Home Office statistics updated on 8 October 2026 record 3,037 Immigration Enforcement visits and 2,482 arrests in Northern Ireland between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026, with 994 people subsequently returned.
Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026, Immigration Enforcement conducted 3,037 enforcement visits in Northern Ireland. These resulted in 2,482 arrests. A total of 994 people were subsequently returned, 515 of them with a destination of Ireland.
The Home Office compares these figures with the two years immediately before (1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024). Enforcement visits rose by 18%, from 2,569. Arrests rose by 38%, from 1,803. Subsequent returns rose by 6%, from 936. Returns with a destination of Ireland rose by 1%, from 509.
The return types included in the "returns" figures are "enforced", "voluntary" and "port". The Home Office refers readers to its immigration system statistics quarterly release for a more detailed description of return types and for comprehensive statistics on immigration enforcement activity, including the number of returns.
The data are provisional. The Home Office says they were taken from live operational systems on 22 September 2026 and may differ from previously published numbers. They are subject to further revision, because open records are updated and closed or because of regular data quality and assurance exercises.
The release covers all enforcement visits conducted in Northern Ireland. For that reason, the Home Office says it will not align with figures reported in previous releases within Returns from the UK and enforcement activity.
A separate release in the same publication, covering illegal working activity to the end of June 2026, also gives Northern Ireland figures. It records 103 illegal working visits between 1 January and 30 June 2026, against 72 in the same months of 2025, an increase of 43%. Illegal working arrests in Northern Ireland were 123, against 106, an increase of 16%.
Sources
- Returns from the UK and enforcement activity, Home Office, including Northern Ireland enforcement activity between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026 (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0)