We’re going on a RS tour to the UK in September. My wife was born in the UK and immigrated to Canada when she was 7 and became a Canadian citizen when she became of age. Her British citizenship is maintained under UK law so she’s a dual citizen. We just learned yesterday that the UK changed their laws in Feb 2026 so they now require all UK citizens regardless of where they live, that they must have a UK passport to enter the UK. She can no longer enter the UK using her Canadian passport. So if that’s you and you’re going to the UK better get your passport application going ASAP!!
Posted by
Singapore
1277 posts
There's been a lot of publicity about this, particularly given it impacts people born outside the UK to British parents as well. Passport service nowadays is pretty quick.
Strictly speaking she doesn't HAVE to use a UK passport - the alternative is to obtain a Certificate of Entitlement to Right of Abode, which is attached digitally to your foreign passport, But this is quite a bit more expensive than just renewing her UK passport. I have a CoE - it shows the authorities that I have the right to enter and remain in the UK without immigration control.
Posted by
130 posts
it is possible to renounce UK citizenship....
https://www.gov.uk/renounce-british-nationality/apply
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
12192 posts
I doubt that anyone's going to want to renounce their UK citizenship just because they have to get a UK passport. That seems a little over-the-top.
Posted by
Penzance
253 posts
it is possible to renounce UK citizenship....
Getting a passport would be quicker
Posted by
28 posts
My dad holds triple citizenship (Canadian/British/US), but had never held a British passport before this change as he moved from England to the US as a 6 month old and naturalized as a Canadian as an adult. The process for him took about 5 weeks or so, including mailing time (in March/April of this year). From what I've seen of other's experiences online, the processing time for some applicants has increased slightly due to an influx of application (I'm assuming to the changes in requirements). I believe he had to send off his birth certificate and photocopies of all the pages in his Canadian passport (you have the option to send your original Canadian passport instead, but he chose not to). For first time applicant, you will also need someone to act as a referee/verify your ID digitally. They need to work or have worked in a specific list of professions and hold a valid UK, EU, US or Commonwealth passport.
I qualify as British by descent myself, and I just received my own UK passport this week. For me the process took about 6 weeks
Posted by
Western Canada
4188 posts
There are a couple of threads here about this, including mine back in February.
I’m also affected, as I’m Canadian born of two British born parents.
The problem seems to be that the UK pp office did not stop to think that millions of people worldwide are impacted, they didn’t hire enough staff to cope with the onslaught of applications, and they didn’t hire trained people, it seems.
It was also not publicized well at all.
If you are on Facebook, look at a site called Passport Waiting Time UK, to get a real insight into what some poor people are having to go through to get a UK pp.
I’ve given up for now and am going to travel elsewhere.
Rescinding the UK citizenship you didn’t know you had in the first place costs £600!!