Going to UK with Daughter - Passport Expired

[Sawan Chan 7]

I'm going to the UK with one of my kids. Her UK passport has expired.

I know she doesn't need an up-to-date one for entry as she is a UK citizen.

Does anyone know of an Airline that will accept her Thai passport without a UK visa in it in order to board?

[7by7]

No, they will not.

The airline may be subject to both a heavy fine and the cost of returning the passenger to their departure point if they knowingly carry a passenger who does not have valid entry clearance for their destination.

So if your daughter presents her Thai passport at check in without a UK visa then the airline will refuse to carry her.

However, they should accept her expired British passport.

I think.

If in doubt, and you don't have time to renew her British passport, you can always obtain an emergency travel document for her.

As she is a British citizen she, officially, cannot be given a visa in her Thai passport as that would place a time restriction on her stay in the UK; see UK visa for child entitled to British citizenship.

[ubonjoe]

This info from the IATA that can be obtained here. https://www.klm.com/travel/kz_en/prepare_for_travel/travel_planning/travel_clinic/timatic.htm

"Passport required.
- Passengers with a British passport with nationality of

British Citizen shown on the bio-data page are allowed to

enter with an expired passport."

[theoldgit]

All she needs is proof that she is a British Citizen, and thus has the right of entry. As ubonjoe says the passport is proof of that, the passport may be expired but the information it contains doesn't.

[Sawan Chan 7]

Thanks guys!

[MESmith]

What if, the child's expired passport shows the child as a baby or 1 year old, & now the child is say 10 years old? How do you prove the child is the same as in the passport?

[Sawan Chan 7]

What if, the child's expired passport shows the child as a baby or 1 year old, & now the child is say 10 years old? How do you prove the child is the same as in the passport?

The name in the Thai passport will be the same.

[MESmith]

What if, the child's expired passport shows the child as a baby or 1 year old, & now the child is say 10 years old? How do you prove the child is the same as in the passport?

The name in the Thai passport will be the same.

Doh!

[NanLaew]

What if, the child's expired passport shows the child as a baby or 1 year old, & now the child is say 10 years old? How do you prove the child is the same as in the passport?

The name in the Thai passport will be the same.

Doh!

Also, the UK only issues kids passports with a maximum validity of 5 years (versus 10 years for adults) due to the fact that infants and kids grow up and change more rapidly.

(Boy... do they ever!)

[MESmith]

What if, the child's expired passport shows the child as a baby or 1 year old, & now the child is say 10 years old? How do you prove the child is the same as in the passport?

The name in the Thai passport will be the same.

Doh!

Also, the UK only issues kids passports with a maximum validity of 5 years (versus 10 years for adults) due to the fact that infants and kids grow up and change more rapidly.

(Boy... do they ever!)

I know that, but my son's passport expired when he was 6. Have only just renewed it. He hasn't needed a UK passport for a few years. Interesting to know, he could've travelled to UK, before renewal.

[salavan]

it is illegal to enter the uk on any other passport if you have British citizenship you must enter on the british passport

on a different note you now cannot leave the uk without a passport or official id of some kind whether by land sea air or private charter, civil rights campainers now claim that without id you are in effect in custody in the uk

[Richard W]

it is illegal to enter the uk on any other passport if you have British citizenship you must enter on the british passport

By which statute or regulation? It makes a nonsense of UK citizens having a certificate of entitlement to right of abode; a person with such a valid certificate is denied a British passport by policy.

on a different note you now cannot leave the uk without a passport or official id of some kind whether by land sea air or private charter, civil rights campainers now claim that without id you are in effect in custody in the uk

Interesting. I thought it was still legal for a British citizen to paddle out to international waters. By which statute or regulation does this restriction arise?

[Sawan Chan 7]

it is illegal to enter the uk on any other passport if you have British citizenship you must enter on the british passport

on a different note you now cannot leave the uk without a passport or official id of some kind whether by land sea air or private charter, civil rights campainers now claim that without id you are in effect in custody in the uk

If one is a British citizen, there is no need to use another passport.

[Richard W]

it is illegal to enter the uk on any other passport if you have British citizenship you must enter on the british passport

on a different note you now cannot leave the uk without a passport or official id of some kind whether by land sea air or private charter, civil rights campainers now claim that without id you are in effect in custody in the uk

If one is a British citizen, there is no need to use another passport.

Some countries - USA, South Africa and Australia spring to mind - insist to varying degrees that their citizens use the country's passports when entering or leaving. I don't know whether there is a choice available to a Thai citizen with another nationality the first time they leave Thailand. A Thai national who last entered Thailand as a Thai national has to leave using a Thai passport. Thai citizens chose their effective nationality when they re-enter Thailand, which is how it is possible to get an extension of stay on the basis of being a Thai citizen. I don't know what happens if a Thai citizen exercising a foreign nationality loses that nationality while in Thailand. Life sentence to an immigration detention centre?

An Indian citizen child would lose Indian citizenship if its parents lawfully obtained it a British passport. I believe there are some other countries with similar laws or laxly enforced single nationality laws where holding a foreign passport is the practical trigger for losing nationality.

Remember that a British passport is a privilege, not a right.

[bobrussell]

it is illegal to enter the uk on any other passport if you have British citizenship you must enter on the british passport

on a different note you now cannot leave the uk without a passport or official id of some kind whether by land sea air or private charter, civil rights campainers now claim that without id you are in effect in custody in the uk

Not illegal and you can enter on any valid travel document. If this is from a country requiring a visa, then the problem occurs when you try to get that visa. As it is not possible to limit the length of stay for a British citizen, a UK visitor visa cannot be issued as it limits a visit to six months.

With a 'non-visa' country such as an EU or US passport, the holder can enter using that document. It may cause grief at some future stage if entry and exit ever get properly linked.

Most routes leaving the UK require some form of ID for security reasons and to ensure the carrier does not get penalised for transporting someone without the right of entry at the destination. It is just the world we live in and it should be no surprise that anyone without proper ID is going to find moving country a little tricky!

Nothing to do with civil rights, just identifying those with the rights!

[7by7]

<snip>

With a 'non-visa' country such as an EU or US passport..........

Pedant's corner.

Whilst non visa nationals, such as Americans, do not always need to obtain a visa if they wish to enter the UK as a visitor they do need one to enter for any other purpose; e.g. work, study, settlement.

Also, although when entering as a visitor they do not always need to have a visa all the usual visitor rules apply to them; e.g. max stay of six months per visit, no work etc. They also must have sufficient finance available to them to cover all the costs of the visit and be adequately accommodated during their stay; and be able to show this to immigration if required.

In addition, if immigration at their port of entry has reason to believe that they may have previously broken the visit rules, overstaying for example, may be attempting to enter the UK for a purpose other than stated or may be using successive visits as de facto residence then they will be questioned and if the IO's suspicions prove to be correct they will be refused entry.

Different rules, of course, apply to EEA nationals as they come under the EEA regulations, not the immigration rules.

Edited December 15, 2015 by 7by7