Travel permit exemption for tourists to NI rejected by UK

The UK government has again rejected calls to exempt some tourists visiting Northern Ireland from the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

The ETA is a permit which non-British and non-Irish citizens, who do not require a visa, will generally need to enter the UK.

That will include international visitors who arrive in Dublin and then plan to travel to Northern Ireland.

The NI tourist industry had proposed that some of those visitors be exempt.

It suggested those visitors would only need an ETA if they planned to stay for more than a week.

The industry feared that the ETA would discourage international visitors to the Republic of Ireland from making short or spontaneous trips to Northern Ireland.

It was also concerned that organised coach tours would cut Northern Ireland from their itineraries because of increased bureaucracy and legal risk.

'Unacceptable gap' in border security

But Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said an exemption would result in "an unacceptable gap" in UK border security.

He reiterated that there would be no checking or enforcement of ETAs at the Irish land border but that the permits had an important assurance role.

He said a tourist exemption would mean "a person of interest or risk" who had been refused an ETA would still be able to legally enter the UK, "undermining the very purpose" of the scheme.

• Cross-border travel permit could be set for change

• Irish border travel clearance plan a 'daft' idea

• Changes made to cross-border travel scheme

Mr Jenrick was speaking at a Westminster Hall debate called by the Alliance Party MP Stephen Farry.

Mr Farry said the debate was not about the overall concept of the scheme but about its particular effects on residents and tourists on the island of Ireland.

He said the government had taken a pragmatic approach to residents and urged them to extend that to tourists.

Legal residents of the Republic of Ireland, who do not normally need a visa to visit the UK, will not need an ETA to cross the border into Northern Ireland.

Irish citizens will not require an ETA due to the long-standing migration agreement between the UK and Ireland, known as the Common Travel Area (CTA).