Dual British nationals have been warned they may be denied boarding a flight, ferry or train to the UK after 25 February unless they carry a valid British passport. The warning comes from the Home Office amid complaints from British people living or travelling abroad who have found themselves at risk of being barred from entering the country.
Under border controls taking effect on 25 February, everyone travelling to the UK will need permission to travel unless they are a British or Irish citizen or are otherwise exempt. Visitors on short stays must apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation costing £16. However, dual nationals will, for the first time, be obliged to show their British passport or pay £589 for a “certificate of entitlement” to attach to their second nationality passport in order to board.
One British woman living in Germany with dual nationality said she feared her children would be affected, particularly her son who is due to travel to the UK in four weeks’ time. “I’m really annoyed about being treated as Brexit collateral once again with this short-notice, shortsighted, arbitrary change of the rules,” she said. Another woman, a British citizen living in Spain for over 30 years who took Spanish citizenship because of Brexit, now risks losing her Spanish nationality if she presents her British passport, as Spain requires renunciation of prior nationality.
A dual national born and educated in London, who is British Italian but has never held a British passport, discovered he may be unable to return from a work trip to New York. He is due to fly on Friday with his Italian passport but returns after 25 February and cannot apply for an ETA or afford the £589 certificate in time due to a weeks-long backlog. “I found myself having to travel at short notice and am now facing the idea that I may not be allowed back into the country,” he said.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “From 25 February 2026, all dual British citizens will need to present either a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement to avoid delays at the border.” They described the change as part of a digitisation programme to enable a “seamless travel experience” and give the government greater power to stop those who pose a threat. The EU citizens’ campaign group The 3 million called for a low-cost, one-off travel authorisation similar to Canada’s, urging the UK to act now to prevent British citizens being locked out of their own country.
