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.

If you apply online from overseas, they tell you to send your birth certificate plus all grandparents' birth certificates and marriage certificates.

I instantly realised this was bollocks because 2 of my children's grandparents are 100% Icelandic so obviously have nothing to do with it.

You are completely right that logically speaking, your valid British passport showing you were born in the UK does prove that you're a citizen 'other than by descent'. And that therefore your overseas born children are citizens by descent.

I tried to explain the logic but they weren't having it and in the end I sent my mother's birth certificate as well (so my children's maternal grandmother) to be on the safe side. The maternal line is obviously enough as it wouldn't make any difference if theoretically she had been unmarried and I had no idea who my father was.

So I sent my birth certificate, my mother's birth certificate, my child's birth certificate and photocopies of their Icelandic passports. It's not too bad but it was a pain. Especially because we don't get paper birth certificates as a matter of course in Iceland and they were upset that the paper birth certificates I sent had been issued when the kids were 2 and 4! It's all online in the national register here so there was nothing more 'original' I could give them!

For signatories you're allowed to have an EU passport holder if you like (my German friend was one of ours), so if you're in Europe you should be OK. Not sure otherwise.

Thanks @Puffinshop! I might risk it without sending my mother's birth certificate then, since I know she holds a valid britsh passport. A photocopy of all the grandparents passports will be much easier than trying to get hold of copies of birth certificates.

I'm already pissed that I'm going to have to pay a fortune for the paper translated version of the digital documents. I had the opposite problem getting a residence permit when we lived in France: they really didn't like that my British birth certificate was 30-odd years out of date!

I’ve just got my kids first Irish passports.

i sent everything. Their birth certs, my birth certificate, certified passport copies, my dad’s birth and death certs. Oh and council tax bills, bank statements, nhs appt letters, child benefit letters.

i had to get a signatory, but if you’re living abroad it can be one of a listed profession, so Dr/nurse, accountant, teacher, police officer etc. they don’t have to be Irish, just in a certain position.

interestingly as kids are under 18 their dad had to fill in a form to say he was aware and approved. I thought that was quite a good idea, stops parents getting a passport without the others knowledge.

Eire phone your signatory for all new passports 😲. Don’t know how common that is.

anyway it was relatively straightforward. I’ve heard of it being a nightmare, so thought it better to overwhelm them with documentation so it wouldn’t come back on us.

i’ve been told first british passports are easier though.

I am a dual citizen, living outside the UK. Travelling to the UK next month. British passport has expired. Cheaper to get the ETA than renew my British passport, so that is what I did. Applied with my non-British passport. When I got to the part about other nationalities I said I was British. Did the same for 3 kids. Paid my money, got the ETAs.

If you are entering the UK on a holiday you can enter on whatever passport you want. If you are entering to live or work, you need to enter on your valid UK passport.

Its extremely easy & fast to get copies if birth/death certs on line.
you can get a stamped official translation done on line also, in about a day.

It's crazy that the passport system relies on birth certificates but the two offices can't just talk to each other, isn't it?!

@GourmetLettuceMix but there's no "British" on the drop down list? Did you apply on phone app or on a computer?

Was there "United Kingdom"? I did ours on the phone app and definitely added another nationality.