Our contributor, Emma Pouncey, tells us about her struggles of dealing with British passport bureaucracy and the logistical nightmare associated with being a dual national, which affects Brits with citizenship of any other European country.
I was born and raised in Belgium, with a British father and a Danish mother. For the first almost 32 years of my life, I have held only a Danish passport. My dad tells me it was out of sheer laziness, not wanting to deal with the queues at the British Embassy in Brussels which were always longer than the ones at the Danish Embassy.
This has never, so far, caused me any issues. That is until February 2026, when I find out that all British citizens wanting to travel into the UK, need to do so on a UK passport.
Before I get into the details of my situation, I have a need to state how utterly absurd it is to me, that my French husband can currently get into the United Kingdom far more easily, and far more cheaply than I can. As things currently stand, I will not be granted entry into my own country, without facing massive complications.
I was aware of the new passport rules which had been introduced, but hadn’t given them all that much thought, until a close friend of mine asked me if I would like to come and spend a child-free weekend with her in London. This is one of several trips I would like to take to the UK in the near future. A journey with some girlfriends to Manchester is also on the cards, as well as a trip to my beloved Edinburgh where I lived for a year.
