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Can a British citizen travel to the UK using a non-British passport?

There isn’t a specific legal requirement for British citizens to travel on a British passport but in practice it is difficult to travel to the UK from outside the Common Travel Area (Ireland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey or Jersey) without one. Requirements for journeys within the Common Travel Area aren’t addressed in this article but are explained on gov.uk.

How do British citizens show they have the right to enter the UK?

All British citizens have the right of abode in the UK (meaning, the entitlement to live or work in the UK without any immigration restrictions). This makes them exempt from immigration control. They don’t need an immigration officer’s permission to enter the UK but, to be granted entry based on their British citizenship, they must be able to demonstrate that they have the right of abode.

They are expected to do this by showing a current British passport or a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode (an official document): see paragraph 12 of the immigration rules and section 3(9) of the Immigration Act 1971.

Most people use a British passport

The most obvious choice for most people is to apply for a British passport.

Applying for a certificate of entitlement may take longer, and costs more (£589), than applying for British passport. People can’t have a certificate of entitlement at the same time as a British passport.

A standard British passport costs £102 for adults and £66.50 for children, when an online application is made inside the UK. The respective costs for people applying from overseas are slightly higher: £116.50 and £75.50.

Certificates of entitlement used to be issued as a sticker attached to the holder’s foreign passport and expire with the passport. Certificates of entitlement are now issued in a digital format. A digital certificate lasts indefinitely. When the foreign passport expires, the holder will need to update their UK Visas and Immigration account to link their certificate to their new passport’s details. The Home Office’s guide for applying for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode provides more information.

Coming to the UK without a UK passport or certificate of entitlement

British dual nationals whose other country is a 'non-visa national' country (meaning a country whose citizens don't need a UK visit visa) used to be able to travel to the UK using their foreign passport without a certificate of entitlement.

If they told Border Force staff they were British, they could experience delays at UK passport control while staff checked their right of abode. This was less likely to happen if they used an automated passport gate to enter the country.

As explained below, the introduction of an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirement for visitors from non-visa national countries means that British dual nationals can no longer simply use their foreign passport to travel to the UK. Many British dual nationals are affected. For example, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and all EU Member States are non-visa national countries.

People can check if their nationality needs a visit visa by using the ‘check if you need a UK visa’ tool on gov.uk. There is also an official list of countries which do need a UK visit visa.

British-Irish dual nationals are not affected. An Irish passport can still be used for unrestricted travel to the UK without an ETA.

The UK’s permission to travel requirements

Plans to introduce a “universal permission to travel” requirement were first announced in 2022. Primary legislation for the electronic travel authorisation scheme was passed in 2022.

The scheme supports advance screening of travellers before they come to the UK. Before departure, transport carriers must carry out automated checks against Home Office records to confirm that each passenger has permission to travel to the UK.

People who don’t have the necessary evidence of eligibility to come to the UK might be denied boarding, due to transport operators’ concerns about being fined for bringing inadequately documented passengers to the UK.

British and Irish citizens’ permission to travel is based on their nationality. British citizens are expected to demonstrate this by using their British passport or a certificate of entitlement. If a person is travelling with a digital certificate of entitlement, the transport provider will receive confirmation from the Home Office that they can travel to the UK (provided their certificate is linked to the passport they are using to travel).

Non-British/Irish citizens are expected to demonstrate their permission to travel by using:

• their electronic travel authorisation (ETA), if they are visiting the UK and are from a non-visa national country (and don’t fall within the scope of any of the exceptions to the ETA requirement); or
• their digital UK immigration permission (eVisa), if they have permission to live in the UK or are a visitor from a visa national country; or
• their physical proof of status, where permitted (physical immigration status documents are being phased out in favour of digital permission).

The ETA requirement for non-visa national travellers was introduced gradually between October 2023 and April 2025. To allow time to adjust, the Home Office didn’t initially require transport carriers to refuse boarding to people without an ETA. In late 2025 it confirmed carriers would be expected to strictly enforce the ETA requirement from 25 February 2026. The legal power to fine carriers for bringing non-visa nationals to the UK without an ETA came into force on 20 March 2026.

There is some general information for travellers about how to evidence their permission to travel to the UK on gov.uk. Transport providers can seek advice about a passenger’s permission to travel from the UK Border Force Carrier Support Hub.

How does permission to travel affect British dual nationals?

The Home Office says British citizens don’t need and aren’t eligible for an ETA, eVisa or immigration permission due to their British citizenship.

It has acknowledged that the ETA scheme has significant implications for some British dual nationals. It says it has been advising British dual nationals to travel on a British passport or with a certificate of entitlement since October 2024, through gov.uk and a broader publicity campaign. But many British dual nationals appear to have been unaware of the Home Office’s advice until it received media coverage in early 2026.

Since the scheme came into effect, there have been examples of British dual citizens (including children and young people) being denied boarding because they don’t have the required proof of status.

The Home Office has rejected calls to apply additional grace periods or transitional measures. However, it has given transport carriers discretion to accept certain alternative documents from British dual nationals and made some allowances for people who got British citizenship after having permission under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). These special arrangements are outlined in gov.uk’s page on dual citizenship and summarised below.

Carrier’s discretion to accept other documents

In late February 2026 the Home Office issued temporary guidance to carriers saying they can allow someone to board if they show an expired British passport issued in 1989 or later and a valid passport for a non-visa national country, if the biographic details match.

The Home Office says this is a “short-term transitional measure” which is at the discretion of individual carriers and doesn’t replace the requirement to have a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement. It is unclear how long the measure will apply.

Travellers must check with carriers to find out if they are exercising the discretion. Even if they are, it might not help some dual citizens who don’t have time to apply for a British passport or certificate of entitlement before they are due to travel. For example, some people don’t have matching names in their British and foreign passports because of differences in naming conventions or transliteration practices.

Exception for British citizens who have status under the EU Settlement Scheme

The Home Office has confirmed that people who became British after settling in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme can travel to the UK using their foreign passport or identity card (where acceptable). They need to check that their UKVI account is showing their EUSS eVisa as valid and linked to the travel document they are using.

Dual citizens' concerns

Some British dual nationals are unhappy they are being told they can’t apply for an ETA. They note that applying for a British passport or certificate of entitlement is more expensive and time-consuming than applying for an ETA.

An additional complication is that in practice, some British dual nationals found it possible to apply for an ETA (PDF) linked to their foreign passport with their British citizenship declared as an additional nationality. The ETA application form was later changed to prevent this. An article on the UK immigration law website Free Movement, written by an immigration lawyer, argues that ETAs issued to British dual citizens in those circumstances are valid and that it is unlikely that people using one to travel to the UK would encounter problems.

There has been speculation that some British dual nationals will go against UK Government advice by applying for an ETA with their foreign passport and not declaring their British citizenship, instead of applying for a British passport or certificate of entitlement of the right of abode.

Other dual nationals might travel to the UK as a foreign passport holder unaware that they have British citizenship. For example, a person who has never lived in the UK might have automatically acquired British citizenship through one of their parents by automatic operation of the law, without having had any formal interaction with the UK Government.

In either situation, transport providers and staff at UK passport control wouldn’t necessarily know that a person travelling on a foreign passport also has British citizenship if the person didn’t volunteer that information. There is no central register of British citizens or dual nationals, and information about a person’s place of birth isn’t enough to confirm if they are British.

The Home Office says that “the onus is on the individual to establish their status and apply for the appropriate permission” (PDF).

What will happen if someone arrives in the UK without the appropriate documents?  

The Home Office has told groups representing British dual nationals that “the intention of the ETA scheme is not to penalise people who unwittingly travel without the correct permission, or with a permission to which they are not legally entitled” (PDF).

The government says UK Border Force staff will take “a compassionate and pragmatic approach to travellers who experience genuine difficulty while this process settles”. Home Office ministers have said that enforcement of the ETA requirement will not result in dual citizens who arrive with incorrect documentation being detained or families being separated upon arrival in the UK.

What if a British citizen needs to travel urgently?

Subject to certain conditions, British nationals abroad can apply for an emergency travel document to return to the UK if they need to travel within six weeks and can’t renew or replace their British passport in time. It can be more difficult to get an emergency travel document if the person hasn’t had a British passport for many years.

Some stakeholders (PDF) want the Home Office to provide a more instant, digital workaround for British dual nationals which would be similar to applying for an ETA, like Canada does. Ministers have been unwilling to do this and argued that people can quickly obtain a passport or emergency travel document.

Why are these changes being made?

As explained above, the change in guidance for British dual nationals is a consequence of the Home Office’s transition to a ‘digital permission’ immigration system, which issues digital proof of immigration status and requires international carriers to check each passenger’s eligibility to travel to the UK. The Home Office says it will result in “a more streamlined, digital immigration system which will be quicker and more secure for the millions of people who pass through the UK border each year”.

What do other countries do?

Other countries with permission to travel schemes also expect their returning dual nationals to use the corresponding passport. See, for example, the guidance issued by the Australian High Commission in the UK, the New Zealand Government, and the United States Government about their travel and entry requirements for dual nationals.

Further reading

Gov.uk, Dual citizenship

WS 1361 [on The Enforcement of Electronic Travel Authorisation], 25 February 2026

Urgent Question [on Electronic Travel Authorisation: Dual Nationals], HC Deb 25 February 2026, cc350 to 357

Letter from British in Europe, the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association and the3Million to the Home Office (PDF) about the impact of ETA enforcement on dual nationals, 17 February 2026 and response from the Home Office (PDF), 26 February 2026 and further response (PDF), 13 March 2026

Free Movement, “Will the UK really ban dual nationals who don’t have a British passport?”, 23 February 2026