Australian Dual Citizens Entering UK after February

[MEL_Traveller]

I needed to check to see if Dad had registered as a British Citizen in his own right. These people seem to think they are official.

View attachment 498310

Your father would likely be automatically British.

There’d be little incentive to register as there’d be no benefit to it.

if citizenship wasn’t automatic, there will have been advantages to register.

So a ‘nil’ result in your search means little in terms of nationality.

Absolute proof would be applying for ‘proof of non citizenship’, with its £400 fee.

 

[Flashback]

Most people have said once you are in the UK, you are in!

Yes, this is true....... they've been trying to get rid of me for a decade and a half now.

 

[transpactraveller]

Looks like it's now become a political issue in the UK

‘Left completely in the lurch’: British MP attacks UK dual-citizen passport chaos

The fury around the UK’s change in entry requirements for dual citizens has reached the House of Commons in London.

travelweekly.com.au

 

[LondonAussie]

And with that they are beginning to relax the rules a little, telling airlines they can accept “at their discretion” an expired British passport (issued 1989 or newer)

Expired British passport issued as long ago as 1989 could get dual nationals into UK

Exclusive: Home Office has told airlines they can accept ‘possible alternative documentation’ from citizens of two countries

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Zero]

The difference, however, is that you don’t need a valid ETIAS to board the plane.

Where have you read this? The entire point of ETIAS (and ETAs and ESTAs) is to stop people boarding flights to destinations where they have a high chance of being refused entry.

I needed to check to see if Dad had registered as a British Citizen in his own right. These people seem to think they are official.

As written in the letter, that search was for records of people who have naturalised, i.e. foreigners who moved to the UK and lived there for between 1 and 5 years, which then made them eligible to go through the process to become citizens (which may have involved attending a ceremony, though I'm not sure if they had ceremonies in 1986).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Where have you read this? The entire point of ETIAS (and ETAs and ESTAs) is to stop people boarding flights to destinations where they have a high chance of being refused entry.

Oh my gosh yes! You’re right.

I got confuses between the EES and ETIAS.

I thought I completed the ETIAS on arrival in Germany last week! But it’s not… it’s the former (EES).

I have amended my original post accordingly.

Citizenship ceremonies were introduced in 2004.

 

[Pushka]

Where have you read this? The entire point of ETIAS (and ETAs and ESTAs) is to stop people boarding flights to destinations where they have a high chance of being refused entry.


As written in the letter, that search was for records of people who have naturalised, i.e. foreigners who moved to the UK and lived there for between 1 and 5 years, which then made them eligible to go through the process to become citizens (which may have involved attending a ceremony, though I'm not sure if they had ceremonies in 1986).

Oh. Carp. Back to square one. I give up

 

[lovestotravel]

Looks like it's now become a political issue in the UK

‘Left completely in the lurch’: British MP attacks UK dual-citizen passport chaos

The fury around the UK’s change in entry requirements for dual citizens has reached the House of Commons in London.

travelweekly.com.au

But no real changes to assist those

These changes were "announced" in November but it was quietly updated on the UK GOV website.

It was pushed out to travel agents etc around 10th of Jan and got media publicity shortly after, which is still going.

For most people they have had 6 weeks notice.

18 days to go for us, no kids passports any closer to coming

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And with that they are beginning to relax the rules a little, telling airlines they can accept “at their discretion” an expired British passport (issued 1989 or newer)

Expired British passport issued as long ago as 1989 could get dual nationals into UK

Exclusive: Home Office has told airlines they can accept ‘possible alternative documentation’ from citizens of two countries

www.independent.co.uk

Now officially on the Home Office website:

Electronic travel authorisation (ETA): guide for dual citizens

What dual citizens with British or Irish citizenship (or right of abode) need to do to travel to the UK.

www.gov.uk

United Airlines’ version of TIMATIC currently allows an expired passport. Will be interesting to see if there are any changes come 24 Feb.

Most airlines will use TIMATIC as the arbiter of allowing carriage.

Doesn’t address the issue of those who have never held a UK passport… at least directly. I’m still in the ‘they can’t enforce it’ camp for those who have never applied, claimed or registered for British citizenship.

 

[Zero]

Well if it works it will be an improvement for me, my current British passport expires 2033 but maybe I'll be able to use it for a number of years after expiry, and not renew until I need it for a country which charges Australians a (higher) visa fee.

 

[kelvedon]

But no real changes to assist those

These changes were "announced" in November but it was quietly updated on the UK GOV website.

It was pushed out to travel agents etc around 10th of Jan and got media publicity shortly after, which is still going.

For most people they have had 6 weeks notice.

18 days to go for us, no kids passports any closer to coming

Not if this statement from a Home Office spokesman is to be believed.

“Public information advising dual nationals to carry the correct documentation has been available since October 2024 and a substantive communications campaign about the introduction of ETA has been running since 2023.
"This requirement applies to all British citizens regardless of other nationality and is the same approach taken by other countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia."

How are UK passport rules changing for British dual nationals?

Entry requirements to the UK for dual nationals are being overhauled as part of sweeping changes to the immigration system.

www.bbc.com

 

[clifford]

Expired British passport issued as long ago as 1989 could get dual nationals into UK

Exclusive: Home Office has told airlines they can accept ‘possible alternative documentation’ from citizens of two countries

www.independent.co.uk

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Expired British passport issued as long ago as 1989 could get dual nationals into UK

Exclusive: Home Office has told airlines they can accept ‘possible alternative documentation’ from citizens of two countries

www.independent.co.uk

Discussed above at #309. Official link is there, but I think what’s going to be key is the wording in TIMATIC. Nothing on the Qantas site yet regarding the exception.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Not for dual citizens as such but for those born in Australia with a uk mother (subject to certain conditions), interesting, if you have had a Right of Abode certificate it never expires so you can take your old expired Australian passport with the ROB certificate as well as your current Australian passport to use British entry lane. Beats paying hundreds of dollars to transfer it to new passport or apply for one of the new certs.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Not for dual citizens as such but for those born in Australia with a uk mother (subject to certain conditions), interesting, if you have had a Right of Abode certificate it never expires so you can take your old expired Australian passport with the ROB certificate as well as your current Australian passport to use British entry lane. Beats paying hundreds of dollars to transfer it to new passport or apply for one of the new certs.

The right of abode would have been in your foreign passport, which would likely have expired by now.

So you’d need to get a certificate of entitlement,

A ‘right of abode’ doesn’t appear in TIMATIC as a valid document for transport… it’s still in the foreign passport, which you can’t use.

That’s a different situation to your right of abode once you get to the border (where you have unconditional right of entry).

 

[TheRealTMA]

The right of abode would have been in your foreign passport, which would likely have expired by now.

So you’d need to get a certificate of entitlement,

A ‘right of abode’ doesn’t appear in TIMATIC as a valid document for transport… it’s still in the foreign passport, which you can’t use.

That’s a different situation to your right of abode once you get to the border (where you have unconditional right of entry).

The ROA is in my Australia passport, which expired some years ago. As is said I’m not a dual citizen. I’m an Australian, We obtained RoA in the late 70s to allow us to work in the UK and transferred it a couple of times until they wanted to charge excessive to transfer it. The actual RoA right never expires once granted. My post was just a FYI for Australians who have a RoA,