Proposed Border Checks Between UK and Ireland
24/07/2008 by Bryan Palmer
It has been estimated that as many as 16 million people travel by air and sea from the Republic of Ireland to the United Kingdom. Soon these travellers may have to pass through formal border checks.
The first checks in more than 80 years on people travelling between these nations has been proposed by the Home Office, reports www.globalvisas.com immigration and visa experts.
According to consultation papers these checks will require those travelling to and from the countries to prove some form of identification.
"State-of-the-art border technology, joint sea and port operations and the continued exchange of intelligence," would be utilised explained Home Office Secretary Jacqui Smith and Irish minister of justice, equality and law reform, Dermot Ahern in a statement today.
These projected changes aim to curb illegal immigration. Therefore foreigners would be targeted in terms of needing to prove their identity, rather than those who live in the Common Travel Area (CTA), which became a passport-free zone back in 1925.
This law would apply to those who travel by air and sea and searches of vehicles travelling in the area may also be introduced. Another proposed initiative is immigration checks between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.
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