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.