The guidance says that if you are a dual citizen then you need to demonstate your right to abode in the UK (ie no requirement for the ETA) either through your British passport or with a certificate of entitlement in your other passport. The certificate of entitlement costs 550 pounds and needs to be replaced when your passport expires. The guidance does not explicitly say that UK citizens must enter the UK on their British passport but seems to leave little alternative. I cannot find any information on whether an expired passport would be sufficient to prove citizenship - I think it should but I suspect it doesn't. Which means, unless anyone has any more info that my entire family have to pay to renew our British passports - costing 100s of dollars - before we can visit the UK - whereas family members who are not British (daughters in law) can get in with a cost of 10 pounds - doesn't seem quite fair does it?

In what way don't you find it fair?

You are a British Citizen; you will pay the same for your passport as every other British citizen who lives in or outside Britain. You use your British passport on entering the UK, that's standard practice. You can stay for an unlimited period, because you are a citizen.

Your daughters in law pay 10 quid for a visa waiver but have no right to reside in the UK, they are merely tourists subject to a maximum 90 days stay because they are not citizens.

You are comparing apples and pears. Another solution is to renounce your British Citizenship then you too can just be a tourist with a ten quid visa waiver; I suspect you wouldn't be happy with that either (not least when you see the cost of renouncing)

I have been visiting the UK over the past few years travelling on my Canadian passport - there is no requirement for a citizen to enter on their British one. As none of us have the intention of staying permanently then I think the comparison of requirements on citizens compared to the non citizens in order to make a week long visit is fair. If the rule had always been that citizens must enter on a British passport then the point would be moot.

If anybody could clarify my position I would be grateful.

I was born and worked in the UK and later emigrated to Canada.

I now have Canadian citizenship and a valid Canadian passport. My British passport expired some years ago.

On the UK Government website it states that British or Irish citizens do not require an ETA.


Being a British citizen (I have my birth certificate), with an expired British passport, do I need to apply for an ETA, or can I simply present my Canadian passport along with my birth certificate (and expired British passport) to prove I am a British citizen?

Unless I am mistaken, I have seen nothing requesting that although I'm now a Canadian resident, I need a British passport.

Every non-Australian citizen requires a visa or authorisation to enter Australia. Both Canadian and British passport holders are eligible to apply for an ETA
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...y-601#Overview
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...01#Eligibility

If you mean to enter the uk then I think you now need a valid British passport. You cannot get a visa if you are a citizen. Just like it now is for Canada and Australia.
we used to enter uk on our Aussie passports but now we will need our uk ones.

Oh, I thought the poster meant entering Oz because they posted here. I could be wrong though, I often am

If you are a British citizen and you are entering the UK, then you do not need an ETA. You DO need to have a British passport to prove your citizenship though.
i.e if you enter the UK on a Canadian passport you need an ETA; if dual citizen (Canadian/Brit) you are not eligible for an ETA, so you need to enter the UK on your British passport.

Thank you SanDiegoGirl, I suspected that would be the case, but just wanted some clarification.

A Happy New Year to you.

Interesting I entered the UK last year on my Australian passport still here got no British passport valid.

My Australian passport runs out soon so I'll be passport less.

£100 for a UK passport if I ever leave and want to return

$550 bucks for an Australian passport if I want to return to Australia now.

$750 bucks every ten years.

Good info