§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Palestinians from the Church of the Nativity resident in(a) the Irish Republic and (b) other parts of the EU will be free to travel to the United Kingdom; and what steps will be taken to monitor attempts to enter the United Kingdom. [60178]
§ Mr. Mike O'Brien[holding answer 10 June 2002]: The Common Position of the Council of the European Union concerning the temporary reception by member states of the European Union of certain Palestinians provides that acceptance in a member state does not imply a right for the persons concerned to move freely within the territories of the member states and that the validity of the national permit shall be limited to the territory of the member state concerned.
Any Palestinian received in another member state who sought to travel to the UK would normally require a visa for that purpose which, if applied for, would be considered in the normal way. Entry to the UK from the Republic of Ireland is governed by the Immigration Act 1971 and the Immigration (Control of Entry through the 4W Republic of Ireland) Order 1972 and any visa national who enters the UK without the requisite visa is an illegal entrant. The normal expectation is that such an illegal entrant would be returned to the Republic of Ireland.
Movements into and out of the United Kingdom will be monitored in the usual way.