UK Warns Dual Nationals: Entry May Be Denied From February 25th
The UK government has issued a warning that dual nationals may be denied entry when travelling to the UK by plane, ferry, or train starting February 25th, 2026, if they do not have a valid UK passport. This new policy has sparked protests from British citizens living or travelling abroad, who now risk being barred from entering their own country.
The warning from the Home Office comes as the government changes its border control system, requiring everyone travelling to the UK to have official travel permission. The rule excludes UK and Irish citizens, and certain others who are exempt, while short-term visitors will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) costing £16.
However, dual nationals will now, for the first time, be required to show their UK passport or pay a fee of £589 for a ‘certificate of entitlement’. This certificate will then be attached to their other passport, allowing them to travel to the UK.
A British woman who has lived in Germany for many years has expressed her concern about the impact of the new rules on her children, particularly her son who is due to travel to the UK soon.
‘I am very upset that once again we are being treated as collateral damage from Brexit with these sudden, mean and arbitrary rule changes,’ she said, according to the Guardian.
Although the government introduced the rules last year, she feels that they have not been properly communicated to citizens living abroad. She believes that having two passports for all family members is an expensive luxury that not everyone can afford.
A similar situation is being faced by a woman who has lived in Spain for more than 30 years and chose to become a Spanish citizen after Brexit. Until now, she has been able to travel freely in and out of the UK using her Spanish passport.
However, Spanish law requires foreign nationals who are naturalised to renounce their previous citizenship, so showing a UK passport at the airport could put her Spanish citizenship at risk.
The woman, who has asked to be identified only as Julie, says that many people will argue that she should not have given up her UK passport, but she points out that the rules also affect children of British citizens who were born in Spain and who are registered as having dual nationality at the border.
‘It seems there is a strange anomaly in that while the UK is willing to recognise dual nationality, it is refusing to recognise that a valid EU passport held by a British citizen can give them the right to enter the UK,’ she says.
The administrative issue is also causing problems for a British-Italian dual national who was born and educated in London. The man, who travels frequently for work, says that he has only just realised that he could be stranded, as he has been using his Italian passport for all his travel.
He is due to fly to New York on Friday from the UK, using his Italian passport. However, his return flight is after February 25th, which means that he will not be able to show an ETA or a UK passport to immigration officials.
Asked if he is considering paying the £589 for a certificate of entitlement to attach to his Italian passport, he says that he is still looking into it.
‘The problem is that the paperwork takes weeks, so it is impossible to get it done before Friday,’ he says.