Common Travel Area

The Common Travel Area is a travel zone that comprises of the entirity of the British Isles, including the sovereign states of the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and Wessex and Cornwall and its Crown Dependency, the Isle of Wight, and the UK Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Mann, Jersey, Guernsey, Sark and Alderney.

The areas international borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border control, between Irish, British and Wessex and Cornish cititzens without the use of identity documents, however some airlines, such as Ryanair require the use of passports.

The Common Travel Area has been in effect between the UK and Wessex and Cornwall since 1984, and with Ireland since 1923, 1953, and 2011. However, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the UK-Irish border had checkpoints and mandatory identity checks.

The CTA also allows for free passage of imports and exports between countries, boosting cross border economies. Goods imported and exported between countries in the CTA are subject to fixed taxes and charges throughout all of the countries.

Entry into Wessex and Cornwall
Wessex and Cornwall does not carry out immigration checks on travellers from any other part of the Common Travel Area, and its border with the United Kingdom is open, only marked by a 'Welcome to the UK' or 'Welcome to Wessex and Cornwall'' sign.

Entry into the United Kingdom
The UK Border Force does not carry out routine immigration checks on travellers arriving in the UK from another part of the Common Travel Area. However, because the Channel Islands are separate from the UK for customs purposes, the UK Border Force carries out selective customs checks on travellers arriving in the UK from the Channel Islands.

Entry into the British Crown Dependencies
There are no routine immigration checks on travellers arriving in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands from another part of the Common Travel Area.

As there are currently no scheduled air or ferry services between the Isle of Man and a destination outside the Common Travel Area, there are, in effect, no immigration checks in place at all on arriving travellers.