Common Travel Area

(asked on 12th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits to the UK's foreign policy objectives of writing the Common Travel Area into domestic UK law.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 20th January 2022

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a longstanding administrative arrangement between the UK and Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It allows British and Irish citizens to travel freely between the UK and Ireland and reside in either jurisdiction. It also facilitates the enjoyment of associated rights and privileges including the right to work, to study and to access social security benefits and health services.

This is already underpinned by current domestic legislation. In 2019, the British and Irish governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding reaffirming our mutual commitments on rights and privileges enjoyed by British and Irish citizens in each other's state.

It is estimated that some 60 million UK Citizens benefit from these administrative arrangements, with some 5 million Irish citizens benefitting.

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