ETA for the UK and dual citizenship

[helluvatime]

If I have understood correctly, you need to travel on your British passport to avoid having to get an ETA OR get a certificate of entitlement (which costs £550!!!) This seems very unfair to me and is particularly so for those of us who have dual nationality kids who want to travel home to see grandparents.

My kids actually do have UK passports now but did not get them for a long time as we are a relatively low income household and getting everyone two passports when not really needed was too much. I think a lot of people are going to be caught out this way! Oh for the pre-Brexit days when you could travel on a £15 ID card....

Anyway, is this right? Has anyone been turned back because they are a British citizen but without a passport?

Re which passport do you use when, you check in with the passport for the country you are going to. Don't check in for the return flight at the same time automatically as it will probably register the same passport for both legs. The return leg should be the passport for the country you are going back to. Log back in and check in the return separately with the second passport.

Im from a country that takes two flights to reach, I've been advised not to do online check in as the first of the two flights should be on my British passport (as leaving the UK) and the second leg should be on my home country passport, and only check in desk staff have the ability to do this on their system.

Thanks for the replies! I’ll check in according to the country I’m going to 😊

Re. the OP, as with anything, there are pros and cons with living abroad / having dual citizenship. But not everyone’s situation is clear cut and although people always have a choice in theory, in practice it can be more complicated.

I’ve had dual citizenship since birth and ended up pregnant while temporarily living in my one parent’s EU country. Have since split from the dc’s dad but can’t legally move the children out of this country so yes, could in theory hand them in to the authorities (they haven’t seen their dad for over 5 years) and move back to the UK but obviously I’m not going to! I think it’s ok to have a bit of a vent with this as it also felt like a sudden change to me earlier this year. Obviously I cracked on and renewed my UK passport, as did the OP, but an anonymous online forum should be an ok outlet to express frustration about something not previously needed!

Can you not just have UK passports and an ID card for your other country then?

ID cards are rarely accepted for travel now. Has to be a passport.

My son and I are dual nationals, UK and EU. Yes, UK passports are expensive but surely cheaper than a certificate of entitlement. If you can’t prove you are British, and don’t have an ETA, you’ll risk being denied boarding when you try to fly back after visiting the grandparents

The kids passports will last 5 years and adults 10

So per year cost is not much.
Beg or borrow to get the passports
Problem solved

Ah, so that’s the solution. What a faff! Has anyone with dual UK/EU nationality ever had a problem flying in practice because they’ve registered the same passport for both directions? Our experience so far has been that as long as you have valid documentation for both countries the airline and immigration aren’t fussed - but I suppose you just need one jobsworth to get uptight about it.

The answer is simpler than this.

EU nationals only need a passport at all if travelling outside of the EU to countries where you cannot use your ID card to travel.

So a dual national of the UK and Italy can have a UK passport for travelling to the UK and anywhere outside of the EU, and an Italian ID card to use anywhere in the EU. An Italian ID card lasts 10 years and costs less than 20€.

Yes, but when you come back from Italy to UK, they won’t let you board with just an ID card. So my point regarding stamps still remains. I go to Spain 6 times a year, so I’ve got it quite worked out now. Leave UK with any passport. Show the Spanish ID card on landing. Leave Spain with the Spanish passport (no queue and no stamp). Enter UK with the UK passport

I agree it's easier to have both passports but if you are concerned about cost, a UK passport and an EU ID card will cover all bases.

@LadyGreySpillsTheTea we just had it with BA, first time since we have two passports.

It wasn’t an issue as we had hold luggage and we just got our boarding passes there but if you only have hand luggage the online check-in doesn’t give you a boarding pass if you add your EU passport for the flight back to the UK.

Thank you for highlighting this OP, I know it’s an old thread but very much relevant right now. I had NO idea and have run into so much trouble as a dual citizen. I wish I’d known a lot sooner.