Guernsey Press

Border Agency defends passport checks on France arrivals

IMMIGRATION checks locally are no different to anywhere else, the Guernsey Border Agency said yesterday.

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IMMIGRATION checks locally are no different to anywhere else, the Guernsey Border Agency said yesterday.

Responding to criticism after passengers disembarking Sun­day's Condor Vitesse sailing from St Malo faced a 45-minute queue to clear immigration, GBA branch manager Peter Knee said Guernsey was part of the common travel area, which allows passport-free travel between the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, and, as a result of coming from outside this area, everyone had to have their passport checked.

'If someone is travelling between Guernsey and Weymouth or Gatwick, they do not need to queue or have passports checked because they are within the CTA. If travelling from outside the CTA they need clearance,' he said.

'If going from Calais to Dover, they would face exactly the same checks.'

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