Starting in 2026 the UK no longer allows British Citizens to get an ETA to enter the UK on an American Passport. They must use their British Passport to enter the UK.
The problem I’m seeing that I can’t get a straight answer to is by US law any US citizen must enter and leave the US on a US Passport. So with that being the case how is a dual citizen with two passports meant to fly from the US to the UK?
You can dual-wield your passports
-4 to persuasion checks using the off-hand passport, but only against customs agents.
My wife and children have UK/US dual nationality, so we’ve run into this. What we do is carry both sets of passports, exit and enter the UK with British passports and exit and enter the United States with US passports. In our experience, the UK authorities don’t care as long as you’re legal and don’t give you grief, and the US authorities will usually be dicks to you for a bit but they do eventually let you through.
That said, we’re white. The position might be quite different if you’re not.
You have to leave the UK under your US passport to show that you have permission to enter the US.
Leave the uk on your uk one and enter the us on your us one.
As long as you’ve got a valid plane ticket and aren’t on the no fly list, the airport doesn’t care about whether or not you have permission to enter whichever country your plane lands in. That’s your problem for you to deal with.
That doesn’t work. The airline absolutely does care. They will not let you board without proof you will be accepted by the US.
So officially leave the uk on the uk passport and then show your citizen papers or whatever to the airline staff if they ask to see them. Or just use your us passport ffs.
You just carry both passports with you…
Oh the imposition! You expect them to carry two passports?
I carry both always its just you can only show one at a time as its tied to your plane ticket and us law says you have to leave and and arrive on a US Passport not just arrive
You can absolutely show both. You’ll just officially do US customs with the US one, and UK with UK
Carry them both?
Probably with whatever weapon you’re licensed to duel with.
I think you use your us passport when leaving the us and your uk one when arriving at the uk. Full disclosure. I have never traveled internationally. Kinda curious about it since I am a dual citizen.
This is how it works with EU countries.
Yeah you can only use one Passport at a time it has to be registered to your plane ticket
does the registered to plane ticket matter on arrival?
It doesn’t
It’s a trick question, dueling is no longer legal in the US.
How will they know? My mom does it all the time, no issues
But when you arrive in the UK they will ask you “why are you coming here?” and if you answer “I live here, my life is here, my job is here, my family are here” and present a US passport with no UK visa or other documents showing permission to reside in Britain they’re going to start asking a lot more questions.
