Backlash as British dual nationals face £589 charge to enter the UK

From Wednesday 25 February, British dual nationals without a British passport will need to pay £589 for a ‘certificate of entitlement’ or risk being unable to travel to the UK.

This is due to new travel rules being imposed by the government which are being challenged by many, including the Liberal Democrats, for the unneccessary and avoidable inconveniences it is placing on many British travellers in the UK and around the world.

Many dual nationals who hold British citizenship do not have British passports. Instead, the passport of their second nationality is registered with the British government along with their right to remain in the country.

Going forward, however, dual nationals will need either a new certificate of entitlement, priced at £589, or a British passport to travel to the United Kingdom, priced at £95.

If a dual national without these documents aims to travel abroad and return, they might be unable to depart due to lacking the required documents.

Liberal Democrat MP Will Forster has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to voice the party’s concern with this plan and call for a relaxed introduction of the new rules.

“Many British citizens who do not currently hold a valid UK passport now face the prospect of being stranded abroad,” Forster said.

“They are being forced to pay substantial sums for expedited passport services or endure long waits just to return home. This is both unnecessary and entirely avoidable.”

Citing instance of people being unable to attend funerals or weddings due to the rule changes, Forster urged the government introduce a grace period for this rule change to allow people enough time to sort out their documentation.

“It is unacceptable that British citizens could be penalised for circumstances entirely outside their control,” he said.

The campaign group Liberal Democrats Overseas has also come out strongly against this rule change, calling it a “crude attempt to put the squeeze on overseas British nationals with international family ties”.

It said their was no justification for the much higher price of the new certificate compared with the price of a passport, and added that the cost should be at most the same as a British passport.

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