Britain’s dual nationals face mounting pressure to obtain British passports as entry requirements tighten on 25 February 2026, coinciding with the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) launch. Foreign passports alone will no longer suffice for return trips, forcing airlines to check for a British passport or digital Certificate of Entitlement (CoE) before boarding.
Fees and delays exacerbate the issue—£100 for an adult passport, £589 for the CoE—affecting over 1.2 million people per 2021 census data. The ETA requires a £16 pre-approval (rising to £20) for visitors from 85 countries, but dual nationals must prove UK citizenship instead, exempting only Irish holders.
Jelena, a Latvian-British surveyor in Glasgow for 16 years, risks exclusion after a South America trip.
“As it stands, after South America, I won’t be able to return to my flat [in Glasgow], which me and my husband own, in the country I have lived in for nearly 16 years, studied in and paid taxes,” she told BBC Your Voice.
“I’m lucky that my employer is flexible about me working from abroad—if that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have a job because of this,” she said. “The irony is that I’ve chosen to be part of this country but it feels like I’m being deported. It feels like a betrayal.”
Petra Gartzen, a UK-German resident for 40 years, learned of the shift via Facebook while in Spain. “They changed the rules when I was already in Spain. There was no lead up, no major announcement—I found out about it from a Facebook post, and just thought, now what?” she told BBC News. “I’ve been a British citizen since 2019. The UK is my home—I’ve lived there for 40 years, I own a home, I work and pay tax. My whole life is there.”
Professor Shaun West eyes renouncing his British passport. “There’s no worth in it for me,” he said. Teacher Linn Kathenes gambles on renewals for a school trip. “I don’t see another way, I just have to gamble,” she said.
The3million group demands better warnings. “The Home Office has not done enough to warn dual nationals of the serious impact this will have on them,” said Monique Hawkins.
The Home Office insists guidance dates to 2024, aligning with U.S. and Australian models.