Guidance related to Common Travel Area (CTA)

 The UK, the Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, and the Isle of Man), and Ireland have had a long-standing agreement known as the Common Travel Area (CTA) that predates and is independent of each country's participation in the EU.

British and Irish nationals are granted freedom of movement and residence under the CTA, as well as the privileges of employment, education, voting in some elections, and access to social welfare payments and medical care.

The effects of the referendum vote are still widespread and have an effect on every aspect of British society. The changes that have already been felt are striking, even if we only take into account the fact that Article 50 has not yet been implemented (Article 50 refers to the legal process of leaving the EU; once activated, it gives the UK two years to finalise its exit negotiations and trade arrangements).

Many of the current agitations, uncertainties, and Brexit theories around these developments, as well as anxieties over changes to come, are solely predicated on the extreme unpredictability surrounding the eventual shape that Brexit will take.

The problem of the status of Irish citizens in the UK with regard to travel and residency stands out among the many issues surrounding immigration by an Ireland immigration lawyer in London in recent years. The sheer possibility that Irish nationals might suddenly lose their unique status as a result of Brexit fuels this. Due to the long-standing connections between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain, Irish citizens enjoy special status. Irish citizens residing in the UK are now able to run for public office in addition to casting a ballot.

There has previously been widespread anticipation that this status would continue following Brexit. This assertion is supported by the Ireland Act of 1949, the law that freed the Republic of Ireland from British rule.

Importantly, the Act was created to guarantee that Irish citizens receive the same treatment as citizens of other Commonwealth countries and have the freedom to enter the UK. Note that while Irish citizens were exempt from immigration controls, Commonwealth citizens were. In actuality, individuals do not need to present a passport when traveling between Britain and Ireland.

Experts are now beginning to voice worries about what the legal status of Irish citizens will be given their unique status when the UK leaves the EU, keeping this statute in mind. In a similar vein, UK nationals residing in other European nations are extremely unsure of their legal situation and whether or not they will be able to continue to use the public health care systems in those nations as they do now because they are Europeans.

It will be challenging to forecast what the end result of Brexit will be, particularly because of those in charge of implementing it appear to have sworn an oath of secrecy, obscuring its entire process and leaving it without a clear goal or direction. But as a top Ireland immigration lawyer in London, we pledge to stay on top of developments as they happen and to be ready to offer advice on how they can affect immigrants and the immigration procedure in the UK.