One of the issues around this trip has been passports.
We found out just a few weeks ago that British nationals who hold dual nationality with another country have to present a British passport, or an expensive alternative certificate, to gain entry to the country. We're dual nationals, holding both British and Canadian passports, but since Brexit we've travelled on our Canadian documents. Indeed, for last year's trip we even paid for an ETA, an advance authorisation that all Canadians and most other nationalities, require to visit the UK, even though we obviously have the right of abode in Britain.
The rules have changed to such an extent that we now have to present our British passports just to board the aircraft in Toronto.
Because we both have passports, we had all the correct documentation, although I did tweak the airline booking to show our British passport details rather than our default Canadian information for the outward flight from Toronto to London. I do that because airlines are required to log passenger manifests and passport details with the destination airport, and immigration authorities, under the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS). This allows some measure of pre-screening, and it's a check for residency status; you are expected when you arrive, too. Because of APIS, when we arrived at Heathrow, we were able to use the automatic border gates without issue.
For the return trip, I went into the airline's online booking pages and switched our British passport details for our Canadian passport details to allow APIS to make the Canadian authorities aware of our status before we arrived home. Like at Heathrow, we used the automatic border system at Toronto without any problems.
I'm told that this change for British dual nationals just brings the UK into line with other countries. I've never travelled as a dual national without both passports, and as a dual national I've always presented a Canadian passport to enter Canada, so perhaps that correct. It makes sense, I suppose, for us to travel to London on one passport, and back to Toronto on another. If anyone keeps track of people leaving and entering a country, then dual nationals will always show up as only ever making one-way trips, but then that's a quirk of their systems.
We could actually travel to London on our Canadian passports, and just present a British passport as well when getting on the aircraft, and again when going through the UK border; you only have to prove right of abode after all. However, travelling out on one and back on the other seems to be the path of least resistance, assuming that you have the means of changing your passport details in your airline's booking system. I'd imagine that if you don't, then a phone call would probably do the trick.
The effect of the rule change is hardest for dual nationals who have let their original UK passports expire, and have never renewed. Now they are going to have to obtain and maintain both passports if they wish to travel to their country of origin. It may be bringing the UK into line with other countries, but it's still a backwards step for many Canadians who were born in Britain.
