Moving to the UK from Ireland: Guide

The Common Travel Area

The Common Travel Area covers the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. GOV.UK describes it as a long-standing arrangement that pre-dates both countries' membership of the EU; it does not give a founding date. In May 2019 both governments signed a memorandum of understanding reaffirming the arrangement and the rights that come with it.

GOV.UK's wording is that British and Irish citizens “can move freely and reside in either jurisdiction and enjoy associated rights and privileges, including the right to work, study and vote in certain elections, as well as to access social welfare benefits and health services”. In practice that means an Irish citizen can:

• Enter and live in the UK without any immigration permission
• Work without a visa or work permit
• Study at any institution
• Use the NHS and apply for benefits
• Register to vote anywhere in the UK

These rights were not affected by Brexit. They rest on the Common Travel Area, not on EU law.

Benefits are a separate test from immigration status. Most benefits also require you to be habitually resident in the UK, and that is judged on your circumstances rather than on your nationality, so arriving from Ireland does not by itself satisfy it.

No Visa or Immigration Application Needed

Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa, settled status or any immigration permission to live in the UK. You do not need to:

• Apply for a visa
• Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme — Irish citizens were never required to
• Apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain)
• Pay the immigration health surcharge

One thing you do still do: employers must carry out a right to work check on everyone they hire, including British and Irish citizens. Irish citizens cannot use the online share code service, so you show your Irish passport or passport card, either to the employer directly or through an identity checking provider they use.

Practical Steps When Moving

See our first week checklist for essential tasks after arrival.

• National Insurance number. Apply for a National Insurance number to work and pay tax.
• GP registration. Register with a GP — fully entitled to NHS care.
• Bank account. Open a UK bank account. Most banks accept an Irish passport as ID.
• Electoral registration. Register to vote on GOV.UK. Irish citizens are listed alongside British citizens as eligible to register in every part of the UK.
• Driving. How long you can keep driving on an Irish licence, and whether you can exchange it for a British one, depends on the licence and on where in the UK you live. Use the GOV.UK tool for driving in Great Britain on a non-GB licence; Northern Ireland runs a separate process through nidirect.

Employment Rights

None of the UK visa fees apply, and neither does the immigration health surcharge, because there is no visa application to attach them to.

Irish citizens have the same employment rights as British citizens. There are no restrictions on the type of work you can do or the hours you can work. You are entitled to the National Minimum Wage, statutory sick pay, maternity pay, and all other employment protections.

Path to British Citizenship

Irish citizens can apply for British citizenship through a route GOV.UK publishes for Irish citizens alone. It asks for 5 years' residence in the UK before the date of the application and good character. You do not need settlement (indefinite leave to remain) first: an Irish citizen is treated as free from immigration time restrictions from arrival.

The published conditions and costs of that route are:

• £723 to apply, plus a £130 citizenship ceremony fee — £853 in total for an adult. It is £607 for each child, and a fee waiver may be available for a child.
• No more than 450 days outside the UK in the 5 years, and no more than 90 days in the last 12 months.
• You must have been physically in the UK exactly 5 years before the day the Home Office receives your application.
• GOV.UK's page for this route does not list the Life in the UK test or an English language requirement among its conditions.

Read the conditions in full on GOV.UK: apply for British citizenship if you're an Irish citizen.

There is a separate published route for anyone married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen. It needs 3 years' residence rather than 5, but it is naturalisation rather than this route: it costs £1,709 to apply plus the £130 ceremony fee, and it does require the Life in the UK test and proof of knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic. GOV.UK says a decision on that route usually arrives within 6 months, and some take longer.

Ireland permits dual citizenship, so becoming British does not cost you your Irish citizenship.

Northern Ireland Considerations

Under the Good Friday Agreement, people born in Northern Ireland can choose to be British, Irish, or both. There are no routine immigration controls on the land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Common Travel Area rights belong to Irish citizens. A family member who is not an Irish or British citizen needs their own permission to come to the UK, and that permission is now held digitally rather than on a card — see our guide to the eVisa.

Next Steps

For an Irish citizen there is no application to make, so the tasks are practical ones: a National Insurance number, a GP, a bank account, the electoral register. For the official position on the arrangement itself, read the GOV.UK Common Travel Area guidance.

Questions and answers