The British Home Office has tightened entry rules for its own dual nationals, and the change is reverberating through the UAE’s large British expatriate community. From 25 February 2026, boarding staff worldwide must refuse carriage to any dual British citizen who cannot show either a valid UK (or Irish) passport or a costly £589 certificate of entitlement in a foreign passport. The warning was published on 17 February by Business Standard after updated carrier guidance was circulated.
Roughly 240,000 Britons are long-term residents of the UAE; many also hold South-African, Australian, Canadian or EU passports and have until now travelled on whichever document had the longest validity or easiest visa-waiver benefits. Under the new policy, that flexibility disappears. Airlines operating out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi—Emirates, Etihad, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic—must check the UK passport (or certificate) data field in the Interactive Advance Passenger Information system before issuing a boarding pass.
The measure dovetails with the UK’s wider pre-travel authorisation plans: only British and Irish citizens will be exempt from the new ETA requirement. The Home Office argues the rule will give border officers a “fuller immigration picture” and help block threats before departure, but campaign groups say it risks effectively barring citizens with expired UK documents from visiting sick relatives or making urgent business trips.
![UK Tells Dual British Citizens Abroad—Including 240,000 in UAE—‘Carry a UK Passport or Stay Home’]()
UAE-based travellers who are unsure how the change affects their individual circumstances can tap VisaHQ’s Dubai portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) for tailored guidance, passport-renewal facilitation and expedited certificate-of-entitlement applications, streamlining compliance for both employees and employers.
For UAE-based mobility managers the immediate action point is to audit HR files, identify employees and dependants with latent British citizenship and insist they renew or apply for UK passports. Processing times average 10 weeks, longer in the run-up to summer. Women whose married names differ across passports may need extra documentary proof, and minors must hold their own passports. The £589 certificate of entitlement—affixed to a non-UK passport—is an expensive fallback and does not replace the ETA for non-British journeys.
Failure to comply means denied boarding at Dubai International’s check-in desks, rebooking fees and potential project delays. Corporates should integrate passport-status prompts into online-booking tools and brief travel-approval chains immediately.
Roughly 240,000 Britons are long-term residents of the UAE; many also hold South-African, Australian, Canadian or EU passports and have until now travelled on whichever document had the longest validity or easiest visa-waiver benefits. Under the new policy, that flexibility disappears. Airlines operating out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi—Emirates, Etihad, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic—must check the UK passport (or certificate) data field in the Interactive Advance Passenger Information system before issuing a boarding pass.
The measure dovetails with the UK’s wider pre-travel authorisation plans: only British and Irish citizens will be exempt from the new ETA requirement. The Home Office argues the rule will give border officers a “fuller immigration picture” and help block threats before departure, but campaign groups say it risks effectively barring citizens with expired UK documents from visiting sick relatives or making urgent business trips.
UAE-based travellers who are unsure how the change affects their individual circumstances can tap VisaHQ’s Dubai portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) for tailored guidance, passport-renewal facilitation and expedited certificate-of-entitlement applications, streamlining compliance for both employees and employers.
For UAE-based mobility managers the immediate action point is to audit HR files, identify employees and dependants with latent British citizenship and insist they renew or apply for UK passports. Processing times average 10 weeks, longer in the run-up to summer. Women whose married names differ across passports may need extra documentary proof, and minors must hold their own passports. The £589 certificate of entitlement—affixed to a non-UK passport—is an expensive fallback and does not replace the ETA for non-British journeys.
Failure to comply means denied boarding at Dubai International’s check-in desks, rebooking fees and potential project delays. Corporates should integrate passport-status prompts into online-booking tools and brief travel-approval chains immediately.
