Electronic Travel Authorisations: Northern Ireland
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Transport and (b) the Home Department on the potential impact of increases in biometric checks at borders on people travelling in the Common Travel Area between the (i) Republic of Ireland and (ii) UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp
No discussions have taken place.
Journeys from Ireland to the UK are within the Common Travel Area (CTA). As part of the CTA arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls of individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland.
The UK does however operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes – away from the land border. If an individual is suspected to be unlawfully in the UK their biometrics maybe checked in order to ascertain their identity and status.
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