Can I let my Britain passport lapse?

[Puffinshop]

I'm a dual citizen living outside the UK but I visit the UK regularly. My British passport is about to lapse. I hold another EEA passport.

I know that if I can't show a valid British passport I'll have to pay for an ETA now. But that's only 10 pounds for 2 years whereas a whole new passport, applying from overseas, is 120 pounds for 10 years.

I know you're supposed to enter the UK on a British passport if you have one, but am I required to have one or can I just essentially behave as though I'm not a British citizen for the purposes of travel? We only go for short visits to see family, I don't need to live or work there.

Im thinking - what if I had never gotten a British passport for my DC? They would have to have an ETA. Even though they are British citizens. So whats the difference if they have an expired British passport?

The difference is that, as a dual citizen, you need to send your other passport when you get your British passport. You have to declare your other citizenship.
So the Home Office now knows your dcs have both a passport from<insert EU country> and British. Hence I’d expect them to ask about said British passport in entrance to the U.K.. As my dual citizen dcs have been asked before.

Exactly. Although if they're automatically dual citizens from birth Border Force may not realise this as it won't be visible in the system if they've never applied for a British passport.

BUT if they live in the UK (which is obvious based on their travel pattern in and out, which IS recorded in the system) they would be asked to show their Settled Status or other visa when entering on their other passport after a trip abroad - and of course they can't have one of these, as British citizens. A lot of dual EU / British families have fallen foul of this in the last few years. They're usually allowed in, but told sternly to get the child a British passport before travelling again.

And the same will apply once ETA kicks in - non-resident visitors will be asked for either a visitor visa or an ETA, which they can't have as British citizens.

Oops, my previous post was meant to quote you, not the OP!

Third option would be to formally renounce your British citizenship.

Haha yes I suppose so. Rather drastic. I won't be doing that.

This costs considerably more than getting a new passport.

This is all really interesting and also annoying.
@LionME may I ask where /when your DC were asked for British passports?

We ve regularly travelled with Eurostar and flown to Manchester and have never been asked for their British passports.

Personally I really don't trust renewing their passports where we currently live. The postal service is highly unreliable at the best of times and there is currently a lot of social unrest and buildings/cars/ports/containers being burnt.

We don't want to live in the UK. Just visit family this summer (and then I'll renew).

Similar thing than another poster on this thread.
They showed their EU passport and were automatically asked for the British one.

It happens I think if you’ve mentioned before to the HO that you are a dual citizen. If you haven’t, they won’t know i think.

Fwiw no issue the other way around (even though legally you’re always supposed to have all your passports with you) because not all EU countries record other citizenships so the info is not accessible at the border.

Did you get an ETA in the end?

I renewed my British passport. I'll revisit the issue next year when my children's British passports expire - hopefully things will be clearer by then.

But now that it's after 5 March, I'd be interested to hear if there are any British citizens who've tried to get an ETA and if so, how that went!

I have only a British passport and so do my Italian citizen kids due to having a British mother.
I made DAMN SURE they had a British passport before Brexit and have threatened to haunt them if they let it expire. It’s their birthright.
I have a permanent Permesso di Soggiorno, not dual nationality.

To PP with expired passports: you can renew it far more easily than applying for a new one.

It’s clear on gov.uk ETA app that having any sort of British passport means you don’t need an ETA. DH does as he’s got an Italian EU passport. Simple.

BUT from April I’m expecting retaliation and an equivalent €12 to enter every single European state! I live close to the borders of 3 other EU countries…

It’s clear on gov.uk ETA app that having any sort of British passport means you don’t need an ETA.

That was never in question.

@Sgtmajormummy DAMN SURE they had a British passport before Brexit and have threatened to haunt them if they let it expire. It’s their birthright.
Why though? I can't see what advantage it gives over their other nationality passport, especially if it's European. I can't decide if there's any advantage to reminding the government that my DC exist.

Anyone applied yet or do I have to try next week 😀

It costs £10 to apply using the UK ETA app or online through GOV.UK. Other websites may charge more.
From 9 April, it will cost £16 to apply for an ETA.

And they're already putting the prices up 🙄

In my experience, I only need one valid passport to travel. The others can be expired, as long as I present them when requested. (Never did it with the UK passport, though)

Have you looked at the passport office website?

Retaliation. 🙄

Ive done the ETA for my DC but havent travelled yet.

"Spoke" to an online advisor and explained our situation and he said if we re travelling on a non UK passport and the UK passport is expired then they need an ETA. And he said I can't mention their British nationality otherwise the application will be rejected. (I checked and there is no way to select standard British nationality on the form anyway).

I ll take the expired British passports and explain if necessary. But given the social unrest here there is no way I am sending off their passports for renewal.

But given the social unrest here there is no way I am sending off their passports for renewal.

passport office now accepts copies/printouts.

If it’s their birthright it doesn’t matter if the passport expires. Citizenship doesn’t depend on having a passport.

if it expires they can still apply for a new one at any point. Yes it can be more complicated if it’s been a significant length of time, but as you say, it’s their birthright.

not quite sure why the passport is such a big deal. hundreds of people don’t have current passports, doesn’t mean they lose their citizenship.

I always travel on my EU passport - as it’s so much easier on the EU side - no one has ever questioned why I’m not using my UK passport to enter Britain.

I’m flying to UK on Thursday next week - so just after new eu eta rules come in - my API data is my EU pass and I will have my UK one with me but unsure how I’m actually going to play it - I emailed the ETA people to ask how it was meant to work and all they could say was travel with your uk passport to prove ID.

I asked at Heathrow and the immigration chap there couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t just use my UK one all the time….

The German immigration seemed to suggest I could travel on my UK passport and enter Germany on my ID card - not sure I’m up to trialling that though. As in my local German airport you can only use the electronic gates with an EU passport.

flying NL-UK on 3/4 so will see how it goes!

I have UK & French passports, I flew from Geneva to UK on UK passport & got grilled by the Swiss immigration control on departure due to not having a “carte de sejour” for my return. I said “I have an EU passport, but not with me”, I did have a copy of French driver’s license on my phone so eventually these 2 bulldogs let me LEAVE.
but not sure why they were bothered anyway as my return ticket was direct to France, so not their problem.
It was pretty fraught as I was with my handicapped husband (with FR passport) in a wheelchair & we had been whisked off on a secret route, & my 2 young adult kids were not allowed to come with us. One if them was also traveling on UK passport & was pulled up for the same reason but had his FR ID card on him ( I texted him to warn him of potential issue)
Lesson learned.
Meanwhile my daughter’s UK passport had expired so she was traveling on FR passport. This I gather might now create difficulty.

I’m glad to hear you no longer have to send all the existing passports when reapplying, as for me for a long time it was my only means of ID, which I could not have lived without, or have risked being lost, & our postal service is shockingly unreliable.

@UselessMumAlert @Whycanineverthinkofone
Let’s say that my children’s links with the UK are somewhat tenuous. But they would have a slight advantage over purely EU citizens if they applied to work or study in the UK (one is considering Canada) and could show a VALID British passport.

As a PP says, EU Passport controls are getting more and bulldog style and I could just imagine the animosity if someone rolled up and said: “I’m a British citizen; here’s my expired passport and my valid Italian one”.

People may eye-roll but I have been “extradited” from Italy by the Airport Carabinieri because my passport was set to expire before my return flight (precisely the reason I was going to the UK)!

It may be old school but, in spite of detesting everything Brexit has brought about, I carry my British passport with pride. It’s now weaker than most EU ones (maybe 3 countries more require a visa) but still worth the money and the hassle to keep it up to date IMO.

That's good to know thanks. But they would still need to send the new ones here and there's still a high risk of them getting lost/burnt in a van or the post office....

How much of a faff is it getting children's 1st british passports? I've been looking online, but everything says you might need, not you will need for things like grandparents birth certificates. Theoretically our British passports with place of birth should be enough to confirm British by descent, but I don't trust the British civil service further than I could kick them! God knows how we'll find someone to sign it if that's a requirement, we've been out far too many decades and I don't think I know any Brits here anymore.