Airlines brace for confusion over UK-dual citizens boarding flights

Airlines are bracing for confusion at airports on Wednesday as a UK visa change limits how dual British-Australian passengers can travel to Britain.

The difficulty has prompted the British government to allow airlines more flexibility in interpreting the rule change.

Effective on February 25, British and Irish dual Australian citizens can no longer travel to the UK without a current British or Irish passport.

These dual citizens, many of whom hold the status by virtue of their parents, cannot use an inexpensive Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), either.

The UK has used ETAs, which cost only £16 ($30.50), since October 2023. However, their use becomes mandatory this week, and for citizens (including dual citizens), ETAs are no longer an option.

“We recognise that this is a significant change for carriers and travellers,” the UK Home Office told British media late last week.

The Home Office further clarified that: “At their own discretion, carriers may accept some expired British passport as alternative documentation.”

These could include expired passports from 1989 or a valid non-visa national third-country passport where biographic details match. It is an operational decision whether carriers accept alternative proof, and if so, what alternative proof they will accept, according to the UK Home Office.

“Separately, individuals who have previously had a British passport can apply for an emergency travel document if they urgently need to enter the UK.”

UK Border Force “will still assess a person’s suitability to enter the UK and conduct additional checks if required”, the UK Home Office said.

Although the UK government has been warning of the change since October 2024, confusion over the rule change has mounted as the February 25 enforcement date nears. The change will see thousands of Australians with a family link to the UK forced to accept or reject British citizenship as a condition for entry into Britain.

Dual citizens also have the option of the pricey one-time cost of a certificate of entitlement, which vouches for their right to be in the UK or Ireland and can be used with Australian passports.

A spokesperson for Emirates, which operates 70 direct weekly services to and from Australian capital cities, said the carrier’s “standing policy is that it is the individual traveller’s responsibility to ensure they meet all necessary visa and entry requirements for their destination.” The airline operates 146 weekly flights across three London airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted.

The airline advises all passengers “to verify the most up-to-date requirements” directly with the relevant government authorities “well in advance of their travel, as these can change at short notice.”

Virgin and Qatar Airways said that passengers flying to the UK or Ireland will find staff checking passengers’ right of entry into their final destination before travel. However, the airlines say the ultimate responsibility to meet the entry requirements of all countries, including obligations that may apply to dual citizens, resides with the passengers.

Qantas, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific have all been reached for comment.

Typical reservation systems will flag dual citizens, as it is with anyone who does not meet the entry requirements for their final destination. They will be turned away if they don’t have the relevant documentation.

NSW-based Tony Ducker notes that he was born, lived, and worked his entire life in Australia and was recently advised he is, to his surprise, a British citizen and will require a British passport for travel there.

“I never requested this citizenship nor was I formally advised of having this citizenship,” said Ducker.

“I do not want UK citizenship,” he wrote in an email, stressing he has always travelled on his Australian passport.

Ducker has been told to post his original birth certificate and current passport to the UK.

The Home Office has reportedly sent a range of communications to airlines and those impacted who the UK holds valid contact details for.

Many Australians of British and Irish heritage question how UK authorities would be aware of the parentage of children born outside of the UK or Ireland decades ago, and who, in many cases, had no diplomatic contact with the UK.

Ducker said, “A ridiculous bureaucratic process. I do not consider myself a UK citizen. Is the UK running short on citizens, so they have to go around the world trying to automatically add citizens?”

Writing in The Conversation, Nando Sigona, Professor of International Migration at the University of Birmingham, said the new rule “for some” simply means ensuring that their UK passport is valid.

“For others — particularly families living abroad who have never needed a British passport for their children — it introduces an unexpected bureaucratic step.”

“Families with easy access to consular services, financial resources and familiarity with UK administrative systems can adapt quickly,” wrote Sigona. “Those living further from British bureaucratic infrastructure face greater friction.”

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