New border rules for British dual nationals need to be quickly shut down, say Lib Dems | Immigration and asylum

The Liberal Democrats have called on the home secretary to “act quickly” to delay the introduction of new border controls that could result in British dual nationals being prevented from entering the country.

The party’s letter to Shabana Mahmood is a copy of a letter sent by former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis on Friday demanding the immediate imposition of a grace period after one of his constituents living in the Netherlands said he could no longer visit his dying mother in a care home in Yorkshire.

Families reported that flights to funerals, 80th birthday parties, and visits to elderly and dying parents were canceled. Young parents who have had to obtain EU citizenship due to Brexit but whose children do not yet have a British passport have also been hit.

From Wednesday, British dual nationals risk not being allowed to board a plane, ferry or train unless they present a valid or expired British passport or a £589 “bill of rights” that takes eight weeks to obtain.

Will Forster, the Liberal Democrats’ immigration and asylum spokesman, wrote to Mahmood, signed by 23 other Liberal Democrat MPs, saying, “Punishment of British citizens is unacceptable.” The letter said no British citizen should be denied the right to return home “due to poor communication and ill-considered administrative changes”.

He added: “I ask that you act quickly to allow a grace period to protect those affected.”

Davis pointed out that Google trends showed a huge increase in passport inquiry searches last week. Searches for “passport” were up 10% overall to 20,000 times, but searches for “dual passport” were up 90%.

He told the Guardian on Sunday: “The Home Office really needs to take this seriously because a Briton’s right to live or enter their own country should not be stopped by their own government, full stop. [Mahmood] “He does not take this seriously, this issue will not go away and will continue to be followed.”

A young British woman contacted by the Guardian said she and her partner were considering cutting short their honeymoon in New Zealand because her Scottish husband did not have a British passport and was traveling with New Zealand documents.

“We heard about the change when we went out for dinner at a restaurant in Auckland and are now faced with ending our honeymoon quite early with huge expenses or being stranded abroad. Trying to find any guidance or help, we have been moved from one government department to another with no interest or assistance,” the woman said by email.

He said they also went to the consulate in Auckland, but everyone there said “this has nothing to do with them” and the phone line saying “Help the British people” was cut off.

A parent trying to get a passport for his dual-citizen son for the first time before going to see his elderly parents in the US said it was impossible to get one quickly. “Even though I was born with a British birth certificate, we still need to get the original birth certificates and marriage certificates of the four grandparents. Some of these documents are close to 100 years old and people have already died,” he said.

Airlines have to comply with rules or risk penalties, making it difficult for those with flights after next Wednesday to know whether they will be able to travel.

British immigration lawyers have said one solution could be to temporarily treat British dual citizens as tourists, allowing them to buy a £16 electronic travel permit (ETA) to enter the country. Alex Finch, of Constantine Law, said: “Policy groups are calling on the Home Office to allow dual nationals to apply for and obtain an ETA, which is reasonable. The Home Office must step back from this practice, which causes unnecessary deep damage to the goodwill of British nationals abroad.”

Ministry of Internal Affairs on Friday posted a partial “fix” It says carriers can allow dual nationals to board if they have a valid passport of a national eligible to apply for an ETA, as well as an expired British passport issued in 1989 or later. “But this still leaves anyone who does not have an expired British passport in a precarious situation,” Finch said.

The Home Office said it “strongly recommends” a British passport for hassle-free travel. It said the emergency travel documents were for adults and children “whose urgent need for travel meets the exceptional circumstances criteria” and who previously held a UK passport issued after 1 January 2006.

The statement said: “From 25 February 2026, all dual British nationals will be required to produce a valid British passport or authorization document when traveling to the UK. Without one of the carriers present, carriers will not be able to verify that they are British nationals, which may result in delays or refusal to board.”

“Public information advising dual nationals to carry the correct documentation has been available since October 2024, and an extensive communications campaign regarding the introduction of ETA has been running since 2023.”