In short
- From February 25, British and Irish citizens will need a valid British passport to enter the country.
- Dual citizens are advised to apply for a new British passport or certificate of entitlement.
New border rules for people entering Britain come into effect today, meaning some Australian travelers could be caught out if they don’t have updated documentation.
People without British citizenship must obtain an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) certificate, which costs £16 ($31), takes up to three days to complete and is valid for multiple trips.
However, under the new rules, British citizens are now banned from entering Britain or Ireland without a valid British passport.
That means Australians with dual citizenship of Britain or Ireland now need a valid British passport – or a certificate of entitlement – to enter the country, even if they have an Australian passport.
What are the new rules for British passports and what has changed?
From February 25, British and Irish citizens will need a valid British passport to enter the country.
This applies to Australian dual citizens, who previously could only enter the country with their Australian passport and an ETA – the standard visa to enter Britain for travel, business or transit.
At the time of writing, the Australian government’s official travel advisory service, Smartraveller, advises that dual nationals cannot obtain an ETA. They warn that Australian British or Australian Irish citizens may not be able to board their flights from Wednesday without a valid document.
Dual citizens are advised to apply for a new British passport or certificate of entitlement.
The cost of a passport application varies depending on which country one lives in and how urgently one needs the passport and how often one travels, but the standard cost for someone applying in Australia is £108 ($206) for an adult and £70 ($134) for a child.
A Certificate of Entitlement is a digital document attached to a valid passport that confirms that a British citizen has the right to live or work in the country without restrictions and carries a fee of £482 ($920).
A third option is for dual nationals to renounce their British citizenship, which costs £589 ($1,124).
Can I enter with an expired British passport?
The short answer is yes, depending on your carrier.
This week, the UK Home Office announced that dual nationals entering Britain can use their expired passport in combination with a valid passport and estimated time of arrival, but left the final decision up to carriers, including airlines, ships or trains.
On its website, the Home Office wrote that “your carrier may allow you to travel if you have both an expired British passport, issued in 1989 or later [and] a valid passport”.
“The personal details on both passports must match.
“It is the airline’s decision whether you are allowed to travel,” the update said.
Qantas has confirmed it will accept dual national travelers with expired British passports, based on advice from the UK government.
Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive Dean Long said it was a “huge relief”.
“We have today seen a critical piece of common sense from the UK Home Office at the last minute. They have recognized the documentation issues and will now allow dual nationals to enter the UK with an expired British passport in addition to their valid Australian passport, provided the British passport was issued in 1989 or later,” he told SBS News.
He said it was a “huge catch” to leave the decision to the airlines.
“We are still operating on a ‘no permission, no travel’ model, so while this is a welcome reprieve, it is not a guaranteed golden ticket if the airline decides to play it safe.”
Costly confusion about new rules
The confusion means those planning to travel are faced with the bureaucratic process of passport renewal or canceling travel plans – both costly.
For many Australians of British or Irish parents, the news led to a scramble to find the documents needed to start the British passport process.
SBS Audio spoke to Kathy Dwyer, who was born in Australia to a British father.
Dwyer’s planned trip to Britain was disrupted when she discovered she had to apply for a British passport.
“For that I needed my father’s birth certificate. He was born about a hundred years ago and I didn’t have a copy, so I had to request it from the British government, and I only received it today,” she told SBS.
“Then I had to get their marriage certificates, which meant I had to get their death certificates. So in the end we decided we wouldn’t go to Britain at all.”
Long said many Australians did not even know they were legally British citizens.
“There is a misconception that this only affects people who already have two physical passports,” he told SBS News.
“If you have a parent who was born in Britain, chances are you are automatically a citizen under their law, even if you have never identified as such or held a British passport. These travelers assumed they could simply apply for a standard ETA, but because they are legally British, that visitor path is closed to them. They are stuck in a documentation trap.”
Long said the new rules marked a “total shift” in the way Australia approached Britain.
“It’s a shake-up of borders that has caused real chaos for those caught unprepared.
‘You have to understand the financial problems here. If an airline lets you board but the UK Border Force denies you entry on arrival because your paperwork is not correct, you will be 100 percent responsible for the costs of returning to Australia.
“Our advice is simple: don’t risk it on a whim.”
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