Britain to establish post-Brexit immigration controls on Ireland borders

Britain is seeking to shift the frontline of immigration controls to Ireland’s ports and airports to avoid having to introduce a “hard border” between north and south after the UK leaves the European Union, it has been revealed.

The Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, said that London and Dublin will work to strengthen Ireland’s external borders in order to combat illegal migration into the UK once it leaves the European Union.

In an interview, Brokenshire said there was now a “high level of collaboration on a joint programme of work” between the two states to control immigration.

“We have put in place a range of measures to further combat illegal migration working closely with the Irish government,” Brokenshire said. “Our focus is to strengthen the external border of the common travel area [CTA], building on the strong collaboration with our Irish partners.”

The CTA is a unique arrangement that allows for full freedom of movement between people from Ireland and Britain on both islands.

After Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June, concern mounted that to control immigration, measures would have to be imposed on the 300-mile border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Any such border controls would probably be seen as a violation of the Good Friday agreement and a provocation in a region that has only relatively recently put violence behind it.

Shifting the onus of immigration control to Irish entry points such as Dublin airport and Rosslare port would avoid this. However, it would also make a mockery of claims by the Brexit camp that leaving the EU would enable Britain to “take back control of its borders”.

New measures will be aimed primarily at non-Europeans seeking entry into the CTA. Politicians on all sides of the divide on the island of Ireland have expressed concern that Irish border towns such as Dundalk could become the “new Calais” if people-traffickers trying to send migrants into the UK target the Irish Republic as a “jump-off point” into Northern Ireland.

Precedents already exist for this Anglo-Irish collaborative model: Indian and Chinese visitors are subject to a system whereby they apply for a single visa, valid for travel in both Ireland and the UK.

The joint Anglo-Irish border procedures will not be able to stem the arrival of EU nationals, as they will retain the right to free movement to live and work in the Irish Republic. However, this point is seen as moot: officials believe few EU citizens will want to come and work illegally in the UK after Brexit.

The Fine Gael-led coalition government in Dublin has confirmed it is in negotiations with London to better share intelligence to tighten immigration controls for people from outside Britain and Ireland.