Australian Dual Citizens Entering UK after February

[Pug1]

Hi you experts. I saw this report in the Nine news website and checked it out on the UK government site. The nine report is correct.
"'Doesn't feel fair': Australian-British citizens caught out by new passport rule".
My wife and I hold Australian passports and also Irish and UK passports. It seems that from next month we cannot enter England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales using our Australian passports or a visa. We must produce our UK or Irish passport to enter. That is not a problem for us, but a number of our English born friends have not bothered to keep their UK passports and must now reapply and pay for a new one. Has anyone else on this forum checked this out and is there any work around?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi you experts. I saw this report in the Nine news website and checked it out on the UK government site. The nine report is correct.
"'Doesn't feel fair': Australian-British citizens caught out by new passport rule".
My wife and I hold Australian passports and also Irish and UK passports. It seems that from next month we cannot enter England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales using our Australian passports or a visa. We must produce our UK or Irish passport to enter. That is not a problem for us, but a number of our English born friends have not bothered to keep their UK passports and must now reapply and pay for a new one. Has anyone else on this forum checked this out and is there any work around?

Yes, but technically ‘no’

Airlines are requiring proof of entry before they will allow you to board. That’s done with a UK passport or an Aussie passport with the ETA. You can’t however get an ETA if you are a UK citizen citizen.

So that means you’d have to get the UK passport in order to board your flight.

Legally you don’t need your UK passport to enter the UK: as a citizen you can’t be refused entry. You could arrive without any passport at all and they’d still have to let you in. It would just take time to confirm your identity.

So you need a UK passport to board a flight to the UK, but you don’t actually need one to enter!

 

[Pug1]

Yes, but technically ‘no’

Airlines are requiring proof of entry before they will allow you to board. That’s done with a UK passport or an Aussie passport with the ETA. You can’t however get an ETA if you are a UK citizen citizen.

So that means you’d have to get the UK passport in order to board your flight.

Legally you don’t need your UK passport to enter the UK: as a citizen you can’t be refused entry. You could arrive without any passport at all and they’d still have to let you in. It would just take time to confirm your identity.

So you need a UK passport to board a flight to the UK, but you don’t actually need one to enter!

Thanks for confirming. A few Brit friends are now scrambling to get their UK passports back. Beats spending a few hours trying to convince a UK border officer to let you in! A number of them have senior family members in England and may need to get back in a hurry.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks for confirming. A few Brit friends are now scrambling to get their UK passports back. Beats spending a few hours trying to convince a UK border officer to let you in! A number of them have senior family members in England and may need to get back in a hurry.

I suppose you could use an expired passport, but who knows how long the processing would take.

But the ETA application I understand asks if you are a UK citizen citizen, you’d need to provide false information in order to proceed.

The ramifications are that the ETA could be cancelled in the Aussie passport, which I wonder if that could then present problems of its own later on… like any time any other country asks if a visa or entry has been denied?

 

[kelvedon]

It’s the same in reverse. An Australian citizen will have difficulty entering Australia on a UK passport.
“Those trying to enter Australia as an Australian citizen but without an Australian passport will face difficulties and delays”

Travel Advice For Dual Nationals

 

[Pug1]

It’s the same in reverse. An Australian citizen will have difficulty entering Australia on a UK passport.
“Those trying to enter Australia as an Australian citizen but without an Australian passport will face difficulties and delays”

Travel Advice For Dual Nationals

Yes that's what I read too. Thanks for responding.

 

[Pushka]

Thought there was international rule that when entering the country of which you are a citizen then that's the passport you enter with.

My son who is eventually applying for UK residency said he might let his Australian passport lapse. Apart from entering Australia again I rather told him off for even thinking that.

 

[Pug1]

Thought there was international rule that when entering the country of which you are a citizen then that's the passport you enter with.

My son who is eventually applying for UK residency said he might let his Australian passport lapse. Apart from entering Australia again I rather told him off for even thinking that.

What a sensible mum!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thought there was international rule that when entering the country of which you are a citizen then that's the passport you enter with.

My son who is eventually applying for UK residency said he might let his Australian passport lapse. Apart from entering Australia again I rather told him off for even thinking that.

There’s not a uniform rule. Until recently you could enter the UK on a non-UK passport even if you were a UK citizen. Same still possible for some countries in the EU apparently.

 

[Rebus]

I recently travelled to the UK with my wife and two kids. We are all dual Australian and UK nationals. I was born in the UK, my wife was born in Australia but qualified for UK citizenship via her father. Our kids were born in Australia but are entitled to UK citizenship as one of their parents (me) was born in the UK. Only the oldest child has actually held a UK passport and it expired three years ago.

My wife and I entered the UK on our UK passports. We applied for an ETA for each of the kids. In the ETA application it asks if the applicant holds any other nationalities. If you select UK it states that you should not apply for the ETA and should use your UK passport. I stated that the applicants did not hold any other nationalities. The ETAs were granted and there were no issues with UK Border Force, or whatever they are called.

I can understand that as someone who was born in the UK the system would expect me to maintain my UK passport. But it seems unfair that my wife, or kids should have do to the same, especially as the kids have no link to the UK other than it being where their father was born.

 

[madrooster]

Same still possible for some countries in the EU apparently.

Once ETIAS starts, that'll effectively come to an end.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Thought there was international rule that when entering the country of which you are a citizen then that's the passport you enter with.
<snip>

Not a requirement for New Zealand
The NZ traveler declaration has box to the effect "NZ citizen entering on foreign passport?". Then skips several questions if answer Yes.

 

[Pug1]

I recently travelled to the UK with my wife and two kids. We are all dual Australian and UK nationals. I was born in the UK, my wife was born in Australia but qualified for UK citizenship via her father. Our kids were born in Australia but are entitled to UK citizenship as one of their parents (me) was born in the UK. Only the oldest child has actually held a UK passport and it expired three years ago.

My wife and I entered the UK on our UK passports. We applied for an ETA for each of the kids. In the ETA application it asks if the applicant holds any other nationalities. If you select UK it states that you should not apply for the ETA and should use your UK passport. I stated that the applicants did not hold any other nationalities. The ETAs were granted and there were no issues with UK Border Force, or whatever they are called.

I can understand that as someone who was born in the UK the system would expect me to maintain my UK passport. But it seems unfair that my wife, or kids should have do to the same, especially as the kids have no link to the UK other than it being where their father was born.

The new rules apply from 25 February 2026. You have mentioned the main issue for people, having to maintain two passports when they don't want to do so. There do seem to be a few slightly grey areas. I guess if your children had never applied for UK citizenship or a UK or Irish passport they would enter on an ETA from 25 February.

Not a requirement for New Zealand
The NZ traveler declaration has box to the effect "NZ citizen entering on foreign passport?". Then skips several questions if answer Yes.

Agreed as I understand it only Irish and UK passport holders are caught under the new rules