British-Irish Common Travel Area Deal Secures Right Of Citizens After Brexit
8 May 2019, 10:17 | Updated: 8 May 2019, 10:24
An agreement to allow the free movement of people between Britain and Ireland will be signed by the British and Irish governments on Wednesday.
The British and Irish governments are set to sign a deal to secure the Common Travel Area in a post-Brexit world.
The agreement between London and Dublin will secure the free movement of British and Irish citizens as well as a raft of other issues.
There are an estimated 300,000 Brits living in Ireland and about 350,000 Irish people in the UK who will all benefit from the deal. Irish citizens in the UK have more rights than other EU citizens because of the historic ties between the two countries.
Irish citizens have the right to vote in election and the right to stand for public office. These rights are reciprocated for British people settled in Ireland.
Access to benefits, healthcare and education will all be secured when David Lidington and Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney sign the agreement in London on Wednesday.
The Common Travel Area has been in place since the 1920s but, a government spokesperson said that the new agreement will strengthen the current arrangement and also provide security to those who regularly cross the border.
The agreement means even if t UK leaves the European Union without a deal, citizens will continue to enjoy their current reciprocal rights and privileges.
