Dual citizens/ETA enforcement from 24 February 2026

Zing said:
Why does being on the electoral role keep resident status?
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It's one of the tools used used for verifying someone's address and obviously indicates their presence.

Banks, credit companies etc. do far more checking now than in the past and some banks have been closing accounts for people they see as non residents.

edit - not forgetting loss of entitlement to NHS treatment if seen as non resident as well as potential problems with HMRC.
 
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Graham376 said:
It's one of the tools used used for verifying someone's address and obviously indicates their presence.

Banks, credit companies etc. do far more checking now than in the past and some banks have been closing accounts for people they see as non residents.

edit - not forgetting loss of entitlement to NHS treatment if seen as non resident as well as potential problems with HMRC.
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But does it? Many don’t register to vote and live in the UK. Many do vote and live abroad. So for them the register proves nothing. The electoral register can have a private entry also, so beyond the vision of corporate entities. Likewise NHS entitlement is down to keeping a uk address and GP listing, not being on the electoral register.

Banks ask you for an address and tax residency and if you don’t have a UK address or have a foreign residency that’s when you have issues, not because of the register entry I believe.
 
Zing said:
But does it? Many don’t register to vote and live in the UK. Many do vote and live abroad. So for them the register proves nothing. The electoral register can have a private entry also, so beyond the vision of corporate entities. Likewise NHS entitlement is down to keeping a uk address and GP listing, not being on the electoral register.

Banks ask you for an address and tax residency and if you don’t have a UK address or have a foreign residency that’s when you have issues, not because of the register entry I believe.
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Imagine you live on a boat, constantly moving around mainly outside the UK What would you do to maintain your UK residency to keep bank accounts, access to NHS, UK tax status etc. and, how would you prove you have a UK address which is required?
 
Lots of ways. Ownership, friends, relatives , rent a room, pay a bill for them etc. You can’t be on the register anyway with a UK address unless you do something like that.
 
Graham376 said:
Imagine you live on a boat, constantly moving around mainly outside the UK What would you do to maintain your UK residency to keep bank accounts, access to NHS, UK tax status etc. and, how would you prove you have a UK address which is required?
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It’s interesting because as we go digital and start removing rights from people, we’ve inadvertently created a system where you have to be wealthy to have freedom (keeping an empty house, regularly travelling home etc.). Once you start reading the details Britain starts to feel like a trap to force the poor to keep working.
I don’t think it was intentional, and before digital enforcement came along the rules worked well, but I think we’ll have to loosen them up now that bank records are being used to cut people off and residency requirements are monitored through actions. For cruisers it’s becoming a nightmare.
 
Graham376 said:
Imagine you live on a boat, constantly moving around mainly outside the UK What would you do to maintain your UK residency to keep bank accounts, access to NHS, UK tax status etc. and, how would you prove you have a UK address which is required?
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People tell lies, or they wouldn't be able to keep their drivers licence, get benefits, winter fule allowance etc....basically fraudulent.
 
Slowly turning up new cans of worms and identifying that UK is curtailing freedoms after all.

And this thread was started all because of the use, or non use of an ETA

and had drifted somewhat - occasionally returning to an ETA

And we still don't know how the airlines are going to view ETA's in the right passport (foreign) by UK citizens.

And returning to ETAs

I understand children born in the UK, of whatever percentage are UK citizens, same as children born in Australia are Australian citizens and some of these children will also be dual citizens as they have right of citizenship of and through their parents. This is currently one of Trump's crusades.


Lots of dual citizens - who, under the new rules will need to apply for a British Passport to travel to the UK - completely daft - it simply will not work. Many citizens of the UK will pass into the UK using foreign passport with an ETA. The passport holder may not realise they are dual citizens, the airlines will not know and neither will Immigration in the UK, know.

And in the grand scheme of things -

Who will care? my guess is - only some people contributing to this thread.

Jonathan
 
Zing said:
But does it? Many don’t register to vote and live in the UK. Many do vote and live abroad. So for them the register proves nothing. The electoral register can have a private entry also, so beyond the vision of corporate entities. Likewise NHS entitlement is down to keeping a uk address and GP listing, not being on the electoral register.

Banks ask you for an address and tax residency and if you don’t have a UK address or have a foreign residency that’s when you have issues, not because of the register entry I believe.
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Generally one has to be on the electoral register as a legal requirement, though occasionally people slip through the cracks. But once you get asked to be on it then not doing so can involve a fine. The electoral register is used in credit checks in the UK and both Experian and Equifax use it and have access to the non-public part of it too.
 
Zing said:
But does it? Many don’t register to vote and live in the UK. Many do vote and live abroad. So for them the register proves nothing. The electoral register can have a private entry also, so beyond the vision of corporate entities. Likewise NHS entitlement is down to keeping a uk address and GP listing, not being on the electoral register.

Banks ask you for an address and tax residency and if you don’t have a UK address or have a foreign residency that’s when you have issues, not because of the register entry I believe.
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On the issue of banks and tax residency, I can add to the discussion. For various reasons, I maintain a bank account in Hong Kong, where I am NOT resident. To set up the account was straightforward; I could have done it from the UK via my UK bank, but in fact it was easier to go into a branch in Hong Kong with appropriate ID (passport and evidence of a bank account with the same bank in the UK). However, after the account was set up, I was required to show that I pay tax in the UK. This is done by the UK HMRC providing a TIN (I think that's the name), which in my case was easy because I am registered for self-assessment - it would require you to set up a tax account if not already registered.

This is a shame, as if I were resident in Hong Kong I would pay a lot less tax! But swings and roundabouts - I'd have to pay for health insurance.
 
I have a UK bank account which I kept when I left the UK in 98. All above board and fully transparent to both HMRC and Swiss Gov. I even got a tax rebate when I left which was a pleasant surprise. I opened my Swiss bank account with a Hotel Room as my address. Not sure they allow that anymore. I did have proof of employment which was required.
 
lustyd said:
Indeed, HMRC now have full transaction level access to all UK accounts whether you want them to or not. As do all government departments. That’s the problem many are experiencing when they aren’t as resident as they claim.
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Lets hope they don't check with border control to see how long folks are away.
 
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