** Enforcement Immigration Officer

Job summary

Immigration Enforcement is responsible for enforcing the government’s immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK. We also aim to disrupt the organised criminal groups that exploit the vulnerable for their personal gain. Learn more on our careers pages.

This is a frontline operational role where your actions make a real difference to public safety and the reduction of harm. As an Immigration Officer, you will work as part of a professional team carrying out a wide range of operational duties. The role is varied and fast paced, requiring you to engage confidently with individuals, assess risk, and make balanced decisions in situations that can be complex or challenging.

You will play a crucial role in protecting the UK and its citizens.

Join us and be part of a team that makes a real difference. Your skills, dedication, and passion can help shape the future of Immigration Enforcement.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.

Job description

The Northern Ireland Immigration, Compliance and Enforcement team (ICE team) play a vital role in tackling immigration abuse and combating organised immigration crime.

Your day-to-day work will include conducting Common Travel Area (CTA) operations, and enforcement visits in order to identify, arrest, and detain immigration offenders. You will gather intelligence to help combat immigration abuse and develop a broader intelligence picture.

A core function of the role is protecting the vulnerable and you will utilise your communication skills and professional curiosity to safeguard individuals and make appropriate referrals to both internal and external stakeholders.

You will work both independently and as part of a team to run a busy operational shift, ensuring professional and efficient delivery of services to the public.

This is a physically demanding job, and you will need to have a high level of mobility and fitness to carry out this role. Personal resilience and integrity are also required. Our officers need to be able to respond to challenges in a calm and professional manner.

Working for Immigration Enforcement video (youtube.com)

You may be required to undertake the same or a similar role within a different team or teams (where possible, at your base location or within reasonable travel distance), depending on business priorities. With appropriate training and support, this will provide opportunities to broaden both your experience and skill set.

Key Responsibilities:

• Protecting and safeguarding the vulnerable.
• Identifying, arresting, and detaining immigration offenders.
• Conducting enforcement visits, including completing property and person searches, collecting, preserving, and recording evidence. Attending court to obtain search warrants and providing witness statements to support criminal prosecutions.
• As Officer in Charge (on enforcement visits) directing officers, conducting briefings/de-briefings and completing risk assessments.
• Completing evidence-based referrals to other agencies for issuing of fines and compliance notices.
• Engaging with communities and partner agencies across government and conducting compliance visits to educate employers.
• Gathering intelligence, demonstrating a genuine interest in people by asking questions, maintaining an inquisitive and open mind, and engaging with empathy.
• Conducting database checks, closely examining documents, writing reports and inputting data on internal operating systems and handheld devices.

Note: This is not an exclusive or exhaustive list, and you will be required to perform any additional duties reasonably expected.

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis.

The team operates 365 days a year. You will need to be able to attend for all shifts including early starts, late night finishes, and overnight shifts. These shifts may be outside of public transport operating hours.

Shift lengths can vary and can occasionally be over 12 hours. Shifts can be changed or extended according to business need at very short notice.

Age

You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of submitting your application. You will be required to work between 22.00 and 06.00, so this is a legal requirement. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/night working-hours

Training

We will give you full and comprehensive training which will enable you to carry out this worthwhile and varied role. You will need to undertake an IO Core Skills training programme if successful, this is a pass or fail course, which you will be required to pass to carry out the role. Subject to availability of pathway training courses, our new starters will be required to commence a shift working pattern before training begins of 3-4 weeks. You will be expected to be available for 5-7 weeks for the course which may include weekends and if the venue is away from your base location travel and accommodation costs will be met by the business.

Upon completion of the training course, you will undertake in house mentoring with your team, to allow you to exercise and put into practice the training received, allowing you to complete the pathway training. This mentoring period can normally take 12 months for completion.

Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Proven experience of building rapport with the public, internal and external stakeholders, to support outcomes.
• Remains composed, flexible, and reliable when working under pressure or in a demanding fast-paced environment.
• Confident handling challenging conversations, expressing ideas and responding to feedback.
• Strong capability to plan, coordinate and manage varied workloads, across competing priorities, while maintaining accurate records and timely task completion.
• Ability to deliver fair, professional, and high‑quality service to individuals from diverse backgrounds and handling challenging or resistant behaviour confidently.
• Able to assess information, identify risks or issues, and make clear, evidence-based decisions.
• Able to use Microsoft Office confidently as part of day‑to‑day work, with a consistent focus on accuracy.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience working within law enforcement, security, regulatory, or other sensitive data‑handling environments.

Licences

Due to the nature of the work and/or the geographical area, driving is a key requirement for this role. You must have a full valid UK manual driving licence at the time of application. You will be required to present this at interview.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

1. Application – by 26th May 2026

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• Personal Statement (maximum 750 words).
• Evidence of the Behaviour Making Effective Decisions (maximum of 250 words).

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

2. Sift – 1st June 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and Behaviour Making Effective Decisions, as listed in the advert.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining element submitted (Behaviour). Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the initial sift will not have their remaining submitted element scored and will only receive a sift score for that assessed at the initial sift.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Strength based questions.

3. Interview – 29th June 2026

The interview will take place in person, at Drumkeen House Belfast.

In addition, candidates will be asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation that will be delivered at interview. The presentation question/scenario will be disclosed at the interview.

The presentation will be assessed against 'Experience' on the 'Success Profiles' and will be assessed against the 'Essential Criteria' as listed in the job advertisement.

Travel expenses will not be reimbursed.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

Breaking Tied Scores

The behaviours, experience, and strengths have been ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK. As stated in the Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.

Appearance

This is a uniformed post and as such requires the highest standards. Further information on this and policies regarding tattoos can be found on our website.

Standards

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Integrity Check

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, you will also be subject to an additional Integrity Check, as part of the pre-employment process, to determine your suitability to work for Border Force or Immigration Enforcement. For further information on what this involves, please visit our website.

Criminal Record Check

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Access NI on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Home Office Resourcing Centre
• Email : HORCCampaignTeamIE@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Attachments

2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)Candidate_Information_v17_April_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 207kB)