fishyfish

BACKGROUND: I'm a British citizen living in US for the past 7 years. Earlier this year I became a US citizen and I also now have a US passport.

I needed to renew my British passport so I sent it off 3 weeks ago to the new Washington DC processing center. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive the new passport. I write unfortunately, because I now find that I need to travel back to the UK for a few days this week or early next because of an illness in the family.

My credit card shows the $244 charge for the passport renewal wasn't debited until a few days ago and according to the passport renewal site, it could take upwards of 4 weeks from the day of debit to receive the passport which means I may take a couple more weeks to get here.

To compound the problem, I won't be able to apply for an Emergency travel document as I won't be able to make it to the nearest British Consular (Boston) as they require you to apply for it in person and I can't get the extra time off of work.

QUESTION: Assuming I don't get my UK passport back from the renewal center before I leave, can I use my US passport to enter and leave the UK?

FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS: Have any of you done this before? Anything special to know about the process or anything I need to know in advance of doing it? Should I bring copies of my passport renewal form ect for proof to help me get through UK immigration (I assume I use the non-EU queue) on my US passport?

Thanks for your advice...

fatbrit

You can enter the UK for a visit on a US passport. Done it many times.

Speedwell

Yup. No visa or anything required before you leave. This is assuming your visit is for pleasure only, or for business meetings where you will be a lump in a chair.

For the benefit of anyone reading this thread based on the title, who may or may not only have a US passport, PLEASE check your visa status against the purpose of your visit. For example, I almost ran into trouble the third time I went over because my training class was judged not a "business meeting" in the absolute sense of the word. I had to get a specific sponsored visa for that. Also, if you weren't a UK citizen and you planned to get married in the UK, you would likely need a special visa for that as well.

Bob

As long as the passport you use is fit for the purpose of the trip, it's no problem, so using a US passport for a holiday is fine.

It's only a hassle if you were to use it while trying to move back to the UK or work.

Steve_

Its entering the US without using a US passport that seems to cause all the problems, various horror stories if you search the web.

fishyfish

UPDATE. OK Original poster here.

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I was planning on flying out tomorrow and use my US passport on all legs of my journey, but low and behold, DHL pulled up on doorstep on Friday afternoon and delivered my new UK passport. Oddly, DHL also came to my house this morning and returned my old passport (corner cut off) in a separate package. I suppose they came from two different places in the UK.

So the upshot is that I will have my UK passport to use when I fly out tomorrow though I certainly wasn't counting on it originally.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. - Fishyfish

*** FYI, In case anyone else is wondering about how long it took for my passport to be renewed via the Washington DC renewal center, I can provide the following info:

From the day I gave my passport and application to UPS to send to DC, it took about 4 weeks in all - or about 10 days after the $240 charge showed up on my credit card statement. The foreign office estimated that in Nov 2012 it would take about a month for renewals from the US, so my experience was in line with their estimate. Your mileage may vary. ***