Common Travel Area
 |
|
| Type | Open borders area |
|---|---|
| Established | 1923 |
| Members |
Ireland (EU) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (EU) Isle of Man Bailiwick of Guernsey Bailiwick of Jersey |
| Area | 121,673.9 sq mi (315,134 km2) |
| Population covered | ~70 million (2016) |
The Common Travel Area (CTA) (Irish: Comhlimistéar Taistil) is an open borders area comprising Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. Based on legally non-binding arrangements, the internal borders of the Common Travel Area (CTA) are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by British and Irish citizens with minimal identity documents, with certain exceptions. The maintenance of the CTA involves considerable co-operation on immigration matters between the British and Irish authorities.
In 2014, the British and Irish governments began a trial system of mutual recognition of each other's visas for onward travel within the Common Travel area. As of June 2016 it applies to Chinese and Indian nationals and is limited to certain visa types. Other nationalities and those holding non-qualifying visas still require separate visas to visit both countries and may not avail of a transit visa exception if wishing to transit though the UK to Ireland.
Since 1997, the Irish government has imposed systematic identity checks on air passengers coming from the United Kingdom and selective checks on sea passengers, and occasional checks on land crossings.
The Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922 at a time when systematic passport and immigration controls were becoming standard at international frontiers. Although the British had imposed entry controls in the past – notably during the French Revolution – the imposition of such controls in the 20th century dated from the Aliens Act 1905, before which there was a system of registration for arriving foreigners.
Before the creation of the Irish Free State, British immigration law applied in Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. With the imminent prospect of Irish independence in 1922, the British Home Office was disinclined to impose passport and immigration controls between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, which would have meant patrolling a porous and meandering 499 km (310 mi) longland border. If, however, the pre-1922 situation were to be continued, the Irish immigration authorities would have to continue to enforce British immigration policy after independence. The Irish Department for Home Affairs was found to be receptive to continuing with the status quo and an informal agreement to this effect was reached in February 1923: each side would enforce the other's immigration decisions and the Irish authorities would be provided with a copy of Britain's suspect-codex (or 'Black Book') of any personae non gratae in the United Kingdom.
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