Entering the UK- or going to happen now

Visgirl, because I was born in the UK but took out Canadian citizenship when I emigrated,am I still considered to be a British citizen?

Allira

Doodledog

How is it legal for people who don't live here to vote here? If they've lived abroad for years they can only have a partial understanding of the way the country currently works, and as has been said, don't have to live with the consequences of their vote anyway.

I'm not sure I even agree with the idea of dual citizenship. Maybe temporary emigrants/immigrants should keep the citizenship of their home country (as most do), and if/when they become long-term residents they should choose where their loyalties lie. I could be persuaded otherwise, though - it's not something I've thought about much, and it may be more complex than that.

I think you can for up to 15 years after leaving, possibly because you are overseas with work and you might come back again.

Thanks. That makes sense, but if someone has taken out another country's citizenship they (presumably) aren't planning to return?

I remember when my children were students they both felt that they shouldn't vote where they were living, as they didn't intend to stay after they graduated (this was in the UK). They did in the end, as they got jobs local to their respective universities, but they felt it was wrong in principle, and I agreed with them that people should only vote if they know they will be impacted by the result. They voted in their home constituency until they were settled elsewhere.

It doesn't feel right that someone who has not lived in the UK for years should have a say in how residents of the country are governed.

I too wanted to know for family members... This is what I found.

Important extra step (new rule)
Australians now need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before travelling for tourism or short visits.
It’s quick and online, but it is required.
❌ You cannot enter as a tourist if:
You are still legally a British citizen, even if:
Your UK passport is expired
You “stopped using it”
You only travel on your Australian passport.
So if you are still a British Citizen, that's basically why.

So no different from us travelling to other countries, that requires the correct paperwork.

J52 Exactly!

I find it inconceivable that people who have lived abroad for 50 years can still vote.
Why?
Do you want to keep the country as it was 50 years ago?
If so then why did you leave?Or do you want your version of the country to become reality ,despite the fact that unless you actually live here you have no concept of the reality,
I am no fan of Starmer but even so I would never want a return of the tories under any circumstances .
They made such a mess of everything during the 14 years they were in power.
Do the rest of us a favour and use your vote in the country where you live!

I thought that if you don have British citizenship you can’t vote . I could be wrong. And if a ETA is £16 , I don’t see the issue .

Doodledog

How is it legal for people who don't live here to vote here? If they've lived abroad for years they can only have a partial understanding of the way the country currently works, and as has been said, don't have to live with the consequences of their vote anyway.

I'm not sure I even agree with the idea of dual citizenship. Maybe temporary emigrants/immigrants should keep the citizenship of their home country (as most do), and if/when they become long-term residents they should choose where their loyalties lie. I could be persuaded otherwise, though - it's not something I've thought about much, and it may be more complex than that.

I think you can for up to 15 years after leaving, possibly because you are overseas with work and you might come back again.

Yes Nanna you can vote - The Election Act 2022 (introduced by Kemi Badenoch) hugely widened the scope for Brits living abroad being able to vote. Didn't do Badenoch much good though.

All abroad! More Brits overseas can now register to vote | Electoral Commission share.google/8I1JdwSm8GuGj8tTT

X post Llamedos13

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

So have I got this right? I can travel to the UK using my Canadian passport and the ETA.I do not require a second British passport?I have a Canadian friend born in the UK who plans to travel to the UK in April and in spite of everything we have both read she still insists she must have the second passport.She maintains that I will be denied boarding without it.So confusing the whole business.🤨ps, thank you Bluebell

How is it legal for people who don't live here to vote here? If they've lived abroad for years they can only have a partial understanding of the way the country currently works, and as has been said, don't have to live with the consequences of their vote anyway.

I'm not sure I even agree with the idea of dual citizenship. Maybe temporary emigrants/immigrants should keep the citizenship of their home country (as most do), and if/when they become long-term residents they should choose where their loyalties lie. I could be persuaded otherwise, though - it's not something I've thought about much, and it may be more complex than that.

My take on this is that the Australian media love to wind people up ptobably even more than the UK media (if that's possible) I have Australian friends and family and the news reporting there is dreadful.

My sister rang me the other day because she'd seen a news article on the TV saying someone had been murdered in the nearby woodland and thrown into a lake.

I reassured her this was not the case and that the police were merely on a training exercise!

It wasn't even on the local news here...

I think many people don't understand that this digital entry system is worldwide.
Most places are already using it.
We are amongst the last to implement and the EU will be fully integrated into it this autumn.
The EU have been operating a sort-of "soft touch".
If anyone doesn't want to comply with the "new" system I think they should probably resign themselves to staying home.

Allira

RosiesMawagain

It seems to me that if you emigrate, you have to make a decision.
Do you renounce your British citizenship, or keep dual nationality and passports.
You can’t have it both ways.

Australia allows dual nationality and you just have to keep renewing your British passport if you want to retain it.

Visitors from 85 nationalities, including the United States, Canada, and France, who do not need a visa will not be able to legally travel to the UK without an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from 25 February 2026.

This is a significant step towards digitising the immigration system and paves the way for a contactless UK border in the future.

Enforcing will mean that everyone who wants to come to the UK must have digital permission through either an ETA or an eVisa. Carriers will be checking people before they travel.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp

So if you don’t want to retain it nanna8 what are you complaining about?

RosiesMawagain

It seems to me that if you emigrate, you have to make a decision.
Do you renounce your British citizenship, or keep dual nationality and passports.
You can’t have it both ways.

Australia allows dual nationality and you just have to keep renewing your British passport if you want to retain it.

Visitors from 85 nationalities, including the United States, Canada, and France, who do not need a visa will not be able to legally travel to the UK without an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from 25 February 2026.

This is a significant step towards digitising the immigration system and paves the way for a contactless UK border in the future.

Enforcing will mean that everyone who wants to come to the UK must have digital permission through either an ETA or an eVisa. Carriers will be checking people before they travel.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp

some people want one foot in both camps, so they can buy a property in the uk, claim residence and hence access pension, nhs and benefits, in spite of not having paid a penny. Leeches

nanna8

My grandchildren don’t want British citizenship. They don’t want a British passport . They are being forced to because of their ancestry. I don’t want dual nationality either but I am not paying to dump it, why should I have to ? No one has ever asked me to renounce British citizenship, I am not interested in doing that and I was born there and still have friends from a schooldays so why bother ?

Being born in a country and having friends there (even family) does not give any moral right to vote there when you say you have lived on the other side of the word for 50 years.
If you haven’t renounced your GB citizenship and don’t want dual nationality, are you then an Australian citizen?
Given the vast numbers is Australians of British heritage I imagine that could seriously affect our election results at the expense of those of us who live with the consequences

I dont understand this either.

To register to vote you must be ... one of the following:

•a UK or Irish citizen
•a qualifying Commonwealth citizen living in the UK
•a qualifying EU citizen living in the UK

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/who-can-vote-uk-elections

BlueBelle

I dont think anyone is getting Nana8s anger
The rules for Uk have changed and she can no longer get into Uk on her Australian passport alone

I'm not sure why. Some rules changed last year, I know.

I have Australian relatives, some have dual nationality but not all. Must investigate.

I d know that of some people coming from Trinidad had to have visas, the rules changed suddenly too late for them so their planned trip had to be cancelled.

You can register as an overseas voter if you move or live abroad
^You must have previously lived in the UK and *be either*:
a British citizen^
an eligible Irish citizen registering to vote in Northern Ireland

How can you threaten to vote in the UK if you no longer have British citizenship? And if you do, why are you not prepared to have a UK passport and dual nationality?

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10344/#:~:text=their%20digital%20UK%20immigration%20permission,them%20travel%20to%20the%20UK.

But f your grandchildren are not dual nationality they can just come on an ETA surely?

My daughter is a Norwegian citizen and votes in Norway. She does not vote in Britain, as she does not live here, and, therefore, is not obliged to live with the consequences of her choices.
I do not feel that Britain is " in trouble".

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