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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS BY THE DEPUTY OF GROUVILLE
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2016
Question
What are the benefits to Jersey of being part of the Common Travel Area and what would the advantages and disadvantages be for Jersey of being excluded?
Answer
The Common Travel Area ("CTA") predates the UK's entry into the EU and encompasses the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It is the policy of the Government of Jersey to maintain freedom of movement within the CTA, particularly between the Channel Islands and the UK.
Advantages of being part of the CTA include the fact that Jersey lies within the common external border of the British Isles, and therefore the passport arrangements for those coming into the Common Travel Area through Jersey from the EU and the rest of the world are all the same. Key provisions of the UK's Immigration legislation are extended to Jersey, which also means that there is a common set of arrangements at the border, which leads to administrative efficiency. There is the additional benefit for travellers that there are no formal immigration controls when travelling within the CTA. This efficiency and convenience would be lost in the hypothetical case of Jersey being excluded from the CTA.
On the other hand, being outside the CTA would allow Jersey to establish its own criteria and systems to control inward movement of people into the Island. The practical and resource implications to control all arrivals at our border would, however, be significant: in 2015 a total of 35,209 travellers arrived at the States Airport from outside the CTA and required passport checks, whereas in the same year over 20 times that number arrived at the airport from within the CTA.
Neither the Government of Jersey nor the UK Government is seeking to establish separate immigration arrangements for Jersey.