Part 1: Measures relating to ending free movement Section 2: Irish citizens: entitlement to enter or remain without leave
The Act protects the status of Irish citizens in the UK when free movement rights end, a status which existed prior to the UK’s membership of the EU. Currently, due to the interplay between domestic legislation and EU free movement rights, a distinction exists between those Irish citizens who enter the UK from Ireland or the Crown Dependencies (the Common Travel Area (CTA)) and those who enter from a point of departure outside the CTA. Under the Immigration Act 1971, Irish citizens entering the UK from another part of the CTA do not require leave to enter or remain in the UK but otherwise are subject to immigration control, for example if travelling to the UK from outside the CTA. It is the EEA Regulations and section 7 of the Immigration Act 1988, which provide that Irish citizens arriving in the UK from outside the CTA do not require leave to enter or remain in the UK, due to their enforceable EU rights. As legislation relating to free movement and other EU law relating to immigration is being repealed, the Act protects the rights of Irish citizens in the UK irrespective of where they have travelled from, providing the same immigration status to all Irish citizens that are currently only provided for in the Immigration Act 1971 for those travelling from within the CTA.
	Section 2 introduces new section 3ZA to the Immigration Act 1971 to confirm the status of Irish citizens. Irish citizens will not require leave to enter or remain in the UK and will therefore not be subject to immigration controls unless one of the exemptions set out in subsections (2), (3) and (4) applies. These exemptions are that the Irish citizen is subject to a deportation order, exclusion decision or an international travel ban. This reflects current and long-standing practice. Irish citizens have been liable to deportation since the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and these powers, along with the powers to exclude or impose a travel ban on Irish citizens, exist in current legislation. The Government’s approach to the deportation of Irish citizens since 2007 is to only deport Irish citizens where recommended by a court in sentencing or in exceptional circumstances where that deportation is in the public interest.
	The Act does not affect the CTA arrangements set out in section 1(3) of the Immigration Act 1971.
	Subsection (3) of section 2 amends section 9 of the 1971 Act, which relates to further provisions about the CTA, to ensure a consistent approach to how Irish citizens are treated for immigration purposes in line with section 3ZA.
	Subsection (4) amends Schedule 4 of the 1971 Act, which deals with the integration of UK law and the immigration law of the Islands (Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man), to align the approach to Irish citizens as set out in section 3ZA.