The Common Travel Area and the special status of Irish citizens in the UK

The Common Travel Area, or CTA, is a special travel zone covering the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom (as well as the Isle of Man and Channel Islands). People have traditionally been able to travel passport-free within the zone, although this has become increasingly difficult in practice unless going over the Northern Ireland land border.

Irish citizens can also take up long-term residence and access public services in the UK without immigration restrictions. British citizens can do the same in Ireland. These reciprocal residence rights are sometimes also referred to as being part of the CTA.

The CTA dates back (in various forms) to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The government of Ireland has summed up the basic principle as being “that the Irish and UK Governments treat each other’s citizens in a similar manner to enable them to freely move between the two jurisdictions, and thereby reside and work in either jurisdiction, without the need for special permission”.

This briefing focuses on travel between the UK and Ireland, and on the rights of Irish citizens in the UK. It does not cover the Isle of Man or Channel Islands (which are not in the UK) or the rights of British citizens in Ireland.

The CTA allows for passport-free travel for British and Irish citizens – in theory

A 2019 agreement between the UK and Ireland states that the Common Travel Area “allows British and Irish citizens to move freely between the UK and Ireland”. The two governments have for a long time arranged to minimise immigration controls on journeys between the two jurisdictions. This is particularly evident on the Northern Ireland land border, where there are no frontier controls whatsoever.

Nevertheless, in practice, British and Irish citizens often need to carry a passport when travelling by air or sea. Passengers arriving in Ireland from Great Britain usually face border controls at the port or airport (although not the other way around). The majority of airlines and ferry companies now also insist that British and Irish citizens use passports on Common Travel Area routes.

Foreign nationals cannot formally rely on CTA exemptions but can use the open land border

The modern Common Travel Area is not intended to facilitate the free movement or residence of non-British/Irish citizens. There is generally no mutual recognition of visas, apart from the British–Irish visitor visa scheme for Indian and Chinese nationals.

However, it is usually straightforward to enter Northern Ireland from Ireland or Great Britain without a passport or immigration authorisation. This has sometimes given rise to political controversy about an immigration ‘back door’ (to both countries) for asylum seekers.

The British and Irish governments cooperate closely to guard against unauthorised travel, with regular meetings and data sharing, but do not disclose the details of how this works. The immigration authorities of both countries conduct occasional checks within their own territory: Operation Gull in the UK and Operation Sonnet in Ireland.

The British and Irish prime ministers agreed in March to expand immigration data sharing to prevent the “abuse of CTA free movement by those not entitled to its benefits”.

Irish citizens have unrestricted residence rights in the UK

As well as being able to travel freely to the UK, Irish citizens can take up long-term residence with no visa or work permit requirements, and are treated as though they have permanent immigration status or British citizenship. This means they can work and access public services without the restrictions that apply to other migrants. British citizens have similar rights in Ireland.

The domestic legal basis for the rights of Irish citizens to healthcare, education and so on is complicated. The arrangements are outlined in a non-binding memorandum of understanding between the two governments but not confirmed in a formal treaty, which some academics argued should be the case following Brexit. But the special treatment of Irish citizens long predates joint membership of the EU, and the UK Government has been consistently committed to implementing it in practice for the past 100 years.