Ireland a «Back Door» for Russian Spies to UK Due to Visa Policy

Ireland may be serving as a «back door» for Russian intelligence operatives to enter the UK, exploiting Dublin's liberal visa policy and the lack of internal border controls within the Common Travel Area, according to The Telegraph.

Ireland, one of two EU states outside the Schengen Area with its own visa procedures, is part of the Common Travel Area with the UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. This allows Russian nationals legally entering Ireland to cross into Britain. Since Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Ireland has issued 14,000 visas to Russian citizens with a 90% approval rate. British officials have warned Dublin about this volume, as stated by MEP Barry Andrews, a former Irish Minister for Children.

Andrews noted that Ireland's intelligence services are less sophisticated than the UK's, making it a concern for British authorities. He also mentioned «quite a lot of evidence of nefarious activities by Russia in Ireland.» This aligns with a broader pattern of Russian intelligence using third countries against Britain, such as the May 2025 sentencing of six Bulgarian nationals in the UK for running a Russian intelligence cell.

With Ireland assuming the EU Council presidency in July, Andrews urged Irish immigration officers to enhance screening for Russian and Belarusian applicants, including social media checks and in-person interviews, and to review the current visa process. This call coincides with broader European intelligence warnings about Russian hybrid activity, including operatives buying properties near military bases across the EU, and a May 31 BelPol investigation mapping over 100 Belarusian KGB and GRU officers operating under diplomatic cover in 40 countries, many also tasked by Russian intelligence.