Originally Posted by
TangoOneSeven
As a dual citizen (US, UK) I have an ETA. Email confirmation says it expires January 2027 and I suspect it won’t be rescinded. Given I haven’t used my UK passport (in fact, I haven’t looked at my UK passport in years as it sits buried in my safe somewhere) in any airline booking for about 15 years - how are they (airline) going to know I’m a UK Citizen?
Assuming I get to the UK border on my US passport and ETA then I suspect they may (they do actually know because they mentioned it once) flag me as UK citizen. Then what… either let me in as US with ETA or UK Citizen, get entry either way. Ok, I might have to travel with my UK passport too I guess.
What about my hypothetical futire kids- they’ll have UK Citizenship but will likely never get a UK passport. They’d need to travel on US+ETA…
This doesn’t seem enforceable and I suspect will be forgotten quickly.
This is precisely my situation. I hold dual US / UK citizenship. When I applied for an ETA using my US passport there *was* an option to select United Kingdom under the list of other nationalities. My ETA is valid until 7th January 2027. My US passport has "United Kingdom" as the place of birth, and I have been questioned by Border Force regarding my citizenship when I was once entering the UK and the eGates were unavailable. I was told that I should use my UK passport as it then means I am exempt from immigration control as a UK citizen. I was also, bizarrely, once asked how long I planned on staying in the UK when I presented my UK passport at the border at LHR. My main reason for using my US passport on short trips to the UK is simply because it works the eGates whereas my UK one does not and I am always told to "Seek Assistance" whenever I try and use it. It is ludicrous that I am able to enter the UK more efficiently using my US passport than my UK one. I doubt very much whether my existing ETA will be cancelled (I guess I will find out tomorrow when the new rules come into effect) and that I will be able to continue to use it until it expires. I always carry both passports so like you
TangoOneSeven I'll either be admitted as a US citizen with an ETA or as a UK Citizen with a British passport.