{"id":431338,"date":"2026-01-23T03:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T03:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/431338\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T03:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T03:18:12","slug":"australian-born-dual-citizens-confused-frustrated-over-new-uk-passport-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/431338\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian-born dual citizens confused, frustrated over new UK passport rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Confused dual British Australian citizens have voiced their frustrations as they grapple with changes to the UK’s entry requirements, which roll out next month.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of dual-citizen families have told the ABC of stress-inducing mixed messages, demands for documents and a lack of clarity over their children’s citizenship status.<\/p>\n

Read more about the UK passport changes:<\/p>\n

Many are scrambling to get the correct travel documents ahead of trips booked soon after the changes come into effect.<\/p>\n

From February 25, UK and Irish citizens will be required to enter Britain using a valid UK or Irish passport or a certificate of entitlement, including those who are citizens by descent through a UK-born parent.<\/p>\n

If they do not have either, they will face two costly options \u2014 renewing their passports or renouncing their citizenship.<\/p>\n

Time running out for people with trips booked<\/p>\n

David Henderson is a dual citizen who’s booked to head home to Northern Ireland in March for his father’s 80th birthday.<\/p>\n

He has renewed his British passport to comply with the new entry requirements, but is not convinced it will arrive in time.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

David Henderson is facing difficulties travelling to Northern Ireland to visit his parents, Jeanette and Derek Henderson (pictured). (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“They reckon two-to-three weeks’ turnaround, but the amount of people applying now \u2026 I’m a bit sceptical of their time-frames,” he said.<\/p>\n

“There’s nothing out there to say what happens if your passport doesn’t arrive, be it a waiver or caveat that allows me to say, ‘It’s in the line, but I haven’t got it in my hand.'”<\/p>\n

Christopher Green is another dual British Australian citizen who will soon travel to the UK for his father’s 101st birthday.<\/p>\n

He is due to arrive on February 24 \u2014 the day before the rules change.<\/p>\n

Mr Green only found out about the changes through the media in recent days.<\/p>\n

He is worried about arriving late, without his British passport being renewed in time.<\/p>\n

“It is stressful and now I’m going to have to warn my father I might not get there,” Mr Green said.<\/p>\n

Dual citizens feel they’re being ‘penalised’<\/p>\n

Mr Green feels he is being “punished” as a dual citizen and is shocked it is easier for his wife, who is Japanese, to enter the country.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Christopher Green, pictured here with his wife Kimie, has been left frustrated by changes to the UK’s entry requirements for dual citizens. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“She wasn’t even born there \u2014 she’s only been there once, with me, and she can go there easily and I can’t,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s a discrimination against dual nationalities \u2026 it’s quite ridiculous really.<\/p>\n

“You should imagine it was my birthright, but that doesn’t really count nowadays.”<\/p>\n

Susan Milton and husband Paul are dual citizens who moved to Australia in their 30s with their three children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Milton says the family, with all their grandchildren, now face massive costs to get the right documents to visit family.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Susan and Paul Milton are British Australians who live in Perth and travel regularly to the UK to visit family. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“My husband’s mother is there and still alive at 95, so he needs to get back to England at, potentially, any stage in a hurry,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We’re penalised against normal Australians now, having to fork out for a passport that we’ll never need to use other than for entry into the UK.<\/p>\n

“If my children have to go back for a funeral then we’ll all be forced into the same situation.<\/p>\n

“It’s so wrong on so many levels, because if we were just Australian people going back to visit relatives, we wouldn’t have to do that.”<\/p>\n

Australian-born dual citizens caught up in bungle<\/p>\n

Australian children with a parent born in the UK<\/a> may also be affected by the changes, even if they have never held a UK passport.<\/p>\n

Gabriela de Oliveira and her partner Adam Hadley, a dual British citizen, only found out in recent days that their three-month-old daughter would be considered British by descent at the UK border, even though she was born in Australia.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Gabriela de Oliveira and her partner Adam Hadley are facing the prospect of cancelling their trip to the UK. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

The young family living in Darwin have been told it will take 10 weeks for their daughter’s British passport to arrive, but they are going overseas in two weeks.<\/p>\n

“I’m not asking for the rule to be scrapped, because I think that’s something that happens in the majority of other places,” Ms de Oliveira said.<\/p>\n

“But what I would like is to have a grace period, or an entering travel document, or a fast-track process.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t really matter what we do, we can’t get the passport any faster.”<\/p>\n

What we know about UK entry requirements for dual citizens from February 25<\/a><\/p>\n

Hundreds of confused UK and Irish dual citizens in Australia have written to the ABC with questions around the new changes for entry requirements into the UK. Here’s what we know.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms de Oliveira says it is likely they will have to cancel the trip, which was for their daughter to meet her great-grandmother for the first time.<\/p>\n

“I think there needs to be a little bit of compassion and understanding \u2026 it’s people’s lives, it’s not just an enforcement of a rule,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s one of those things that money can’t actually fix.”<\/p>\n

Confusion amid a lack of advice<\/p>\n

Mr Henderson is from Northern Ireland \u2014 which is part of the UK \u2014 and says he, along with his three children, can apply for a passport from the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n

While he believes that may be an easier way for the family to enter the UK in the future, it could throw up another potential headache for him.<\/p>\n

“There is another issue with me, being in the military \u2014 if I get my Irish passport I may lose part of my security clearance,” Mr Henderson said.<\/p>\n

“It might affect some of the jobs I normally do.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

David Henderson lives in Mudgee, NSW, with his wife Shiree and children Ivy, William and Lottie. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Ms de Oliveira says she has found it difficult to get advice from UK authorities, saying they’re “not really offering anything”.<\/p>\n

“If you’re trying to call the helpline or, like I did, contact the embassy in Sydney, that took me to a place that was going to charge me per minute,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I ended up being put through to the UK. The lady didn’t really have much information. She just told me to send an email.<\/p>\n

“I sent an email over a week ago and I haven’t heard anything from them.”<\/p>\n

The ABC has asked the UK Home Office for comment to clarify on the changes.<\/p>\n

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