Electronic Travel Authorisations: Northern Ireland

(asked on 13th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to introduce routine checks on electronic travel authorisations in Northern Ireland when that scheme begins.


Answered by
Robert Jenrick Portrait
Robert Jenrick
This question was answered on 16th November 2023

On 25 October 2023, the Government launched the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to secure our borders and make the UK safer. The scheme is open to nationals of Qatar and will continue to be implemented in a phased manner, on a nationality basis, in 2024.

The Government remains committed to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. As is the case now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area (CTA), with no immigration controls whatsoever on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

Whilst there will continue to be no routine immigration controls on journeys within the CTA, the introduction of the ETA scheme will, for the first time, allow us to have a comprehensive understanding of who is seeking to come to the UK and refuse them permission where appropriate.

It is a well-established requirement that individuals visiting the UK, including those arriving from Ireland, are required to enter in line with the UK’s immigration framework. Visa nationals are already required to obtain a visa for the UK when travelling via Ireland, in order to lawfully enter the UK and we are simply extending this same principle to those who will require an ETA.

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