Passports Needed for Factory Jobs 1880s?

[DolphinsBarn]

Did immigrants from Eastern Europe need passports as a prerequisite to obtaining employment in the factories in England and Scotland in the 1880s?

[Jebber]

There were no restriction, Passports were a rarity in this country until the Statutes of Aliens Act in 1914.

[Greensleeves]

Jebber just beat me to it!  Passports did exist in the 1800s but these were generally used by diplomats, merchants and suchlike.  Ordinary people generally could come and go as they wished, and it wasn't until WW1 that restrictions on movement were imposed.

[hallmark]

http://etseq.law.harvard.edu/2015/07/german-passports-and-identification-documents-a-history/