HAMPTON, Va. — New travel rules require dual citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom to have a valid British passport to enter the U.K.
I started looking into this after Ruth Grimes, a Hampton resident from England, reached out. She is on a mission to spread the word about the new passport rules, hanging signs at British-owned businesses across the city.
"First it's disbelief and then it's shock and then it's like, 'oh yes, we'll tell everybody we hear with a British accent,'" Grimes said.
"I'm trying to get the word out to as many people as possible because it's heartbreaking to show up at the airport, you know, with a family of four and two of them can't get on the plane because they don't have the right paperwork," Grimes said.
Grimes found out about the rule change by chance and worries about others, especially older residents in the neighborhood.
"For the war brides who have been here for decades and are now in their 80s and never bothered renewing their British passports and now all of a sudden they're now having to navigate online applications," Grimes said.
The process can be confusing, expensive, and time-consuming. Grimes' son is going through the application process right now while waiting to visit his sick grandmother.
"My mother is 94 in a care home in England and uh we hope he gets to see her again," Grimes said.
Radlyn Mendoza, a Virginia Beach immigration attorney, said travelers without the correct documents will not be allowed to board their flights.
"[Let's say you make it out of Norfolk International and] your next stop is Dulles. In Dulles, with international flights, they might say, 'you can't board, you're not allowed to board here.' And so not only are you now in Dulles, you have to figure out a way to get back [home]," Mendoza said.
For travelers who are not dual citizens and are visiting the U.K. for tourism or business, an Electronic Travel Authorization is now required along with a U.S. passport. According to the embassy, this authorization costs between $12 and $25.
Mendoza warned all travelers to watch out for scams when applying for travel documents online.
"The top website is not [always] going to be the gov.uk website. It's going to be some other websites that paid money to be at the top and maybe even sponsored results, and it looks very official," Mendoza said.
Travelers are reminded to check the latest travel rules before booking any international trips.
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