Does anyone have any idea?
As we know, most foreigners will need an ETA to travel to the UK next year. British nationals don't need one. I have been British since birth but no longer have a British passport. Since I was naturalised I only have a Swiss one. Now I'm wondering if they will let me in if I show an expired UK passport as proof of citizenship. Of course, the easiest way to find out would be to contact UK immigration. However, they charge as much as the ETA costs to do so.
You’re quibbling over a tenner!
Get a new British passport, solves the problem for the next 10 years.
Expired passport won’t prove you still have British nationality.
Get a new UK passport - you should enter on it anyway if you have citizenship.
Super easy to get a new British Passport if you've already got one. Fill in the form, upload a selfie, pay the money, send old passport and wait a few weeks.
Although I understand it's a bit more complex if you've additional passports as they've not automated that bit yet. You do mean a red Swiss passport yes? Not just the id card.
Yes the "other passports" bit is a PITA, you have to send a copy of all the pages. It wouldn't be so bad if you could just upload a scan, now they've even onlined the step to authenticate the photo.
I'm not sure why - is it possible that you can have a stamp in your Swiss passport which would be a problem? AFAIK if you're a British Citizen they can't refuse you a passport or put conditions on it, there aren't any "banned" countries.
There is no reason at all for me to want or wish to pay for a British passport. I live in CH, am a Swiss national and travel on a Swiss passport.
Of course, I can pay £7 for an ETA, but my application could be rejected when they consult their files.
No, an expired passport wont prove I still have citizenship, but it will enable an immigration officer to consult my records and confirm it.
It's highly unlikely they'll be the least concerned. They'll take your money and you'll travel without a hitch.
If you travel on your Swiss passport, then you need an ETA.
So you’re too tight to pay the £7 for the ETA but you expect the immigration officer to waste time looking up your records and holding up other passengers.
Right.
I’m not sure they even look up records at passport control because it holds up the queue. Cases where they have to check details are normally done in a side office.
Paying a one-off fee for an ETA is certainly worth it if it keeps the hassle to a minimum.
The rules say:
Since you don't have a valid proof of any of these then you probably need an ETA.
No VALID ID as proof you are an British citizen then ETA you need. Simple.
I don't know about the legalities of your particular case, but in my opinion, if you choose to not give up your British citizenship, you might as well just have a valid passport.
My country of citizenship stipulates that its citizens must enter from abroad on its passport, and not on any other passports they might hold in addition. Also, if something were to happen to my family that would necessitate me staying there for a while, I would like to have a solid proof of my citizenship, especially when dealing with administration and banks.
You are still a British Citizen as you haven't renounced your citizenship. Just get a new passport and it's all good.
I checked and the UK doesn't have such a stipulation, but it is possible, if not likely that you'll be denied entry if you use a foreign passport. If you can't prove you're British, you'll have no recourse.
FWIW it's almost impossible for a British citizen by birth to give up their citizenship.
No it isn’t. There’s a simple guide on the UK Gov website, with an online form.
Ah - so that changed at some point over the last 20-odd years...
It was alsways fun for my friends in Austria in days of old who had to "renounce" their UK citzenship to get Austrian (also no longer required I believe). Never used to be a procedure for that so the embassy happly allowed them to send their passport back and at the same time sent an application for a new passport.
You just join ISIS. It's easy.