Why British dual citizens are facing new passport issues

Expats are considering renouncing their British citizenship as new passport rules loom, claiming the reforms make them “second-class citizens”.

The changes have sparked a “backlash from Britons overseas” who say they’ve been “left blindsided” by the tweak in border controls, said the Daily Mail.

What is changing?

Currently, people in the UK who have two nationalities at once are able to travel to and from the UK on either their UK passport or the passport of their second nationality.

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But under the new rules being introduced on 25 February, dual British citizens entering or leaving the UK will have to prove their right of abode, which exempts them from immigration control, by showing a British passport, or obtaining a digital certificate of entitlement to the right of abode, which replaces the paper sticker version currently used in foreign passports. The digital certificate will cost £589.

The rules apply to all dual British citizens travelling to the UK from overseas, including those who hold Irish or EU nationality. British embassies and consulates have reported a “surge” in inquiries from people “concerned about the lack of warning and the potential for travel problems”, said The i Paper.

Why the change?

The Home Office says the reforms are part of its bid to modernise the border through a digital system. When passengers do not have either a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement, airlines, ferry operators and train companies “cannot verify” that they are British citizens, “which may lead to delays or refused boarding”, said a spokesperson, who noted that this is the same approach taken by some other countries, including the US and Australia.

The reform is also a response to a data issue: when dual British citizens travel on a foreign passport, carriers currently log them in the same way as other foreign nationals, which makes it impossible to distinguish them from visa holders. The Home Office hopes the new rule will improve the accuracy of immigration records.

What has the reaction been?

Campaigners said that the 1.2 million dual British citizens around the world will become “second-class citizens” because they will be put in a worse position than foreign citizens. Dual nationals trying to enter Britain with non-British passports could be “blocked from boarding flights to Britain or stopped at the border”, said The Times, “putting them at a disadvantage” compared with foreign travellers whose journeys to the UK will be “unaffected”.

A 70-year-old British art historian, who lives in New Zealand and visits the UK often, and has dual New Zealand/UK nationality, told the broadsheet he was “among many” who would renounce their British citizenship to avoid the lengthy, expensive process of obtaining a British passport. His last British passport expired more than 20 years ago and reapplying would require him to unearth and send his parents’ original birth and marriage certificates.

Renouncing is “quite a strong gesture to say I thoroughly disapprove of this government measure”, he said.

The move has also caused confusion and disquiet among British families living abroad whose children do not have a British passport and could be denied entry to the UK from next week.