Since the United Kingdom officially completed its exit from the European Union in 2020, the rules governing travel between the U.K. and Ireland have been subjected to significantly more nuance than those of other European nations.
With the wider Irish island divided into the Republic of Ireland and the British constituent of Northern Ireland, the Common Trade Area (CTA) has allowed free travel between the two countries since the Irish Free State was established in 1923.
Crossing between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland can be done without physical checkpoints or passport controls, but once on the other side, visitors are subject to the immigration rules of the other country.
Airlines flying between the U.K. and Ireland eventually transitioned to requiring a passport instead of simply an internal ID, while, until the most recent changes, crossing by sea could still be done without one.
Traveling between the U.K. and Ireland by ferry? New passport rules will apply from September 2026
This is set to change in late September. British and Irish border forces announced that from Sept. 28 onward, a passport will be required for those taking one of the three main commercial ferry operators between the two countries.
Stena Line and Irish Ferries, two operators that run sailings between cities such as Dublin and Holyhead and Belfast to Cairnryan and Liverpool, informed customers that the changes are being put in place to align with immigration requirements and to ensure “accuracy and integrity of passenger data before boarding,” the Independent reported.
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The CTA is still in place and ensures that Irish and British citizens can legally travel between the two countries without a passport. But the crackdown by airlines and ferry operators means there now remain very few ways to do this when traveling between the island of Ireland and the island of Great Britain on commercial transport.
Regardless of age or immigration status, anyone attempting to board a ferry without a passport after Sept. 28 will be refused passage. Stena Line and Irish Ferries have both encouraged those traveling in the coming weeks to make sure they have an unexpired passport or passport card before the change goes into effect.
Some disagree: “Tightening passenger verification on some but not all ferry travel makes little sense”
The changes do not affect ferries that go from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
This means that someone who took the ferry using an internal ID would then be able to cross to the Irish Republic without any further border checks.
