Current status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 25 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on what the arrangements would be for residents who commute daily between Dumfries and Cumbria or the Borders and Northumberland in the event of a hard border between an independent Scotland and England.
There is a long-standing Common Travel Area (CTA) in these islands. This allows for free movement between the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for citizens of those territories. The Scottish Government is committed to the protection of the CTA and the associated reciprocal rights for British, Irish and Scottish citizens after independence. Maintenance of the CTA would mean that there would be no new passport or immigration checks at any of an independent Scotland’s land, sea of air border points with the UK and Ireland and British, Irish and Scottish citizens would have the right to move freely within the CTA.
Further information can be found in Building a New Scotland: citizenship in an independent Scotland - gov.scot.