Hundreds of frustrated Australian British and Australian Irish dual citizens have contacted the ABC with questions about the new UK passport entry requirements that come into effect on February 25.<\/p>\n
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed officials had relayed concerns from British Australian dual citizens to the British High Commission in Australia.<\/p>\n
The British high commissioner has not responded to requests for an interview but addressed frequently asked questions in a social media post.<\/p>\n
Here’s what we know so far.<\/p>\n
What are the new rules for UK and Irish passports?Passport rule change disrupts travel plans<\/a><\/p>\n From February 25, dual citizens of the UK and Ireland will be required to enter the UK using a valid British or Irish passport, a change causing major headaches for dual citizens with imminent travel plans. \u00a0<\/p>\n From February 25, British and Irish dual citizens will be prevented from entering the UK or Ireland using a passport from a different country, such as an Australian passport.<\/p>\n They will need to use their valid UK or Irish passport, or another valid passport containing a certificate of entitlement (COE).<\/p>\n This means dual citizens will have to choose whether to pay for a British passport, the COE, or renounce their British citizenship.<\/p>\n Costs for each option are:<\/p>\n A UK passport costs about $190An Irish passport costs about $130A certificate of entitlement costs $1,100Renouncing UK citizenship costs $968Can I have dual Australian and British citizenship?<\/p>\n You can have dual citizenship, but you have to enter the UK or Ireland on a British passport or with a COE in your Australian passport.<\/p>\n Many countries do not allow dual citizenship, but the UK does.<\/p>\n Read more about the UK passport changes:<\/p>\n This means you can apply for a foreign citizenship and keep your British citizenship.<\/p>\n Existing British citizens can apply for a foreign citizenship without forfeiting their rights in the UK.<\/p>\n Can a British citizen enter the UK on an Australian passport?<\/p>\n A British citizen can enter the UK on an Australian or any other foreign passport if they have a COE.<\/p>\n A COE is a document placed in a foreign passport to prove that the holder has the right to stay in the UK.<\/p>\n It allows you to live and work in the country without immigration restrictions or a time limit.<\/p>\n Every time your passport is renewed, your COE will need to be as well.<\/p>\n Can a UK citizen hold two passports?How the new passport rules for UK dual citizens will work<\/a><\/p>\n Your guide to new UK passport rules for dual citizens and general entry changes beginning in February.<\/p>\n Yes, but you will need to enter the UK on a UK passport or have a COE.<\/p>\n While the new requirement is causing confusion for dual citizens, it has actually been the case in Australia for years.<\/p>\n On re-entering Australia, citizens need an Australian passport.<\/p>\n Similarly, after February 25, Australian citizens who travel without an Australian passport might have their entry delayed until their identity and claim to Australian citizenship have been verified.<\/p>\n In simple terms: when you re-enter the UK, you need your British passport; when you return to Australia, you will need your Australian passport.<\/p>\n If you have another foreign passport and a UK passport, you will need to enter the UK on your UK passport or have a COE in your foreign passport.<\/p>\n How can I get a new UK passport in Australia?<\/p>\n You can apply for a British passport online.<\/p>\n You can start the application process on this UK government webpage.<\/a><\/p>\n You can also apply by post, by picking up a paper passport application from your local post office.<\/p>\n This will take longer than online.<\/p>\n If you need help, post office staff can check you’ve filled in the form correctly \u2014 but you’ll need to provide your own photos.<\/p>\n This service costs extra.<\/p>\n Find out more about the paper application check and send service here<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can pay by cash, or debit or credit card.<\/p>\n If you are applying for your first British adult passport, you will need to give the email address of someone who can confirm your identity.<\/p>\n You will also need your parents’ details, including their:<\/p>\n Names, dates and places of birthnationalityUK passport details, if they have themdetails of their marriage, if they are marriedHow do I get a new Irish passport in Australia?<\/p>\n You can apply for an Irish passport online.<\/p>\n According to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs<\/a>, current processing and delivery times for a first-time adult and child application online are 20 working days.<\/p>\n If you make a paper application via post, it will take eight weeks.<\/p>\n If you are a first-time applicant, you will need to provide extra documentation, which is listed here.<\/a><\/p>\n How do I renew an expired British passport?<\/p>\n You must bring your old passport to the post office if you still have it.<\/p>\n If you’ve changed your name, you’ll also need to bring proof of your new name (like a marriage certificate).<\/p>\n If your passport is lost, you’ll also need the name and email address of someone who can confirm your identity.<\/p>\n I’m British, but my children were born in Australia. How will this affect them?<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n British citizenship is normally automatically passed down one generation to children born outside the UK if one of the parents is a citizen at the time of birth.<\/p>\n As a result, you can be a British citizen but not hold a UK passport or even know you’re considered a citizen.<\/p>\n It is likely your child will need to apply for a British passport or a COE.<\/p>\n They can also renounce their citizenship.<\/p>\n You can check if you’re a dual citizen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n How do I renounce my UK citizenship?<\/p>\n You can apply to give up your citizenship to the UK government.<\/p>\n If accepted, you’ll get a “declaration of renunciation” that you can use to show that you’re no longer British.<\/p>\n If you give up your British citizenship, it could affect the status of children you have in the future.<\/p>\n You can only give it up if you already have citizenship elsewhere, or you will get another citizenship after giving it up.<\/p>\n It can take up to six months.<\/p>\n Many readers have told the ABC they are concerned about renouncing their British citizenship<\/a>, particularly in relation to their children and access to benefits such as a UK state pension.<\/p>\n How do I renounce my Irish citizenship?<\/p>\n You can renounce your Irish citizenship if:<\/p>\n You are over 18 years of ageYou live outside the stateYou are, or are about to become, a citizen of another country<\/p>\n You need to:<\/p>\n Complete a declaration of alienage Form 13<\/a>Get your declaration witnessed (there’s a list of acceptable witnesses on your form)Submit your form to Immigration Service Delivery.<\/a>Loading…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of frustrated Australian British and Australian Irish dual citizens have contacted the ABC with questions about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,35393,36112,224167,10969,44,58363,5429],"class_list":["post-427099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-british","tag-citizenship","tag-dual-citizens","tag-irish","tag-news","tag-passport","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}