The draft Nationality and Borders Bill is proposed British legislation continues to be debated in Westminster. The Government has been closely following the progress of this Bill as it moves through the legislative process. The Government has significant concerns regarding the proposed Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme set out in this draft Bill in the context of cross-border travel on the island of Ireland.
The British Government has said that there will continue to be no immigration checks on the land border and that the proposed ETA system will not apply to Irish or British citizens. However, as currently drafted, the Bill provides that the UK’s new immigration rules may require non-Irish and non-British citizens, visiting or resident in Ireland, to obtain an ETA before travelling across the land border to Northern Ireland.
The implementation of such a scheme would have implications for day-to-day life on this island, particularly for those in border areas, with potential implications also for cross-border healthcare, tourism, education, and integrated supply chains. Many thousands of people cross the border every day in the course of their daily lives, including to access essential services or to visit family.
I discussed these concerns in detail with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at a recent meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin. The Minister for Justice has written to her UK counterpart and our Embassy in London continues to engage at senior official level.
As this Bill works its way through the UK parliamentary system, we will continue to encourage the British Government, at political and official level, to reconsider its approach and to apply exceptions to their ETA proposals. It is understood that, once the bill has been finalised, secondary legislation will be put in place to facilitate its application in the UK. The final form of the Nationality and Borders Bill and associated secondary legislation on implementation is not yet clear and there will be continued detailed engagement on these matters over the period ahead. On that basis it would not be appropriate to speculate on possible legislative or operational implications in this jurisdiction.
