Travelling to the UK on a Soon to be Expired UK Passport

[Humberstone]

My daughter plans to visit the UK soon. She is dual national (Thai/UK) and holds passports from both countries.

She is currently in the process of renewing her UK passport and due to an issue that the UK Passport office has with some documentation this process has become protracted and will likely delay the renewal of this UK passport.

The issue I have is that her current UK passport will be valid when she travels to the UK but will expire during the trip.

Based on the above, and my understanding that someone having UK citizen rights cannot have a UK visa in a Thai passport, my questions are:

- can my daughter travel to the UK with her current UK passport given that it will naturally expire during her visit?

- if the answer to the above is 'no' what are her options ?

Hope that this is clear and would appreciate your advice. Thanks.

[Upnotover]

If she has already applied for a new UK passport then I think her old passport will already have been cancelled as is no longer valid for travel? If that would in fact prevent her from reaching the UK is doubtful though as she would only need to show it at check-in and they are not likely to be linked to any global cancelled passport system.

[ubonjoe]

Once she enters the UK her passport validity will not matter since she is a UK citizen.

As said in the previous post there could be a problem with her passport since she has already applied for a new passport. The UK passport is canceled within their system as soon as the application is received in the UK.

[Generalchaos]

Your daughter can apply for a visit visa in her Thai passport, I have done this for my son, he too has British and Thai passports.

[gjoo888]

If she has already applied for a new UK passport then I think her old passport will already have been cancelled as is no longer valid for travel? If that would in fact prevent her from reaching the UK is doubtful though as she would only need to show it at check-in and they are not likely to be linked to any global cancelled passport system.

I can't say for UK passports, but I was told that my US passport would be cancelled when I submitted my application for renewal last year, and would not be able to travel outside Thailand until I received my new passport. You might want to clarify the matter with the UK Embassy.

[gunnerterry]

As soon as the renewal process has started then the current passport is cancelled. However as I said, from my ow personal experience, the UK Immigration cannot refuse entry to a UK citizen.

This is correct and if she has a valid travel document as in the Thai passport then in theory there should not be a problem. The issue is the airline she is flying with need to ensure she is able to enter the country of destination as they are subject to a large fine if they allow people to fly without the correct documentation/visa etc. If you explain the situation it should not be a problem, however make sure the flight is direct from Bangkok to UK because if she has a stop off somewhere she is likely to have problems in the stop off country and they may well send her back to Thailand. Best to check with the airline she is flying with as to there procedures.

[theoldgit]

As soon as the renewal process has started then the current passport is cancelled. However as I said, from my ow personal experience, the UK Immigration cannot refuse entry to a UK citizen.

The passport is proof of your status as a UK Citizen and that status doesn't change because a passport is out of date, you can enter the UK on an expired passport, but not leave on one.

The Passport Agency advise that you shouldn't travel on a passport after you have made an application for a replacement for a new one, they further advise that passports are cancelled electronically.

I'm not sure at what stage they cancel the passport and whilst I doubt very much if it would be picked up by your carrier, it might be flagged at the UK Border, though I doubt very much if the Border Force Officer would refuse to land her.

You say that there is a problem with her documentation, is her status in question?

[biggles45]

"The UK passport is canceled within their system as soon as the application is received in the UK."

Seems strange, why wouldnt they not cancel it when the new passport has been processed and ready for issuing. ?

[Humberstone]

As soon as the renewal process has started then the current passport is cancelled. However as I said, from my ow personal experience, the UK Immigration cannot refuse entry to a UK citizen.

The passport is proof of your status as a UK Citizen and that status doesn't change because a passport is out of date, you can enter the UK on an expired passport, but not leave on one.

The Passport Agency advise that you shouldn't travel on a passport after you have made an application for a replacement for a new one, they further advise that passports are cancelled electronically.

I'm not sure at what stage they cancel the passport and whilst I doubt very much if it would be picked up by your carrier, it might be flagged at the UK Border, though I doubt very much if the Border Force Officer would refuse to land her.

You say that there is a problem with her documentation, is her status in question?

Thanks for all the responses above.

The problem with the documentation could be the subject of another thread. The short version is that the name in her current Thai passport is different from that in her UK passport and in the application. If you're a dual national then the names have to be the same in both passports - this was my mistake in not reading the small print.

It is now apparent we will have to change the name for the UK passport. We are waiting for the UK passport office to confirm what documentation is acceptable to them to confirm how we can further proceed with the application and change the name.