With less than a week before new carrier-liability rules take effect, the Home Office has hastily clarified that dual British nationals may use an expired UK passport to demonstrate their right to enter the country. From 25 February 2026, airlines, ferries and Eurostar services face fines if they board a passenger who is a British citizen but cannot present either a current UK (or Irish) passport or a Certificate of Entitlement (CoE) attached to their foreign passport. The clarification follows an outcry from British citizens overseas who discovered—often via airline emails rather than official communication—that they could soon be denied boarding for family funerals, business trips or medical emergencies.
Immigration lawyers say the sudden enforcement stems from the full roll-out of Electronic Travel Authorisation. Under ETA, the UK entry system must reliably distinguish British citizens (who do not need an ETA) from non-citizens (who increasingly will). Allowing dual nationals to rely on the passport of their other nationality at check-in would create data conflicts and expose carriers to penalties, hence the push to insist on a British travel document or CoE.
![Home Office Says Expired UK Passports Can Prove Citizenship as Dual-National Rules Loom]()
For travellers scrambling to renew an expired UK passport or secure a Certificate of Entitlement, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end document facilitation service. Through its dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/), the company provides step-by-step guidance, form checking and expedited shipping options—helping dual nationals avoid last-minute airport surprises as the new carrier-liability regime beds in.
The fresh guidance eases, but does not eliminate, practical problems. A passport that expired years ago may still prove citizenship, but most renewal applications require the old passport to be surrendered—so travellers cannot hold both simultaneously. Emergency Travel Documents offer another fallback but involve consular fees and limited validity.
Industry bodies such as ABTA and the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK warn that thousands of dual citizens could still be caught out during the Easter travel peak. They urge the government to launch an information blitz and consider a short grace period to avoid passengers being stranded. Mobility professionals should alert employees and dependants with dual nationality to carry their expired UK passport—or apply immediately for a renewal or CoE—to avoid last-minute disruption.
Immigration lawyers say the sudden enforcement stems from the full roll-out of Electronic Travel Authorisation. Under ETA, the UK entry system must reliably distinguish British citizens (who do not need an ETA) from non-citizens (who increasingly will). Allowing dual nationals to rely on the passport of their other nationality at check-in would create data conflicts and expose carriers to penalties, hence the push to insist on a British travel document or CoE.
For travellers scrambling to renew an expired UK passport or secure a Certificate of Entitlement, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end document facilitation service. Through its dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/), the company provides step-by-step guidance, form checking and expedited shipping options—helping dual nationals avoid last-minute airport surprises as the new carrier-liability regime beds in.
The fresh guidance eases, but does not eliminate, practical problems. A passport that expired years ago may still prove citizenship, but most renewal applications require the old passport to be surrendered—so travellers cannot hold both simultaneously. Emergency Travel Documents offer another fallback but involve consular fees and limited validity.
Industry bodies such as ABTA and the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK warn that thousands of dual citizens could still be caught out during the Easter travel peak. They urge the government to launch an information blitz and consider a short grace period to avoid passengers being stranded. Mobility professionals should alert employees and dependants with dual nationality to carry their expired UK passport—or apply immediately for a renewal or CoE—to avoid last-minute disruption.
