UK visa clearance at Northern Ireland border sparks fury

The UK government has sparked fury by insisting on visa controls for non-Irish EU citizens crossing the border into Northern Ireland. The Conservatives recently voted to reinstate a US-style visa waiver system that requires EU citizens, who are not Irish, to apply for pre-travel clearance – also known as Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) - before entering the UK.

Simon Coveney, the foreign minister for Ireland, decried the decision as ‘regrettable’, adding that Dublin’s concerns over disruption to free movement in Ireland had been ‘ignored by London.

However, Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, insisted that the UK government’s announcement would not result in the imposition of controls on the border with the Republic of Ireland. He added that the UK’s commitment to the Common Travel Area, which allows for free movement between the two countries, is ‘absolute’.

Latest spat

The UK government’s announcement has ignited yet another spat between Dublin and London amid the fallout from Brexit, and comes at a time when there are ongoing divisions over Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland Protocol, which has disrupted trade in the Republic of Ireland.

MPs recently voted, by a majority of 298 to 216, to overturn an amendment in the House of Lords that would have exempted Northern Ireland from the ETA legislation.

The UK government has also come under fire from human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), which blasted the decision to implement UK visa checks at the Northern Ireland border. 

The CAJ said that the UK government’s proposal is ‘unworkable and risks a hard border for many non-British and non-Irish citizens in Border communities who have been able to freely cross the border to date’.

Regrettable decision

Mr Coveney said: “This decision is regrettable and contrary to the approach that UK and Irish governments have supported for many years to protect free movement on the island of Ireland for everyone. Our concern on this has been communicated clearly but has been ignored.”

However, in a post on Twitter, Brandon Lewis wrote: “There will be no controls on the border. UK and Irish citizens will continue to be able to travel freely. This new ETA requirement is about protecting the Common Travel Area from abuse. Our commitment to the Common Travel Area is absolute, as seen throughout the pandemic.”

Mr Coveney said that the Irish government would continue to discuss the issue of proposed new UK immigration legislation with Boris Johnson’s government, emphasising that the bill had not yet been finalised.

Good Friday Agreement

Meanwhile, the leader of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, said that the UK government’s plan ‘undermines the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area’.

Ms McDonald said: “It will be devastating for the tourism sector, for counties like Donegal and along the border region and could cost tens of thousands of jobs in a sector just barely getting back on its feet after the coronavirus pandemic.”

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