EU citizens with post-Brexit settlement status in UK will not have to present British passport to airlines
British dual nationals who are EU citizens with post-Brexit settlement status in the UK will not have to use a British passport to return to the UK, the Home Office has said in a significant U-turn on its controversial dual national border rules.
The change, which critics say was “hidden away” on a government web page, comes weeks after controversy erupted over the new rules that came into effect on 25 February. They require British dual nationals to present a British passport or certificate of entitlement, costing £589, before they board a plane to the UK.
Thousands of people have been affected by the rules, including EU citizens with settlement status in the UK who had successfully applied for citizenship but had not yet received British passports. They were effectively locked out of the country, but are now free to return on their EU passport.
An updated Home Office citizenship web page states: “If you got British citizenship after settling in the UK under the EU settlement scheme, you can travel to the UK using a valid: passport of your other nationality; [or] national identity card from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.”
