COMMON TRAVEL AREA:   Currently the free movement of people across the border is facilitated by both the Common Travel Area (CTA) and membership of the European Union.

Established in the 1920s the CTA ensures free movement of Irish and UK citizens between the UK, Channels Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland.  Unfortunately a single legislative act securing the Common Travel Area does not exist; instead it may be regarded as an arrangement and any associated rights stem from an attempt to facilitate the continued free flow of citizens between the countries after Irish independence in 1922. Since then ad hoc pieces of national legislation have added weight to the principles of the CTA, i.e. that Irish and UK citizens are not treated as ‘aliens’ in each other’s other jurisdiction.

The following CTA-associated rights are listed on the UK government information and services website – Gov.uk

• the right to enter and reside in each others’ state without being subject to a requirement to obtain permission
• the right to work without being subject to a requirement to obtain permission
• the right to access education
• access to social welfare entitlements and benefits
• access to health services
• access to social housing
• the right to vote in local and parliamentary elections.

When Ireland and the UK joined the EC in 1973 the CTA was annexed to the joining treaty. The CTA operating within the scope of EC membership complemented the free movement rights of its citizens. How the CTA will function when the UK is outside the EU and restrictions are placed upon free movement of union citizens is uncertain. Positive remarks by the UK and Irish Governments are not binding and some organisations including the Travellers Movement are seeking legislation to secure the CTA in law and thereby protect the rights of the Irish in the UK and vice versa.

EU right to free movement of people

While the origins of the EU stem from an economic project which treated workers as economic commodities, the EU has evolved over the years to recognise workers as EU citizens with human rights. As a result EU citizens and their family members can move freely without discrimination, within the EU and EEA, to visit, live, study or work. There are of course certain rules e.g. for stays longer than 3 months a person must be a ‘qualified person’, for example a worker, a self-sufficient person, or student.

EU rights or CTA rights?

Over the years rights underpinned by the CTA and the EU have become intermingled and it is often difficult to fully understand exactly which rights we, as mobile citizens, are exercising at any particular time. Brexit introduces the complex dilemma of unravelling and understanding which rights to free movement we are entitled to.

Read full Briefing Paper – #Brexit: Areas of concern for users of the Border People project, A. O’Kane, February 2018

Further reading: 

• Citizens’ rights: UK and Irish nationals in the Common Travel Area, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Home Office, and Department for Exiting the European Union, 22 December 2018
• Brexit and Irish citizens in the UK: how to safeguard the rights of Irish citizens in an uncertain future , The Traveller Movement, December 2017
• The Common Travel Area: More Than Just Travel, A Royal Irish Academy – British Academy Brexit Briefing, October 2017

This webpage is for general information purposes only and while we endeavour to keep it up-to-date, errors may occur. It is very important that you check with the relevant body to ensure the information is current and is applicable to your situation.

If you would like to suggest amendments or highlight new information that could be useful to others please don’t hesitate to get in touch.