Confused about EU/UK passports for dual nationals travelling to the UK from Europe

[MrsFinchley]

I'm British and live in Europe with my two kids. I recently discovered the law has changed for dual nationals so we're in the process of applying for UK passports (hopefully in good time for our travel plans in the summer 🤞), but I'm still not sure what passport I should use when? Which details do I use to check in (obviously has to be the same outbound and return), then do I have to use the same passport to go through passport control? Do I use the EU passports for the kids then just have to show the UK passports on arrival?

Points to show passport
Outbound:
Check-in online - EU passport
Bag drop at airport - EU passport
Border control departure - EU passport
Passport control arrival - UK passport? EU and UK passport?

Is there some kind of system keeping track of arrivals and departures? When I leave the UK, there's no specific "border control" so if I enter the UK with a UK passport, but have used EU passport details for check-in, might there be a problem in a system somewhere?

Sorry if this seems obvious to some! It seems like a totally stupid rule change and I don't see the point of it.

Also, to anyone who hasn't heard about it, be aware! I only discovered it by chance by reading an article about a poor Scottish woman who got stuck in Spain with her baby. We fly to the UK 3 times a year and I have seen absolutely nothing about any rule changes. ESTA yes, absolutely all over the Ryanair app/emails. But this? Nothing!

The airline check in / bag drop is just using your passport for ID purposes. So yes use the same one all the time no matter which direction you go in.

The only different bit is the physical border crossing. So yes going into the UK just your UK passport to show you don’t need a visa, when entering the EU on your EU passport to show you don’t need a visa etc.

We have dual passports and use destination country passports for check in and use respective passports at each country border control. So Uk passport for check in in your example. But once used EU passport and it wasn't a problem.

Enter UK on UK passport
Enter EU on EU passport

I’ve read about this and find it very confusing too! I think the main problem is when people have dual EU/UK nationality but only one passport. They then end up in absurd situations like that unfortunate baby.
If you have both documents for each person travelling it sounds like you’ll be fine. I would definitely take both with me. You’ll need the UK passport for the UK border crossing according to this:

https://www.gov.uk/dual-citizenship

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10344/

I don’t know what the rules are for getting back into your EU country - I would assume you use their passport?
Hopefully someone with recent travel experience can provide more info!

The whole thing is a massive pain! I’m currently trying to get myself and my children EU passports. We’ve all been EU nationals from birth but only ever had British passports. From early next year we will need to only travel into the EU on our EU passports once ETIAS is in force. My worry is that there’s such a backlog of everyone applying at once that we won’t be able to get the passports in time.

Depart EU with EU passport
Enter UK with UK passport
Depart UK with UK passport
Enter EU with EU passport

Parent of dual national here, living in the UK with EU passport and settled status. I work in the travel sector. It is untrue that the passports only matter at border control, you will need to use the correct passport for checking in on each route as the airline is responsible for checking that you have the required authorisation to travel to each destination. Currently the UK require ETA prior to travel, and shortly the EU will require ETIAS. If you check in to a flight to a destination where a visitor requires a prior travel authorisation, with a visitor country passport, it may at worst lead to denied boarding or at best a hassle at the departure airport.

anyway, tldr - check in separately for each route if you can (DON’T tick the “checkin for return flight” box) and change the passport details for checkin to the appropriate one for each leg. Many but not all airlines support this but if their websites don’t you need to contact the airline and get them to help change the documents between the outbound and inbound trips. Ryanair for example solve this through their online chat by splitting your trip into two separate references.

What about EU citizens who have settled status in the UK though? They don’t need ETA to my knowledge. So they should be able to just travel back and forth with their EU passport only, shouldn’t they?

@SunshineMilla Well that sounds like a pain in the bum if it's true!

I asked a Ryanair customer service person on their chat and they said to use the UK passport for check-in (both ways) and have the EU passports with us "in case they need it at passport control".

I also asked if, when ETIAS comes in, checking in with a UK passport for the return journey will cause any issues in the system and they said "no, it should not". They said they were recommending using the UK passport for check-in because otherwise the system would ask for a visa. Not sure how that not cause a similar issue on the return journey with ETIAS... but that's for another day I guess!

I've got the first two steps down, but when leaving the UK, there is no passport control. The only people checking my passport are Ryanair staff (once at bag drop and once at the gate) checking if the details on the boarding pass match my passport. So which passport should it be?

You use your uk passport for the passenger boarding information for your flight to the U.K. and your eu passport back to where you live. My dd is us/uk dual nationality so has always had to do this. Airlines are used to it

And don't even get me started on the cost of it. £104.14 for each child to apply from here! It must be so prohibitive for so many families. Where I live, kids' passports cost £3.60. Irish kids' passports cost €20 🤷‍♀️

Take both passports and problem solved

I have settled status. Last month I travelled back, and Ryanair took two days to issue my boarding pass. Presumably they were checking the Home Office database in the meantime. My British partner got his boarding pass immediately, we checked in at the same time. So yes, you’re allowed to travel but the airlines do check (as they are liable if someone is allowed to board without an ETA or other form of visa).

I travelled back to the UK again yesterday and was unable to check in online at all, and had to go to the checkin desk and show them my immigration status.

The point is, airlines are checking and if as a dual national once ETIAS comes into force later in the year you don’t have both passports and don’t use the correct one for checking in in either direction, things won’t go smoothly.

Last time I travelled to the UK Ryanair took two days to issue my boarding pass - presumably checking the Home Office database before issue. And yesterday I flew with Eurowings into the UK and they made me check in at the airport and prove my immigration status.

I strongly assume that an EU citizen trying to travel to the EU on a non-Eu passport and without ETIAS will be subject to
similar airline checks in due course.

Dual UK / Australian (as are the rest of the family). It’s easier with kids as you can’t use e-gates, but I finish up showing both most of the time due to absence of visas

airline booking - doesn't matter which passport you use

as others have said you need to carry both passports and enter the country on the passport for that

We are dual nationals and this is what we do (we travel a lot):

travelling from EU to UK: check in with UK. Show UK at check counter. Show EU at EU border. Show UK upon arrival at UK border.

Travelling from UK to EU: check in with UK. Show UK at check counter. Show UK at UK border. Show EU upon arrival at EU border.

what travelling from EU to UK if you use EU passport to check in you won’t be able to (recent experience of ours). It will tell you to check in at airport.

No, the checkin system online won’t let them check in. It will say “check in at airport” so that the staff can check the ETA/status etc. It happened to us recently, I had to call the airline to cancel the check in and re-check in online with our UK passports so we could get our boarding passes.

I sent this to my daughter who has dual nationality and travels a lot.. EES started on 10 April I think.

Oh, no picture. ...The picture separates check in from border control.

committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/151070/html/

Ah. This is the Brexit we voted for.

I have had quite the conundrum with this issue. I’m British and born in the uk, my child is not in theory but by decent rights he is. I never got him a British passport (he has 3 others that are stronger so what’s the point). For a once a year trip to the uk he now needs one. Great fine until I realize the issue of applying from abroad with all grandparents and parents from different countries with impossible certificates from across the planet that cannot be obtained and a wait of some months. I simply booked myself onto a separate flight. He travels with dad and by all rights appears foreign at border check with a valid e-visa into uk on one of those foreign passports. I travel alone with British passport and the issue is resolved. This advice came from British embassy in an EU country. While the agent cannot see mum (me) is born in Uk and e-visa valid then in theory no one can ever tell he’s actually British by decent.

Not sure if the stories helpful but absolute empathy on the stupidity of this new rule not considering all of the double nationals out there who don’t live in the uk.

@Whyintheworld thanks for your story! It's a pain for sure and I'm not surprised you get around it the way you do!

If they had explained any reason for the rule change, I might understand, but I just don't see the point of it! Especially when it's so expensive!

@Longhaulflight Thanks very much for this link! There are some issues I hadn't even thought of! The disadvantages of having to check in at the airport due to not being allowed to check in online because the system can't find your visa, which exposes you to the risk of being denied boarding because they've oversold the flight!

This situation actually happened to us before when details about the outbound flight were different to the return flight and the system couldn't cope, so we were directed to check in at the airport. On arrival at the airport, the desk person said "but the flight's full". So we had to go via Gatwick instead of a direct flight. They did however pay us compensation for "voluntarily offloading" 😏