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With the need for non-visa nationals to hold an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) when travelling to the UK becoming an enforced requirement from 25 February 2026, it is important that dual nationals understand their own documentary requirements in order to avoid problems with airline check-in and embarkation for the UK.
If you qualify for British citizenship, the most common way to prove this is to hold a full British passport. Authorities require this to be valid, so if yours has expired, it will not count as evidence of your right to enter the UK. Obtaining your first British passport, or renewing a long-expired one, from overseas can take a considerable time – often several months – so it is important to plan well in advance if this is how you wish to prove your British citizenship.
Some dual citizens of other countries, however, either cannot or do not want to obtain a UK passport. This is most commonly because your other country of nationality does not allow dual citizenship.
An alternative is to apply for a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode from the Home Office. So long as you hold the correct supporting documents, this online application is straightforward, and importantly will often be processed more quickly than a British passport application.
From 26 February 2026 the UK government has confirmed that it will issue Certificates of Entitlement in digital format only, streamlining the process yet further, and meaning that it will not be necessary to deposit your foreign passport with the Visa Application Centre either overseas or in the UK when applying. It is not necessary to replace your physical Certificate with a digital one while it remains valid.
You can check official guidance on how to apply for a Certificate of Entitlement here. The cost is £589 wherever you apply, and you will usually receive a decision within 3 weeks of applying overseas, or 8 weeks of applying in the UK. The Certificate is only valid as long as the passport it is either endorsed in (if it is a physical certificate), but will remain valid indefinitely in digital format; you would simply need to update your passport details within your online UK Visas & Immigration account when/if you get a new passport, and upload a new digital photo.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
