Badly drawn legislation - Nationality and Borders Bill

[CurtainRaiser]

Well this is going to make those NIP negotiations easier?

 

"Non-Irish EU citizens living in the Republic will have to apply online for pre-travel clearance from the UK in order to cross the border on the island of Ireland, under proposed new British immigration laws.

 

Under the Nationality and Borders Bill, they will be required to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before entering the UK, including when crossing into Northern Ireland.

 

The Bill has cleared the House of Commons and now heads to the House of Lords.

 

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson here said this morning: "The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement that allows Irish and British citizens to move freely between Ireland and the UK.

 

"The CTA also permits Irish citizens to take up residence in the UK and British citizens to take up residence in Ireland.

 

"With regard to travel and immigration matters, the CTA covers Irish and British citizens."

 

The measure, first reported in the Irish Times, it will also apply to citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) living here, which includes people from Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

 

How such a system would be enforceable when it comes to people crossing the border from the Republic to Northern Ireland is not clear from the Nationality and Borders Bill.

 

The proposals have been described as "unworkable" by an Alliance Party MP for North Down.

 

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Stephen Farry said the proposals would add another layer of bureaucracy and complexity and will create a sense of "legal risk and jeopardy" for people who are unaware of the requirements and cross into Northern Ireland in good faith.

 

Mr Farry said it is "very important that we stress this is not about border controls on the land border" and he said the UK government "are clear on that point".

 

However, he said it does create a grey area, as enforcement on this forthcoming legal requirement is not clear.

 

He said that many will have no knowledge or understanding of the need for this document when they cross into Northern Ireland.

 

SDLP MP Claire Hanna has said the proposals are "genuinely very problematic and fundamentally unsuitable for the way of life" on the island of Ireland.

 

The MP for South Belfast told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne that the measures have not been thought through in how they will affect the Ireland of island.

 

She said while it does not require border checks it will add a lot of bureaucracy or legal uncertainty

for those wanting to cross the border.

 

Ms Hanna said it has implications for tourism and business as well as everyday cross-border travel.

 

She said it was "slipped in by the British government" and that the proposed Bill contains many other concerning measures in relation to asylum."

 

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/1209/1265709-travel-ireland/