Immigration officer, passport control

Job description

Immigration officers check the eligibility of all individuals entering the country at sea- and airports. They are responsible for enforcing immigration control in line with the law and, where necessary, employ legal powers to detain or remove illegal entrants.

In the Republic of Ireland, immigration officers work for the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), handling administrative duties relating to asylum, immigration (eg visas), and citizenship issues. The UK Border Agency places officers at Northern Ireland’s airports and seaports to monitor the movement of goods, freight and passengers and to ensure that illegal actions such as smuggling, fraud and immigration crime are detected and dealt with accordingly. Officers working in the UK Border Agency office in Belfast are concerned with controlling migration, which involves processing asylum claims and requests to settle in the UK. Airports and ports are extremely busy environments with a constant stream of passengers passing through, making the work stressful at times.

Work activities

• Determining the length of stay permitted for all non-EU citizens at the port of entry.
• Refusing entry to passengers found not to be eligible for entry.
• Examining the passports of passengers upon their arrival.
• Conducting interviews.
• Record personal details and taking fingerprints.
• Writing case reports.
• Organising the removal of passengers who are found not to be eligible for entry into the Republic of Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Work conditions

Travel: may be necessary in some positions.
Working hours: are unsociable and irregular; officers are required to work shifts at varying times of the day.
Location: many positions are based nearby to ports and airports, or in Dublin or Belfast.

Entry requirements

Although a degree is generally not necessary for entry, a qualification or degree in a subject such as languages or legal studies can be beneficial.

In order to work for the UK Border Agency, it is necessary to have been resident in the UK continuously for five years.

Further information

The UK Border Agency is not currently recruiting externally.