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  • FAQ

    Last updated: September 22nd, 2023

    I am an EU citizen and after I got settled status I naturalised as a British citizen. I do not have a British passport. Can I travel to and enter the UK on my EU passport?

    When a person naturalises or registers as a British citizen, they no longer require leave to remain, and therefore any immigration status they held becomes void. For those who have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before they became British, this status becomes void once they become British. However, confusingly even after the person becomes British, their digital status that can be seen in ‘View & Prove’ usually continues to show a settled status, even though the person no longer holds this  status. The Home Office has stated that this is likely to be changed at some point, such that the void settled status will no longer be visible once someone becomes British.

    When entering at the UK border, dual British/EU citizens enter as a British citizen, and the Home Office generally expects people to hold a British passport for this purpose.

    The legal background to this follows from the Immigration Act 1971, where people who enter the UK either enter as someone with a right of abode, or as someone with leave to enter or remain, or as someone exempt from immigration control. Dual British citizens do not (any longer) have leave to enter or remain (settled status is a type of leave to enter or remain), and are not exempt from immigration control. Therefore they enter as a person with a right of abode.

    The simplest way to prove this right of abode is via a British passport, or a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in a valid foreign passport (current cost £372 and can only be issued to persons who do not have a British passport). It may be possible to demonstrate the right of abode in another way, for example by showing a certificate of naturalisation, however it is possible that enquiries will need to be made by border officials which may lead to delay or inconvenience when entering the UK.

     

    When boarding a carrier (flight/boat or train) to travel to the UK, you should be able to do so by showing your carrier your EU passport, although they may question you about the purpose of your travel. This is because the carrier will bear the responsibility of returning passengers who are refused entry at the UK border, and therefore for commercial reasons they may ask questions or carry out status checks in order to avoid having to return passengers. This is despite Government guidance to carriers that they don’t need to check the immigration status of EU citizens.

     

    What about national identity cards?

    Only EU citizens who have EUSS status, and in some cases pending EUSS applications,  have the right to enter the UK with a national identity card. As these persons have the right to enter the UK with a national identity card, carriers are required to allow them to embark on travel to the UK using a national identity card rather than an EU passport. This means if you want to travel with a national identity card, your carrier may ask you to demonstrate your eligibility to do so - again to avoid the costs of having to return passengers. 

    For dual citizens, demonstrating eligibility to travel with a national identity card (rather than to enter the UK with one) is complicated, since they no longer hold status under the EU settlement scheme. For those who obtained settled status before naturalising as a dual British citizen, View & Prove may still show settled status, but as stated above this is no longer their legal status. For those who naturalised as dual British citizens without needing to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (for example, they naturalised by relying on an EEA permanent residence document), they would not be able to show the carrier that they are eligible. the3million has argued, and continues to do so, that Lounes EU/British dual citizens (those that exercised free movement rights before becoming British) should be given some form of proof of being a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary.

    In any case, what carriers are most concerned about is avoiding the costs of having to return passengers - therefore they are seeking reassurance that people will not be refused entry at the UK border. For this reason it is also recommended to have a British passport to show the carrier if questioned.

    And what is the situation for Irish citizens?

    The situation is more complex for Irish nationals, as the provisions of the Common Travel Area also touch on entry at the UK border. This FAQ does not attempt to cover this.

    Information sources:

    • this May 2023 Carrier Update
    • this Parliamentary Question with reply from the Home Office
    • this FOI asking whether it is possible for a UK/EU dual citizen to enter the UK without a UK passport but with their EU national identity card / passport
    • ‘Information for British nationals: care of certificates of registration and naturalisation’, section on Right of Abode on this Gov.UK webpage
    • the3million’s webpage ‘Travel to the UK’, in particular the downloadable Rights to enter general guidance

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