Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to ensure that British citizen frontier workers who work in Northern Ireland and live in the Republic of Ireland are able to secure their rights under Article 30(d) of the EU Withdrawal Agreement in the event that they are not eligible to apply for a frontier worker permit.

The frontier worker permit scheme has been established under Article 26 of the Withdrawal Agreement (and equivalent provisions in the agreements with the EEA EFTA States and Switzerland) to provide EU citizens with a right to be issued with a document certifying their rights as frontier workers in the UK under those agreements. British citizens and dual national British citizens who live outside the UK but who work in the UK are not within the personal scope of the Agreements and therefore are not eligible to apply to the frontier worker permit scheme. British citizens already have right of abode in the UK and do not need permission to work in the UK as that right stems from their British citizenship.

UK nationals who were lawfully resident in Ireland before the transition period ended are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and do not need to apply for a new residence status in Ireland as their rights are conferred automatically by operation of the law. Under Article 30(d), UK nationals resident in Ireland and subject to the legislation of the UK continue to be covered by the EU social security regulations in full. This means that if the UK is competent, then the UK Government will be responsible for their social security cover in Ireland, including reciprocal healthcare.

Access to these rights will be determined by caseworkers upon application and guidance on evidence requirements has been published on gov.uk. The Withdrawal Agreement is without prejudice to Common Travel Area arrangements between the UK and Ireland and the rights of British and Irish citizens in each other's state. This includes rights under the social security agreement between the two countries.