Sarah Byron was shocked to learn her Canadian passport will soon be useless to enter the United Kingdom.
As a dual British Canadian citizen living in Montreal who emigrated to Canada in the 1970s, she has regularly travelled back to England at least once a year. But under new U.K. rules starting Feb. 25, all citizens must now use a British or Irish passport to enter.
“We were horrified, people didn’t believe me,” said Byron, who let her British passport expire. “It’s going to be a nightmare in March when people are trying to travel and didn’t know about this.”
Entry requirements for dual nationals are being updated as part of broader changes to entry requirements in the United Kingdom. The sudden change, announced quietly in the fall, has caught citizens off-guard and left many confused and frustrated by the requirements.
Some U.K. MPs are calling for a grace period and warning “haphazard communication” could leave some travellers stranded abroad.
Without a passport, dual nationals face two costly options: obtaining a certificate of entitlement, a document proving their right to live in the U.K., or renouncing their citizenship. Both alternatives range in cost from $800 to more than $1,000.
When the new rules kick in, dual nationals like Byron risk being denied entry without a U.K. passport or certificate of entitlement. She said the change — and the lack of communication surrounding it — has left her feeling unwelcome by the country she grew up in.
“It doesn’t feel good at all,” she said. “I can go anywhere in the world on a Canadian passport except the place where I was born.”
Why are the rules changing?
It’s unclear just how many people are impacted, but more than 460,000 residents of Canada were born in the United Kingdom, according to Statistics Canada.
Children of people born in the U.K. could also be affected, as in some cases British citizenship is automatically passed down through a parent.
The new passport rules are linked to the recent rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) requirement to enter the U.K., which took effect last year. It brings the country in line with similar entry systems in the U.S. and Canada.
Rob Tinline, the British high commissioner to Canada, said the change is part of a transition to a digital immigration system that enhances border security.
“We want British citizens to come to the U.K., we want Canadians to come to the U.K. We don’t want to get in the way of that,” Tinline said in an interview. “But this is about us modernizing our border. It’s a very similar system to what Canada has for its own citizens.”
WATCH | Dual citizens face new travel hurdle to enter U.K.:
Canada requires dual citizens to enter the country with a Canadian passport, with the exception of dual Canadian American citizens, who can use a U.S. passport.
Tinline said that most foreign visitors need an ETA, and U.K. and Irish citizens are not eligible. He’s encouraging people to check the advice on the U.K. government website, to determine the correct documentation they need to enter the country.
“Clearly it is a significant change,” he said.
“We want to make the system as straightforward as it can be and we want that message to get out so people can make sure that they’re complying properly.”
Travellers surprised
Many dual Canadian British citizens with upcoming travel are now scrambling to renew or apply for U.K. passports.
Serina Bowles, a travel advisor in Burlington, Ont., with the firm The Travel Agent Next Door, said she’s checking with her clients to make sure they meet the requirements — including asking if they have a parent born in the U.K.
“Almost everyone I’m talking to hasn’t heard about this new change yet,” she said.
Bowles said one of her clients, a man in his 80s, now needs a British passport for the first time because of the rule change.
She’s been helping travellers navigate the process to apply for one to ensure they don’t run into problems, but expects chaos when the change takes effect on Wednesday.
Airlines have been told to check that passengers meet entry requirements prior to boarding.
“There’s going to be a lot of travellers at the airport that are going to show up and they’re going to be told they can’t get on the plane,” Bowles said.
The British Home Office said on Thursday that airlines could, “at their own discretion,” accept an expired passport as an alternative document, in addition to a valid foreign passport. But the exception won’t help people who recently applied for a British passport and sent their expired one away as part of the process.
‘Very discouraging’
For Byron, getting a new U.K. passport is proving to be especially complicated.
Her expired British passport has her middle name, but her valid Canadian one — along with her other Canadian documents — does not.
Under the U.K.’s “one-name policy,” foreign nationals must ensure their name is identical on their foreign and British passports. If documents do not show consistent use of one name, a passport application may be refused.
Some dual nationals living in other countries have argued the rules are discriminatory, as some countries require women to keep their maiden name after marriage. Quebec requires women to keep their maiden name for all legal documents.
Several dual citizens who spoke with CBC News said different surnames or middle names are also creating complications.
Byron said she is going to try and contact the British government to figure out a solution — and is holding off on making travel plans for now.
“I’m going to wait until the dust settles,” she said. “It’s very discouraging.”
