SarahG

I'm Scottish and I don't think it's going to happen. Well I hope it won't happen. Can't be doing with the faff of needing a new frigging passport!

customsquestion

There is no chance of a yes vote none whatsoever. Scotland would be practically a third world country and many smart scottish people know that. Once north sea oil runs out what are they gonna do? They can offer tax cuts this and that all they want but were is the money coming from. You can't just start a country from scratch. It will be like what happened in the former soviet states in the early 90s. They won't get into the EU for years if they wanted it.

This is U.S immigration forum. I think it fair to say that independent Scotland would probably not be on the Visa Waiver Program in the short term,possibly never. It might be very hard for young scots to get visas and scots in general to get visas for america and maybe other countries too. Something perhaps these young scots driven by a sense of so called national pride and possibly english hatred haven't considered.

kins

Why not? They've been on it as part of the UK for however long. Why would they be taken off if England is allowed to remain on it?

civilservant

Because of how the VWP was set up and is enacted in law. There is a process to join, and is isnt automatic - some countries have been on the VWP Roadmap scheme for years.

kins

In terms of identity, I have a Scottish mother and English father. I spent a lot of my childhood in Scotland, and my sister still lives there now so I visit Scotland more often than I visit England.

I would say though that I identify as British, then English if anything. I doubt I'd bother applying for a Scottish passport.

kins

So presumably England would be thrown off it too?

civilservant

No, because it would remain the United Kingdom after indepndance, and the UK is a VWP country.

kins

But as part of the UK Scotland has had its security and immigration procedures evaluated by the US Dept of Homeland Security. Unless they're planning on changing all of those procedures in some fundamental way why would the US need to re-evaluate them all over again?

civilservant

Because they aren't they same country. At present they do not have control over immigration policy or borders, and upon indepndance would not have any reciprocal agreement on visa-less entry.

This is one of many topics Alex Salmod doesn't want to talk about, because there isn't an immediate solution. Additions to the VWP programme are not something one just decides, it is enacted by congress in law.

kins

Interesting... So as a new country I wonder what else Scotland would have to set up from scratch and what it would be able to 'carry over' from its former status.

customsquestion

There is a set of circumstances that you have to meet and it could take a long time for scotland to meet them.

Poland & Romania have been trying for like 15 or 20 years now. Romania will never get on it because they are all dishonest thieving scum and the U.S Gov knows that. Poland isn't on it and they even offered to help with nuke missile shield putting them at risk of attack by Russia.

Salmond doesn't want to talk about this he doesn't want young people to think about stuff like this which I don't think a lot really have.

customsquestion

And because he doesn't have a clue such things to be fair does he?

robin1234

However, in reality the United Kingdom was formed by the voluntary union of two equal partners, Scotland and England. Wales was in effect part of "England and Wales" until recently, and Ireland of course joined the Union later and then subsequently mostly left.

So why is this not analogous to Czechoslovakia breaking up to form two new countries, Slovakia and the Czech Republic?

After all, Scotland and England formed a union and, for practical reasons, the seat of government was London. In theory, the government could have been in Edinburgh.

Nutek

You really are a complete twat.

civilservant

Poll vote?