Australian Dual Citizens Entering UK after February

[MEL_Traveller]

Is this yet another way airlines might use to offload pax and increase profits? What repercussions are there for airlines if they allow incorrect boarding ?

The airline will - generally - get fined for delivering an ineligible passenger. Plus have to transport them back again (although that’s often covered by the return ticket).

Fines can be $5000+ per passenger.

Not sure it’s designed to increase profits… most legacy carriers will allow the passenger to get the correct documentation and rebook.

 

[LondonAussie]

Story is really getting a good run in the Aussie media but I think some of the reporting is a bit irresponsible and inaccurate, eg: “descendants who might have gained UK citizenship will also need a British passport”

From: More than 1m Australians on notice over UK immigration change

Meanwhile the ABC News says that travel agents are “working through the night to help”. Travel agents overwhelmed by new UK passport rules

Starting to get a bit too sensationalist for me.

 

[Pushka]

Is this yet another way airlines might use to offload pax and increase profits? What repercussions are there for airlines if they allow incorrect boarding ?

Fines. I really don't think airlines will be happy about having to enforce this. They will also need to know the person checking in has British citizenship when they present their Aussie passport. Does that show up when checking in like the visas do?

 

[Pushka]

Story is really getting a good run in the Aussie media but I think it’s a bit irresponsibly inaccurate if them to say: “descendants who might have gained UK citizenship will also need a British passport”

From: More than 1m Australians on notice over UK immigration change

Meanwhile the ABC News says that travel agents are “working through the night to help”. Travel agents overwhelmed by new UK passport rules

Starting to get a bit too sensationalist for me.

Locked out.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Fines. I really don't think airlines will be happy about having to enforce this. They will also need to know the person checking in has British citizenship when they present their Aussie passport. Does that show up when checking in like the visas do?

The airline will only know if there’s been an ETA issued in an Aussie passport which is voided/cancelled.

Otherwise the airline won’t know.

There’s no fine for bringing a uk citizen to the uk. Even on the wrong ETA.

 

[Bugs]

The airline will only know if there’s been an ETA issued in an Aussie passport which is voided/cancelled.

Otherwise the airline won’t know.

There’s no fine for bringing a uk citizen to the uk. Even on the wrong ETA.

I’ll be taking my Uk birth certificate, expired 2002 UK passport and my Aussie passport with eta. Won’t be showing any hint of Uk passport at Perth.

 

[Pushka]

The airline will only know if there’s been an ETA issued in an Aussie passport which is voided/cancelled.

Otherwise the airline won’t know.

There’s no fine for bringing a uk citizen to the uk. Even on the wrong ETA.

So UK will need to sort out if any current ETA passport holders also have UK citizenship and then cancel them. My money is on that not happening.

 

[transpactraveller]

So UK will need to sort out if any current ETA passport holders also have UK citizenship and then cancel them. My money is on that not happening.

100%. I think it will be impossible for them to know, unless the ETA applicant ticked a box to self-declare they're also a UK citizen. I have doubts that the UK could match foreign passports to a citizenship database, but maybe that's actually quite easy these days?

Even if they could, I doubt they'd proactively cancel already issued ETAs. You would hope if they are planning to do that they'd at least announce it (eg any existing ETAs for UK citizens will be cancelled). Better yet they should notify anyone affected, eg an email saying as a UK citizen your ETA will expire or become invalid on Feb 25th and cannot be renewed.

 

[Askance]

and on this basis we renewed her UK passport in October before booking her 2026 trip back. I'm especially surprised by the folks whose travel agents seem to have been taken unawares - surely staying on top of this is their job?

Chatting to my TA yesterday and she mentioned they were having to redo their client forms as they didnt previously ask for dual nationalities when asking for information on new clients.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I’ll be taking my Uk birth certificate, expired 2002 UK passport and my Aussie passport with eta. Won’t be showing any hint of Uk passport at Perth.

Your only issue is going to be at check in in Perth. If you get through there, unlikely to be any issue at the border.

If you get denied boarding in Perth, those other documents won’t remedy that.

In fact if UK border force finds those documents it’s likely to delay your entry rather than facilitate.

100%. I think it will be impossible for them to know, unless the ETA applicant ticked a box to self-declare they're also a UK citizen. I have doubts that the UK could match foreign passports to a citizenship database, but maybe that's actually quite easy these days?

Even if they could, I doubt they'd proactively cancel already issued ETAs. You would hope if they are planning to do that they'd at least announce it (eg any existing ETAs for UK citizens will be cancelled). Better yet they should notify anyone affected, eg an email saying as a UK citizen your ETA will expire or become invalid on Feb 25th and cannot be renewed.

I think quite a few people did tick the ‘I’m also British’ box in the form.

Those ETAs won’t be valid come 25 February.

How of it that happens is of course the $64k question!

 

[Happy Dude]

Story is really getting a good run in the Aussie media but I think some of the reporting is a bit irresponsible and inaccurate, eg: “descendants who might have gained UK citizenship will also need a British passport”

From: More than 1m Australians on notice over UK immigration change

Meanwhile the ABC News says that travel agents are “working through the night to help”. Travel agents overwhelmed by new UK passport rules

Starting to get a bit too sensationalist for me.

There's an increase in work for sure but the need to work through the night is mainly due to time zone differences. So, yep, quite sensationalist. Got to get them clicks.

 

[nancypants]

I’ve not really got skin in the game, I am a UK citizen with a current British passport although I really have zero allegiance to the place

Personally I think the way this has been handled is attrocious

Of course some with a taste for shoe leather will say should have just renewed your passport, it’s not new information blah blah. I consider myself reasonably well informed and only became aware of this in the recent press cycle

We’ve all been caught out by renewals taking longer than anticipated. I’m not in a position of needing to fly to the UK urgently but I can see why those who still have close family there would be concerned
The cost of a COE is unnecessarily punitive. New Zealand does the same thing for ~$180 which is around £90, this is a reasonable few, £600 is not

Similarly renouncing citizenship- I highly doubt anyone is renouncing “in protest”, most seem to be doing it because they have planned travel and feel they are out of options

What this amounts to is a de facto refusal of access to a country of citizenship for citizens of that country, which is utterly appalling in whatever way it is spun

There’s also blatant misinformation or disregard for the fact that, no, Australian citizens do not have to enter and exit on their Australian passport. I don’t believe I’ve ever used anything other than my British passport despite having my Australian passport with me at the time. The eGates won’t allow it

So in summary, I’m extremely annoyed about this despite it not actually affecting me at all. Shame on the UK government, and shame on everyone defending this

Rant off

 

[Pushka]

I’ve not really got skin in the game, I am a UK citizen with a current British passport although I really have zero allegiance to the place

Personally I think the way this has been handled is attrocious

Of course some with a taste for shoe leather will say should have just renewed your passport, it’s not new information blah blah. I consider myself reasonably well informed and only became aware of this in the recent press cycle

We’ve all been caught out by renewals taking longer than anticipated. I’m not in a position of needing to fly to the UK urgently but I can see why those who still have close family there would be concerned
The cost of a COE is unnecessarily punitive. New Zealand does the same thing for ~$180 which is around £90, this is a reasonable few, £600 is not

Similarly renouncing citizenship- I highly doubt anyone is renouncing “in protest”, most seem to be doing it because they have planned travel and feel they are out of options

What this amounts to is a de facto refusal of access to a country of citizenship for citizens of that country, which is utterly appalling in whatever way it is spun

There’s also blatant misinformation or disregard for the fact that, no, Australian citizens do not have to enter and exit on their Australian passport. I don’t believe I’ve ever used anything other than my British passport despite having my Australian passport with me at the time. The eGates won’t allow it

So in summary, I’m extremely annoyed about this despite it not actually affecting me at all. Shame on the UK government, and shame on everyone defending this

Rant off

It's really only an issue for those whose passports have been left to expire, whatever they ticked in the application. Agree, it's a rubbish roll out.

So if people aren't asked at checkin, and really why would they be, if they are also a British citizen AND the UK doesn't have the checks in place needed to cancel then there's no issue. But a gamble. But Wondering if people might say No if asked at checkin.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It's really only an issue for those whose passports have been left to expire, whatever they ticked in the application. Agree, it's a rubbish roll out.

So if people aren't asked at checkin, and really why would they be, if they are also a British citizen AND the UK doesn't have the checks in place needed to cancel then there's no issue. But a gamble. But Wondering if people might say No if asked at checkin.

Saying ‘no’ would be the best answer I’m guessing.

Better yet they should notify anyone affected, eg an email saying as a UK citizen your ETA will expire or become invalid on Feb 25th and cannot be renewed.

Anyone who’s applied for the ETA sort of recently will be aware they can’t apply for it if also a UK/Irish citizen. I don’t think there’s a need for additional communication to those that have applied.

 

[Happy Dude]

Before 25 February there is no verification of ETAs by the UK government, only manually by airline staff.

Some people born in Aus to UK-born parents are automatically British citizens, while others aren't, depending on their precise circumstances.

As an example, if you're born before 1 July 2006 to a UK-born father who wasn't married to your non-British mother, you are not an automatic citizen. While if born after 1 Jan 1983 to a UK-born mother and a non-British father, you are an automatic citizen whether your parents were married or not. For some people, determining whether they are citizens can get incredibly complex.

The UK won't know that someone is an automatic citizen until they attempt to apply for a British passport for the first time, unless the ETA application is rewritten to ask the same questions as a first passport application.

If an automatic citizen has never tried to get a British passport, and they apply for an ETA saying they are not a British citizen (which could be an honest but wrong belief, or a deliberate lie), it's highly unlikely those ETAs will get cancelled. IMO, there won't be any problems using that ETA even after 25 February.

If you are not an automatic citizen you may have a shorter route to obtaining British citizenship, but there is no obligation to do this and if you don't do it, you will be treated the same as any other Aus citizen when getting an ETA.

If you've previously had a British passport, it seems that the Home Office has no records of passports issued prior to around 1995, so relies on physical evidence submitted by applicants when they try to reapply for British passports. It's unknown whether the ETA verification system will be linked to data of recently expired passports.

If you are an Irish citizen, you're meant to use an Irish passport and not get an ETA to travel to the UK, but the UK would generally not be able to know whether someone is an Irish citizen. Technically, everyone born in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland before 2005 is entitled to be an Irish citizen, but they are not Irish citizens until the first time they make an application for an Irish passport (or, apparently, enrol to vote in an Irish election for the first time).

I'm not affected by this issue but I do love it when life imitates art. This is spectacularly accurate and hilariously British.

 

[Beer_budget]

Chatting to my TA yesterday and she mentioned they were having to redo their client forms as they didnt previously ask for dual nationalities when asking for information on new clients.

Yeah, ours is definitely aware of the dual citizenships, but I don't recall now whether she asked or we brought it up first.

Edited for clarity.

 

[kelvedon]

Yeah, ours is definitely aware, but I don't recall now whether she asked or we brought it up first.

As you pointed out up thread, this warning was posted on the UK Gov website last September.
I’m not sure if there was a press release or the Media simply didn’t run it, but there was plenty of warning imo.

 

[MelbFlyer]

There is ostensibly no downside to having a British passport other than £108 it costs, minus the £16 that would have otherwise been spent on an ETA, potentially £16 * 5 depending on frequency of visits as it needs renewing every 2 years across the 10 years that the passport itself would be valid for.

On the other hand there are a plethora of benefits to holding one in conjunction with an Australian passport such as:

• Faster processing at EU and other various borders where UK gets to use egates and AU doesn’t
• Longer stays in various countries such as HK (180 days > 90 in this case)
• Until very very recently, US global entry
• Better soft power in the case of an emergency including a far stronger embassy support network in places like the Middle East
• Enter and exit the UK no questions asked (obviously)

Plus all the other associated benefits of always having a second passport in your back pocket.

I honestly don’t get the outrage over this. It’s a given that American citizens enter the states on their US passports - why is it such a huge deal that the UK requires the same?

I’d be very interested to hear a single downside that isn’t “extra admin” or “it costs money”.

I agree with this.

Having a 2nd / 3rd (or even more) passport shouldn't be looked at as just a privilege, it's also a responsibility - to physically carry when you travel, and to renew / maintain when required.

Things can change at any and short notice, it's the responsibility of the traveller to keep everything up to date.

Sometimes it's difficult and begs questions, but it is what it is.

 

[Happy Trails]

As you pointed out up thread, this warning was posted on the UK Gov website last September.
I’m not sure if there was a press release or the Media simply didn’t run it, but there was plenty of warning imo.

Which reminds me of this scene in HHGTTG:

 

[transpactraveller]

As you pointed out up thread, this warning was posted on the UK Gov website last September.
I’m not sure if there was a press release or the Media simply didn’t run it, but there was plenty of warning imo.

In one of the news articles the UK High Commissioner was defending it saying they've been warning people since October 2024 !!