UK family ‘stranded’ abroad after Home Office ‘lack of communication’ on passport rule changes
The law changed in February 2026 so now dual nationals must hold a British passport or a Certificate of Entitlement to return to the UK
A family from Edinburgh were left stranded in Italy for 12 days after being denied boarding on their flight home when their four-year-old's passport was questioned under new rules - leaving them facing an extra bill of over £2,000.
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“[We're] mentally exhausted,” Marika Verroca told LBC. “Then when you're stressed, the kids are stressed. And yeah, it wasn't a great time - it was horrible.”
Marika and her husband are Italian with settled status after Brexit. Their eldest son, aged seven, was born in the UK but residency rules mean he also requires settled status.
The parents believed they needed to apply for settled status for their four-year-old, too, and were surprised to receive a letter stating her youngest son is considered a British citizen.
“That email didn’t say you must travel with a British passport, you must enter the UK with a British passport if you are British. It only said you are British,” Marika said.
The law changed in February 2026 so now dual nationals must hold a British passport or a Certificate of Entitlement to return to the UK.
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The family tried to board a Ryanair flight from Italy to Edinburgh on 29th July but were denied travel because their youngest son only held an Italian passport and did not have a Certificate of Entitlement proving he lives in the UK.
It took 12 days and Marika returning to the UK on her own to apply for an emergency travel document before the child was allowed to leave Italy.
“My husband is a taxi driver, so if he doesn't work, he doesn't make money. But in the meantime, we were spending money. The kids have lost the first three days of school. I had to get back to go to work because I was worried to lose my job.”
Marika said the process of applying for an emergency passport was ‘invasive’.
“They were asking how he was born, if it was a surrogacy pregnancy, if it was a natural birth. Why do you need all this information for an emergency document for somebody that you actually consider British?”
The mother-of-two is urging the Home Office to kick-start an information campaign to inform British citizens who have dual nationality that they cannot travel solely on their other passport.
A Home Office spokesperson told LBC: “This child was granted an Emergency Travel Document, allowing them to return to the UK. “We remained in contact regarding their passport application and, once the required information had been received and all necessary checks completed, their passport was issued within eight days. “British citizens should travel to the UK using either a valid British passport or a Certificate of Entitlement.”
The government says guidance on the rule changes has been available on its website since October 2024.