New rules to enter the UK…..dual citizens must enter with a UK passport now

Thanks so much for the information. Neither scenario applies to me but it is interesting nonetheless!

Let us know what you hear back! Sounds like a sudden surge for the UK passport agency.

Pam

Yes…I’m sure the staff in the UK pp office are just shaking their heads at the thought of all the incoming surge of work for them!
I’ll report back if and when I hear from the UK pp office.
I did get a notification that my query was received.

I’m thinking of people in both scenarios who decide to have a quick last minute trip to London during their EU vacation on Eurostar without knowing about all this. :(

You need old fashioned full birth certificates by mail for a passport. The GRO now issue short form certificates electronically instantly, and PDF certificates (which is the full one) by e-mail within 4 days. But they are not considered as evidential for legal purposes, such as getting a passport or driving licence.
However they are very useful for genealogists.

The full ones you can order on line.

Just to add there is a thread on this topic already: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/uk-entrance-exit-with-dual-citizenship-uk-and-us-and-eta-requirement

I note this does not apply to dual UK/Irish citizens who can still enter the UK on their Irish passports. Or you can get a certificate of entitlement.

"That makes sense." - Not to me, a dual citizen (Welsh mother). Been travelling to the UK for over 50 years on a Canadian passport.

£108, that's quite a few pints....well, maybe not in London.

I’ve had a look at the previous thread about this as I didn’t know it referred to the new rules later in that thread.

I got a reply back today from the UK about my circumstances and really all it said was to refer to the UK passport site.
Of course I had already done that before sending them my specific enquiry. 🤦🏻‍♀️
They did not answer my question at all, which was: do my specific circumstances require me to now have a UK passport to enter the UK.

With such vague rules around all this, it looks like I will need a UK passport , which will cost me nearly CAN$500 to apply for from here, plus courier fees back and forth, and trying to find and obtain and pay for original birth certificates for my long deceased parents.
Then hoping it’s all approved.
My main worry is sending off my Canadian passport with the application, in today’s world , and hoping I get it returned.

I have decided it’s not worth it to me.
I lived and worked in the UK for many years and visited often afterward.

Gundersen:: I agree with you.

Thanks for the memories….but sayonara UK.

For category #2, I am wondering how the UK would even know that the individual tourist had a British parent. I certainly see how this could be a problem for someone who has never resided in the UK.

They probably wouldn't find out. But you'd need to lie on the ETA application to get that far which could bite you if they did find out.

Correction:
Apparently you don’t have to send them your current passport, just a photocopy of every page even the blank ones.

They probably wouldn't find out. But you'd need to lie on the ETA application to get that far which could bite you if they did find out.

I don’t recall the ETA asking about parents. What question would a child of someone born in the UK not be able to answer truthfully? I think there are a lot of people who never realized they were considered to be dual citizens just because their parents were born in the UK.

I’m just curious. It doesn’t impact me but I have a couple of friends in this category.

"But you'd need to lie on the ETA application to get that far which could bite you if they did find out."

The ETA application asks about the applicants' nationality, not that of their parents. And given the Home Office's track record (Windrush etc) I seriously doubt they'd realise.

To add to the OP, not all children born of British parents abroad are automatically British citizens. In my case I was born abroad to two British parents, but my father wasn't born in the UK. My mother was, but at the time women couldn't pass on citizenship. That changed a few years ago, and I could now apply, but I'm not automatically British. I have a certificate of entitlement so don't need an ETA, but if I didn't have one I could legitimately apply for an ETA.

It's a very complex system - some people very understandably don't realise they have citizenship by descent - various factors can impact this, including where you were born, where your parents were born, whether they were serving in the armed forces when you were born etc.

This document might be helpful? It's a research briefing published by the UK Parliament on Monday. These briefings are produced to help inform MPs etc. As such, they are well written and (usually) easy to understand.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10344

Not in the least bit travel related but the House of Commons library is a treasure trove of easy to understand reports on a massive range of topics. Basically if MPs might need to discuss it, there's a report on it

I’ve now looked deeply and extensively into getting a UK passport as a Canadian born in Canada of UK born parents.
I cannot travel to the UK without one as of February 25th.
You need both their birth certificates…….takes 6-8 weeks to get them mailed to you from the UK.
Found my Dad’s, not my Mum’s….??was she never registered in a poverty stricken family in ‘20’s London??
Then apply for their Canadian marriage certificate….takes 6-8 weeks for a copy by mail…..” we are now experiencing delays”…probably because thousands of others in my circumstances are requesting BMD records to get a UK passport.
Once you have all that you then need a UK passport holder who is a professional of some sort and has known you for two years to give you their passport info as a guarantor.
Send it all off to the UK to apply for a UK passport….now taking 10-12 weeks and that’s if you are even approved.
U K passports are only issued in the UK, not in embassies overseas, so you can imagine the huge volume of applications since this new law was instigated.

About 3-4 months for the whole process.
If you’re lucky.

Not happy.

It does say in the info posted above that there is no central record of British citizens such as yourself born and living overseas. Authorities have absolutely no way of knowing that your parents were British. Therefore I would not progress with the idea of getting a British passport. You will encounter no issues using your Canadian passport.

I’m now waiting for the actual ETA application site to get back to me.
The trouble is that every official site I have looked at , for the UK and for Canada, regarding all this , says that you will board a flight at the discretion of the carrier.
Hence, wanting to find out the definitive answer before buying a plane ticket.
I don’t why it all has to be so vague!

There's nothing vague about it - if you were born in a Commonwealth country to a British-born parent (in some cases just a British born father) you are British. And now you need to use a British passport to enter the UK.

But Helen is probably right about whether they actually KNOW you're British.

Not to confuse things further- but surely there is a difference between being technically eligible for a specific citizenship and actually claiming it/getting a passport? Lots of people with foreign born parents may be eligible for another citizenship but never claim it. I could be wrong, but my understanding is this rule applies to people who have actually claimed UK citizenship (e.g. their birth was registered with a local embassy, they've formally applied for it, etc.).

The US has had this rule since forever (if you are a dual US citizen, you can only enter the US on your US passport). So what the UK is doing is not unique.

This is all a lot. . . But to add this in as a requirement, when it's HMG itself that is making one do all of this because of one's ascendants is crazy !!

Once you have all that you then need a UK passport holder who is a professional of some sort and has known you for two years to give you their passport info as a guarantor.

You have my sympathies, SJ and others in this situation !!!

Thanks Kim.
If you look at all the official sites, the wording IS vague.
And yes, it doesn’t actually say you HAVE to claim citizenship.
But if you don’t claim by getting an UK pp…..and just get only an ETA…….are you lying?
Awaiting reply from ETA application site…….

This is a real make-work project.
I’m actually beginning to feel sorry for the front line workers in the UK passport processing office.

The fact that you might be eligible for UK citizenship doesn't mean you have to claim it.

Have you had a UK passport before? If not, just keep doing what you've always done. You're a Canadian citizen travelling on a Canadian passport, so you need an ETA. That's all.

When the guidance notes are deliberately vague, they can be overinterpreted. The purpose of the new regulation wasn't to force people to apply for UK citizenship when they had no intention of doing so.