passport Validity Question for dual national

[AndrewMuzz]

My son (9 years old) is a dual national. He has a British passport and a Russian passport. We are going on holiday in April to Egypt.

His Russian passport is valid for 5 years but his UK passport expires in August. I have applied to renew this but they have refused the renewal due to a difference in how his middle name is spelled in his Russian passport (Cyrillic to Latin translation - they put Filip instead of Philip). We will struggle to get this resolved by April.

My question is will we have an issue with entry anywhere? He can enter Egypt on his Russian passport with a $25 visa you get at the airport. The rules are the same as for a UK passport. We would then return and he has a UK passport for entry to the UK where online sources are very contradictory about the rules if you have a UK passport with less than 6 months validity. I find it hard to believe they would block a citizen with a valid passport and cannot find any official source saying this would be a problem.

Has any one had an experience like this? I am hoping the airline will be ok with us having both passports available. If so we will just withdraw his passport renewal application and deal with it after we return.

Thanks for any help.

[alterhase58]

A British citizen cannot be refused entry to the UK, has absolute right of abode.
Refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -abode-roa
There is no minimum validity for entering UK with a British passport. Could even enter with an expired passport.

[Ticktack]

The UK government has specific guidelines that allow British citizens to return to the UK even if their passport has expired. According to the UK Home Office, British citizens are not legally required to present a valid passport to enter the UK, as long as they can prove their nationality and identity. However, an expired passport might not be accepted by airline carriers or foreign immigration authorities, which may create significant challenges.

However, a combination of a Russian valid passport and an Expired British passport (acting like a visa) should work.

[AndrewMuzz]

In case anyone faces similar I thought I would update on what I did and the result. This morning I got on the phone to the passport office helpline. The person I spoke to was very helpful and managed to access my son’s application. He added detailed notes on exactly why the names didn’t match and how it would be challenging to resolve it. In our case it is because for the Russian authorities the Cyrillic is the official name and the Latin just a translation. They therefore won’t guarantee the correct spelling although usually will take it into account if you have an official document with the spelling you want. It would also take several months to get a new passport. This then apparently notifies the case officer who may revisit the decision or may not.

In this case I have already received confirmation they have approved the application and the new passport is being printed.

Thanks for the helpful responses. If anyone gets stuck the passport office helpline is surprisingly helpful and efficient.