I believe Canada has a similar rule, but seems pretty dumb. For Canada, at least, there's an exception for Americans IIRC where Americans can use their American passport if they want (I bring both...
I believe Canada has a similar rule, but seems pretty dumb. For Canada, at least, there's an exception for Americans IIRC where Americans can use their American passport if they want (I bring both and just use Canadian into Canada, American into the US, but I didn't get a Canadian passport until 2023 despite being a* citizen all my life). It seems like the UK should have a similar rule for the EU even without being in the Schengen zone anymore, but wouldn't surprise me if they're just implementing this out of spite.
There have been a few of these stories floating around since the new policy came into force in February. While the people involved are clearly stuck in a tricky situation, I find it hard to give...
There have been a few of these stories floating around since the new policy came into force in February. While the people involved are clearly stuck in a tricky situation, I find it hard to give them much sympathy as the changes have been widely publicised over the last couple of years, and particularly in the couple of months prior to them coming into force in February. Indeed, the more time passes the less sympathy I feel for those involved!
To be very clear, prior to 25/02/2026, it was permitted for British dual nationals to travel in and out of the UK on their foreign passport, with no proof of their UK citizenship status. Basically you could just show up at the border and be waved through. This policy doesn’t work very well with the modern border, which as far as possible operates automatically and digitally, which is a great thing! E-gates, e-visas, pre-travel authorisations and the like make travel much easier and more convenient - ideal because we want to encourage people to travel to the UK - without compromising border security. In fact it’s better for security because we can check if you have the right to enter the UK before you get on a flight/train/ferry to the country.
So, as of 25/02/2026, there is a very simple requirement: if you are a British national travelling to the UK, you must carry proof of British citizenship (in the form of a British passport or certificate). There is no valid way for you to enter the country if you don’t have such a document in your possession - how could there be? You can’t be admitted via the foreign visitor entry system, because you aren’t relying on any sort of travel visa for your entry; you are entering as a British citizen, so it only makes sense that you would need proof that you are, in fact, a British citizen.
I’ll add, as relevant context, that I’m a British dual national living in the UK, I was aware of the changed well in advance of the changes, but I didn’t have to change how I travel because I already always passed through the British border using my British passport. I guess it just always seemed like the most sensible thing to do?
Why wouldn’t she be able to get an ETA? Spanish citizens can get an ETA in minutes and travel through the gates for non-UK citizens. It’s strange to not allow someone to do that just because...
Why wouldn’t she be able to get an ETA? Spanish citizens can get an ETA in minutes and travel through the gates for non-UK citizens. It’s strange to not allow someone to do that just because they’re also a British citizen.
Does the UK government have computers where they could look up someone's citizenship status? It seems like in principle, they could have all the information available to them that's in a passport....
Does the UK government have computers where they could look up someone's citizenship status? It seems like in principle, they could have all the information available to them that's in a passport.
At that point the physical passport just serves as proof of identity and there could be other acceptable proofs.
Relying on physical documents has downsides. A common tactic in human trafficking is to take peoples' passports as a way of controlling them.
I believe Canada has a similar rule, but seems pretty dumb. For Canada, at least, there's an exception for Americans IIRC where Americans can use their American passport if they want (I bring both and just use Canadian into Canada, American into the US, but I didn't get a Canadian passport until 2023 despite being a* citizen all my life). It seems like the UK should have a similar rule for the EU even without being in the Schengen zone anymore, but wouldn't surprise me if they're just implementing this out of spite.
When talking about immigration you don't want to be more in line with the USA or Australia. It's unfortunate that this happened to her though.
There have been a few of these stories floating around since the new policy came into force in February. While the people involved are clearly stuck in a tricky situation, I find it hard to give them much sympathy as the changes have been widely publicised over the last couple of years, and particularly in the couple of months prior to them coming into force in February. Indeed, the more time passes the less sympathy I feel for those involved!
To be very clear, prior to 25/02/2026, it was permitted for British dual nationals to travel in and out of the UK on their foreign passport, with no proof of their UK citizenship status. Basically you could just show up at the border and be waved through. This policy doesn’t work very well with the modern border, which as far as possible operates automatically and digitally, which is a great thing! E-gates, e-visas, pre-travel authorisations and the like make travel much easier and more convenient - ideal because we want to encourage people to travel to the UK - without compromising border security. In fact it’s better for security because we can check if you have the right to enter the UK before you get on a flight/train/ferry to the country.
So, as of 25/02/2026, there is a very simple requirement: if you are a British national travelling to the UK, you must carry proof of British citizenship (in the form of a British passport or certificate). There is no valid way for you to enter the country if you don’t have such a document in your possession - how could there be? You can’t be admitted via the foreign visitor entry system, because you aren’t relying on any sort of travel visa for your entry; you are entering as a British citizen, so it only makes sense that you would need proof that you are, in fact, a British citizen.
I’ll add, as relevant context, that I’m a British dual national living in the UK, I was aware of the changed well in advance of the changes, but I didn’t have to change how I travel because I already always passed through the British border using my British passport. I guess it just always seemed like the most sensible thing to do?
Why wouldn’t she be able to get an ETA? Spanish citizens can get an ETA in minutes and travel through the gates for non-UK citizens. It’s strange to not allow someone to do that just because they’re also a British citizen.
Does the UK government have computers where they could look up someone's citizenship status? It seems like in principle, they could have all the information available to them that's in a passport.
At that point the physical passport just serves as proof of identity and there could be other acceptable proofs.
Relying on physical documents has downsides. A common tactic in human trafficking is to take peoples' passports as a way of controlling them.