British dual nationals who are EU citizens with post-Brexit settled status in the UK will not have to use a British passport to return to the UK, the Home Office has said in a major U-turn on its controversial dual national border rules.
The change, which critics said was “hidden” on a government website, comes weeks after controversy erupted over the new rules that came into effect on February 25. They require dual British nationals to present a British passport or certificate of entitlement, which costs £589, before boarding a plane to the UK.
Thousands of people have been affected by the rules, including EU citizens with settled status in the UK who had successfully applied for citizenship but had not yet received British passports. They were effectively blocked from entering the country, but can now return with their EU passport.
An updated Home Office citizenship webpage says: “If you gained 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) a national identity card from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.”
Jelena, a dual Latvian-British national who found out about the rule change through a social media post by campaign group the3million, said she was “absolutely devastated and angry” that the rule change was only now happening.
Last September, she and her British husband had booked the “trip of a lifetime” to South America for the end of March and their plans had already been disrupted at great financial and emotional cost.
A chartered surveyor, she completed her British citizenship test in November and has not yet obtained a passport, but did not want to miss the trip.
After discussing it with her company, where she is an associate director, the couple decided to go ahead with the holiday, but she would return to Latvia instead of the UK and wait there for up to 24 weeks for her British passport to arrive.
“I was supposed to be excited about the upcoming vacation, but instead I had to stress about this and rearrange the trip,” she said.
“I’ve already spent £2,000 on the naturalization process, and the certificate is an extra £600, and as it was, after South America I wouldn’t be able to return to my apartment we have in a country I’ve lived in for almost 16 years,” he said.
Jelena received an email two days ago saying she no longer needed to show a British passport to enter the UK.
“I really don’t understand how people were supposed to know about these changes,” she said, adding that she was glad the Home Office had made sense, but that the experience had left a “bitter aftertaste.”
The3million welcomed the rule change but criticized the Home Office for not communicating it widely. The campaign group was notified of the change in an email on March 10.
He said the rule change was “buried” on a gov.uk site on citizenship, but not on the main page detailing new border rules for dual nationals.
“We are very pleased that this change will help those who faced an effective travel ban after their naturalization ceremony,” said Monique Hawkins, head of policy and advocacy. “But it is very disappointing that these changes are coming without any consultation and several weeks late.
“The changes are hidden in dark pages of the Ministry of the Interior. People find out about it from us, not from the government.”
Hawkins noted that the rule change did not apply to British citizens in the EU who had naturalized after Brexit, nor to EU citizens in the UK who had naturalized rather than applying for settled status, nor to people with independent Windrush leave to remain on status.
Another woman, Florence, missed a trip on February 28 to see her elderly, frail father in France because she had naturalized but was waiting for her passport.
“My husband went without me to France to see family while I applied for a British passport. The ferry ticket had to be changed and obviously cost more. I stayed here and got to work,” Florence said.
“Now I hear that the government has done a 180 degree turn. Why now? There was a lot of evidence on (February) 25 that people would be stuck,” he said.
Immigration Minister Mike Tapp branded criticism of Home Office communications “absurd” during an urgent questions debate the day after the dual national switch was introduced.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
