Border, Immigration &
Citizenship System Policy and
Strategy Group
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Tel: 020 7035 4848
Fax: 020 7035 4745
www.gov.uk/homeoffice

By Email:
peterkgeoghegan@gmail.com

FOI Reference: 44397 – Peter Geoghegan
Date: 18 July 2017
Dear Mr Geoghegan
Thank you for your e-mail of 25 June 2017, in which you ask for information on the UK’s
exit from the European Union and Ireland. Your request has been handled as a request
for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Your information request and the Home Office responses are set out below.
1. Has the department taken any expert advice/conducted any research into what the status of Irish
citizens in the United Kingdom will be after the UK leaves the EU?
If, so please give details of who was spoken to and what advice was given.
The Home Office has not sought expert advice from individuals or organisations external
to the department to understand the status of Irish citizens in the UK after the UK leaves
the EU.
The Home Office has conducted research into information in the public domain to support
the development of policy on what the legal status of Irish citizens in the UK will be after
the UK leaves the EU. This research has included advice presented to Parliamentary
Committees, including the; British Irish Parliamentary Assembly, Lords EU Select
Committee, European Affairs Committee and the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.
2. Has the department taken any expert advice/conducted any research into the how status of people
born and resident in Northern Ireland who only hold Irish passports might be affected by the UK's
departure from the EU?
If, so please give details of who was spoken to and what advice was given.
The Home Office has not sought expert advice from individuals or organisations external
to the department to understand how the status of people born and resident in Northern
Ireland who only hold Irish passports might be affected by the UK’s departure from the EU.

 Expert advice has been provided to parliamentary committees, which the Home Office has
considered. This information is in the public domain.
The Home Office has conducted its own research into how the status of people born and
resident in Northern Ireland who only hold Irish passports might be affected by the UK’s
departure from the EU.
3. Has the department taken any expert advice/conducted any research into the status of the 1949
Ireland Act? Will Irish citizens still be classified as 'not foreign' under British law?
The Home Office has not sought expert advice from individuals or organisations external
to the department with regard the status of the 1949 Ireland Act. The Home Office has
conducted its own research, including guidance from trained legal practitioners, into the
status of the 1949 Act.
Section 2 of the Ireland Act 1949 is still in force and provides that “the Republic of Ireland
is not a foreign country for the purposes of any law in force in any part of the United
Kingdom”.
The future approach to Irish citizens is subject to formulation and development of
government policy and therefore exempt from the request in accordance with section
35(1)(a). The public interest falls in favor of maintaining this exemption. The Prime Minister
has been clear that it is this Government’s intention to maintain the Common Travel Area
and to protect the rights of British and Irish citizens in each others’ countries.
4. Has the department taken any expert advice/conducted any research into the potential for people
smuggling/immigration breaches at the Irish border post-Brexit?
If, any advice has been taken/research conducted please give details of who was spoken to and what
advice was given.
The Home Office has not sought expert advice from individuals or organisations external
to the department to understand the potential for people smuggling or immigration
breaches at the Irish border post-Brexit. We have therefore received no advice to disclose.
There is an excellent level of cooperation between Home Office operational commands
throughout the UK, and with Ireland, to tackle abuse of the CTA, including organised crime
and counter terrorism.
If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review
of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to the address
below, quoting reference 44397. If you ask for an internal review, it would be helpful if you
could say why you are dissatisfied with the response.
Information Rights Team
Home Office
Fourth Floor, Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
e-mail: foirequests@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request will be
reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. If you

 remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you would have a right of complaint to the
Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Yours sincerely

Sophie Cosstick
Border, Immigration & Citizenship System Policy and Strategy Group

 Annex
Public interest test
Some of the exemptions in the FOI Act, referred to as ‘qualified exemptions’, are subject to a public
interest test (PIT). This test is used to balance the public interest in disclosure against the public
interest in maintaining the exemption. We must carry out a PIT where we are considering using
any of the qualified exemptions in response to a request for information.
The ‘public interest’ is not the same as what interests the public. In carrying out a PIT we consider
the greater good or benefit to the community as a whole if the information is released or not.
Transparency and the ‘right to know’ must be balanced against the need to enable effective
government and to serve the best interests of the public.
The FOI Act is ‘applicant blind’. This means that we cannot, and do not, ask about the motives of
anyone who asks for information. In providing a response to one person, we are expressing a
willingness to provide the same response to anyone, including those who might represent a threat
to the UK.
Freedom of Information request from Peter Geoghegan reference 44397.
‘Has the department taken any expert advice/conducted any research into the status of the 1949
Ireland Act? Will Irish citizens still be classified as 'not foreign' under British law?
Information withheld under section 35 of the FOI Act.
Section 35(1)(a) of the FOI Act provides that information can be withheld that relates to the
formulation or development of government policy. The information held relates to the formulation
and development of Government policy regarding the status of Irish nationals living and working in
the UK.
Considerations in favour of disclosing the information
There is a public interest in releasing the information concerned as the issue of individuals living in
the UK, whose residence may be impacted once the UK leaves the EU, is of clear public
significance and transparency in this matter would enhance knowledge of the way policy is
developed. There is also a public interest in being able to assess the quality of advice being used
by Home Office Ministers and their officials, and any subsequent decision making which arises
from that advice.
Considerations in favour of maintaining the exemption
We have also considered the public interest there may be in maintaining the exemption to the duty
to communicate. There is a clear public interest in withholding the information concerned as both
Ministers and officials need to be able to conduct rigorous and candid risk assessments of the
impact of leaving the EU on Irish citizens and have the space to consider the reasons for and
against developing policies. Both Ministers and officials also need room to develop policy in this
sensitive area of public concern, without the fear that proposals will be held up to ridicule while
initial policy is being formulated in this area. Disclosure of the information concerned would,
furthermore, not be in the public interest as it would harm the policy-making process for Home
Office officials in future when developing policies in this area. This is because disclosure could lead
to officials in the future not challenging ideas when formulating, and this could lead in the longer
term to poorer decision making. The disclosure of emerging or developing policy may not reflect
final proposals and as such could mislead the public.

 Conclusion
We conclude that the balance of the public interest lies in maintaining the exemption and
withholding the information. This is due to there being greater overall public interest in ensuring
that both Ministers and Home Office officials have the necessary space to develop and assess
policy in this area to ensure that policies are as robust and effective as possible.

Date

18 July 2017