The government’s introduction of a new travel scheme between Ireland and the UK has been branded as “unworkable on the island of Ireland”.
The criticism came from a cross-party group of lawmakers from the UK and Ireland who urged the Electric Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to be paused at least for visitors staying less than a week.
The ETA plans would require people who are not legally resident in Ireland to register before travelling to the UK.
Tourism officials fear the requirement to apply for the UK’s ETA, which costs £10, will deter visitors from travelling across the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“This could provide a barrier to entry for Northern Ireland’s one million tourists coming from abroad each year, 70% of whom arrive in Ireland first. Around half are day-trippers,” the British-Irish parliamentary assembly’s sovereign affairs committee said.
The committee called on the Westminster government to “pause progress” on the ETA’s introduction for Northern Ireland visitors coming through Ireland, and to extend an exemption for short-stay holidaymakers for up to a week if a full exemption is not possible.
Committee chair Emer Currie said: “The Common Travel Area underpins our all-island health and tourism strategies, and life on our island as we know it.
“The Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme in its current form will undermine it, weigh down and damage tourism to Northern Ireland and the northwest of Ireland.
“As it stands, the UK and Ireland’s diverging visa systems already leave some exposed to an invisible border. Not only does this put restrictions on their movement but blocks access to and the delivery of critical cross-border services. This must be addressed.”
“We believe our recommendations can enable the smooth operation of the Common Travel Area and help uphold long-standing values and principles that predate the Belfast Good Friday Agreement – freedom of movement and reciprocal rights across our islands – which are vital for citizens on a day-to-day basis.”
The UK government has previously refused to grant visitors to Northern Ireland an exemption because London and Dublin have a longstanding Common Travel Area deal in place that allows free movement of people between the two countries.
In a statement to the Financial Times on Tuesday, the government in London again rejected calls for a waiver, saying it would “undermine our efforts to strengthen the security of the UK border and keep people safe”.
But officials are particularly concerned that the scheme would hit coach groups and US-organised tours to sites across the island as well as the large number of tourists who take day trips from the Republic into Northern Ireland, according to the FT.
Tourism NI chief executive John McGrillen reportedly condemned the “additional layer of bureaucracy and complexity”, saying it was “vitally important” that the ETA requirement did not become a barrier to growth of tourism.
Overseas visitors generate £600 million in revenues for Northern Ireland and €5.2 billion for Ireland.
British and Irish nationals, as well as those with permission to live, work or study in the UK or holding a visa to enter the UK will not need an ETA. The UK has also exempted other nationals who are resident in the Republic of Ireland.
The scheme is being phased in over the coming months, with Qatari nationals the first to require an ETA from mid-November with applications opening today (Wednesday).