{"id":426376,"date":"2026-02-15T03:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426376\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T03:00:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:00:32","slug":"carry-a-uk-passport-or-pay-589-certificate-fee-from-25-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426376\/","title":{"rendered":"carry a UK passport or pay \u00a3589 certificate fee from 25 February"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With less than two weeks until the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) regime becomes fully enforceable, the Home Office has issued a stark warning to dual nationals: arrive with a valid British passport or expect to be treated as a foreign traveller. From 25 February 2026, carriers will refuse boarding to dual citizens who present only their non-UK passport unless they hold a costly Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode, priced at \u00a3589. <\/p>\n

The change closes a long-standing loophole whereby dual citizens could enter on the visa-waiver privileges of their second nationality. Officials argue that treating all British citizens the same simplifies carrier checks once ETAs are mandatory for 85 visa-exempt countries. Yet the practical effect is greatest on Britons resident overseas who have let their UK passport lapse, as well as on children born abroad who never held one. <\/p>\n

Airlines have already updated advance-passenger-information (API) prompts so that a British place of birth triggers additional document checks. Global mobility managers should circulate the update to employees on local-hire contracts who travel back to the UK regularly for training or meetings. A failure to carry the correct document could strand staff overseas and trigger expensive re-routing. <\/p>\n

\"Dual<\/p>\n

For travellers unsure whether they need a new British passport, an ETA or a Certificate of Entitlement, VisaHQ can simplify the process. Through its dedicated UK portal (https:\/\/www.visahq.com\/united-kingdom\/<\/a>), the company offers real-time eligibility checks, expedited passport renewals and expert assistance with Right of Abode applications\u2014helping both individuals and corporate mobility teams avoid last-minute disruptions and unnecessary costs. <\/p>\n

Lobby groups, including The 3million and British in Europe, say the policy was poorly communicated and disproportionately affects mixed-nationality families. They have asked ministers to consider a low-cost digital attestation similar to Canada\u2019s eTA for dual citizens, but officials insist the certificate fee reflects a \u201cbespoke manual process\u201d. <\/p>\n

In the meantime, consulates are bracing for a late surge in emergency-passport applications. Processing times average six weeks, so HR teams should identify at-risk travellers now and help them expedite renewals where possible.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With less than two weeks until the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) regime becomes fully enforceable, the Home Office…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-426376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}