Can someone with a non-British passport and the Right of Abode go to the UK?
The Home Office says that British people who hold dual nationality should use a British passport or apply for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode to travel to the UK.
As of February 26, 2026, Certificates of Entitlement to the Right of Abode will be given out in digital form and will endure forever, even when the passport that goes with them expires. But holders must update their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to connect the certificate to any new passport.
Digital Certificates of Entitlement to the Right of Abode don’t expire. They stay valid as long as they are linked to a valid, non-British passport in your UKVI account.
Paper/Vignette Certificates: Old paper stickers in a passport are still good till that passport expires.
Certificates of Entitlement to the Right of Abode show that you have the right to live and work in the UK for as long as you like, but you need to have a current passport to travel.
You need to utilise the “Update My Details” process to connect your new passport to your digital certificate.
All British residents enjoy the right of residence in the UK, which means they can live and work there without any immigration limitations. Because of this, they don’t have to follow immigration rules. They don’t require permission from an immigration officer to enter the UK, but they do need to show that they have the right to live there in order to get in as British citizens.
According to paragraph 12 of the immigration rules and section 3(9) of the Immigration Act 1971, they should demonstrate this by displaying a current British passport or a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode (an official document).
It’s better to use a British passport.
Most people would probably choose to get a British passport.
It costs more to get a certificate of entitlement (£589) than a British passport (£94.50 for adults or £61.50 for kids under 16 when applying online), and it may take longer. People can’t get a British passport and a certificate of eligibility at the same time.
As of February 26, 2026, certificates of entitlement were given out as stickers that were stuck to the holder’s foreign passport. They were only good for as long as the foreign passport they were affixed to. They are now given out in a digital form. A digital certificate lasts forever, even when the foreign passport expires. However, the holder will need to update their UK Visas and Immigration account to connect their certificate to the new passport’s information. The Home Office’s instruction on how to apply for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode has more information.
Coming to the UK without a certificate of entitlement or a UK passport
Before, British citizens who were also citizens of a “non-visa national country” (a country that doesn’t require a UK visit visa) could travel to the UK with their foreign passport without needing a certificate of entitlement. If they said they were British citizens, they might have had to wait longer at UK passport control. Border Force officials certified their eligibility to live in the UK, but that was less likely to happen if they used an automated passport gate to enter the country.
As detailed below, the new electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirement for visitors from countries without a visa means that people who are nationals of both the UK and one of those countries can no longer just use their foreign passport to go to the UK. This affects a lot of British citizens who have dual citizenship. For instance, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and all EU Member States do not require visas.
People who are British and Irish at the same time are not affected. You can still go to the UK freely with an Irish passport, even if you don’t have an ETA.