Guidance

Dual nationality

Updated 9 November 2022

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dual-citizens/dual-nationality

About this guidance

This guidance tells HM Passport Office staff about customers who have dual nationality, including:

  • what dual nationality is

  • our policy on customers who have dual nationality

For guidance about customers who hold 2 or more British passports, see Multiple British passports and nationality statuses.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email Guidance and Quality, Operating Standards.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email Guidance and Quality, Operating Standards.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published:

  • version 3.0

  • published for Home Office staff on 26 September 2022

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to reflect the change in our sovereign from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to His Majesty King Charles III.

Dual nationality

This page tells HM Passport Office staff what dual nationality is and what to do if the customer is a dual national.

Dual nationality (sometimes called dual citizenship) is when someone holds British nationality and the nationality of another country at the same time.

Our policy on dual nationality

The United Kingdom:

  • recognises dual nationality

  • allows British nationals who have dual nationality, to hold a British passport

How to deal with applications from dual nationals

You, the examiner, will only know if the customer is a dual national, if they:

  • declare it on their application

  • tell us when we process their application

  • send us their foreign passport (as part of their application)

If a customer has dual nationality, you must:

  • check if the customer’s personal details (name, date of birth, sex and place of birth) on their passport application, match their foreign passport

  • add a case note to confirm if the personal details match

  • refer to the if the Date of Birth and Place of Birth guidance if the date of place of birth do not match, for information on how to handle this

If a customer provides a foreign passport, you must make sure the name on it matches the name on their passport application. The Names: aligning names on foreign documents guidance tells you, when:

  • customers must align their name

  • we may issue a British passport in a different name to the one on the customer’s foreign passport

If a customer provides a foreign passport, you must make sure the gender on their application matches the gender on their foreign passport, unless they are unable to change this due to laws overseas. The Gender Recognition guidance tells you when:

  • customers must align their gender in their foreign passport

  • we may issue a British passport showing a different gender to the one on the customer’s foreign passport

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