The Common Travel Area is a travel zone that comprises the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. In general, the Area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by British and Irish citizens with only minimal identity documents, however, the use of a passport is required by the airline Ryanair. The maintenance of the Area involves considerable co-operation on immigration matters between the British and the Irish authorities.
However, the Irish government has imposed immigration controls on people entering the state from the United Kingdom since 1997. These controls have been compulsory for air travellers, selective on sea crossings and occasional for land crossings. In 2008, the British government announced that it planned to impose similar controls on travellers entering the United Kingdom, which would, if implemented, effectively bring an end to the passport-free zone.
Read more about Common Travel Area: Immigration Regulations, Schengen Area
Famous quotes containing the words common, travel and/or area:
“When we consider what, to use the words of the catechism, is the chief end of man, and what are the true necessaries and means of life, it appears as if men had deliberately chosen the common mode of living because they preferred it to any other. Yet they honestly think there is no choice left. But alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear. It is never too late to give up our prejudices.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Prestige is the shadow of money and power. Where these are, there it is. Like the national market for soap or automobiles and the enlarged arena of federal power, the national cash-in area for prestige has grown, slowly being consolidated into a truly national system.”
—C. Wright Mills (1916–1962)