published on 2 September 2021, whether compliance with Border Force requests to produce passports or the other listed identity and nationality documents on Common Travel Area routes is voluntary or compulsory.

We are phasing out the use of EU, EEA and Swiss national identity cards, with certain exceptions, as a valid travel document for entry to the UK from 1 October.

As now, there will be no routine immigration controls on Common Travel Area (CTA) journeys and none whatsoever on land journeys between Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes will continue. We want to ensure passengers have sufficient clarity on what they need to do when travelling from one part of the CTA to another, in particular British and Irish citizens who continue to benefit from their important CTA rights.

We are therefore confirming the documents people will be required to present when entering the UK from another part of the CTA as part of an intelligence-led immigration control if they are encountered by a Border Force officer.

Border Force asses each case on its individual merits. Those who cannot provide the required documents or satisfy Border Force of their status may be refused entry and expected to leave the UK.

The full list of updated document requirements are available on the gov.uk page you refer to.