Maman Poulet

While we’re busy watching the government nationalise a bank on our behalf you may not notice proposals announced today in London which will see the end of the common travel area. The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill will see changes in citizenship rules including a requirement to speak English, and require those travelling into the UK from Ireland by plane or boat to formally show identification rather than a quick flick of the boarding pass as we’ve become used to.

Now it seems the Home Office knows that there will be one hell of a queue via their impact assessment. There are delays getting into Ireland as it is these days with blue flu out at Dublin Airport due to Gardai ‘not’ protesting. No passport controls will exist between Northern Ireland and the Republic however the legislation will introduce the ‘conduct [of] intelligence-led operations to check those entering via the land border in Northern Ireland and those arriving from the Crown dependencies.’

More from the Guardian

The legislation will bring to an end the common travel area between the republic and Britain, which dates back to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922. Apart from limited attempts to control the land border during and after the second world war the common travel area has been a free movement zone for more than 80 years.

Ministers say the proposal in the citizenship and immigration bill will “plug a critical gap” in Britain’s border security as they introduce the multibillion pound “electronic border” over the next five years. The programme will enable travellers to be checked against watch lists before they get on the plane or ferry.

1 Comment »