'Europe’s Other Border-Free Zone: the Common Travel Area between the United Kingdom and Ireland

The Common Travel Area (CTA) acts as a zone for citizens of both the United Kingdom and Ireland to enter either jurisdiction with no borders – a key objective of the European Union in its own right. Both British and Irish Governments have long recognised the critical importance of the Common Travel Area between their respective jurisdictions for their own citizens, respecting it as fundamental for the future of British-Irish relations, despite it being outside of the integrated wider Schengen Area.

This article examines recent case-law in the field, in addition to outlining the legal aspects of recent developments of the CTA as the UK and Ireland are set to develop a new British Irish Visa Scheme. This new Schengen Area-style jurisdiction for third country nationals has long been in the making, as neither the UK or Ireland are party to the Schengen Agreement, for which both have obtained specific opt-outs in this regard within EU law.

By outlining the significant potential the new British Irish Visa Scheme has to put a real meaning to the word ‘common’ within the CTA, the paper discusses the creation of a real internal open border system between the jurisdictions, similar to that of Schengen, while also reflecting on the impact a British exit from the EU would entail for the long-standing CTA. Throughout the paper, the commentary will develop some theories on the wider implications that such a genuine CTA would have for freedom of movement and the EU as a whole.