Can I enter the UK on my expired British passport and avoid the entry fee?

November 7, 2025 — 5:00am

I am UK born with Australian citizenship. Last year I travelled to the UK to visit family on my Australian passport without issue. I am planning another visit and I understand I may need some sort of visa to enter the UK. My UK passport expired in 2015. Will I need a new UK passport to enter my country of birth?
J. Nasmyth, Kincumber, NSW

You can still enter the UK using your Australian passport, the only difference is that you will now need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), a visa waiver (not an actual visa) that Australian passport holders are entitled to. The cost is £16 ($32) and the ETA lets you travel to the UK for tourism or visiting family for up to six months. Of course, you can still enter the UK on your British passport and stay indefinitely but in that case, you would need to apply for a new passport since your current one has expired. You can do this online at the Gov.UK website and the cost is £94.50 ($188). In theory you could still enter the UK using your expired British passport, as a country can’t really deny entry to its own citizens, but you may face delays at immigration as further checks on your identity would be required.

A friend of mine and I have booked a Clipper ship cruise around the West Indies in January 2027. Now we are planning our journey which is proving a challenge. We start the cruise in Barbados and finish in Antigua. We would like a stopover on the way there and the way back. Any suggestions of a route with stopovers?
J. Bartlett, Hawthorn, Vic

Routing via the US to Barbados tends to shorten total travel time from Australia compared with going via Europe. If that’s your preference, you would fly from Melbourne to Los Angeles, then to Miami and on to Bridgetown. In that case you could stop for a few days in either of those cities en route. American Airlines has non-stop flights between Miami and Bridgetown. At the end of your voyage, you could either return the same way, or fly from Saint John’s, capital of Antigua, to New York City, again with American Airlines.

You might consider a round-the-world (RTW) ticket. This would allow you to fly from Melbourne to Bridgetown then from Antigua to the UK with British Airways. You could then spend some time in the UK or elsewhere in Europe, fly on to an Asian city and do the same before returning to Melbourne. Prices for RTW tickets are competitive with return tickets, especially when it involves side trips to exotic destination such as the Caribbean Islands. If this appeals, talk to the experts at RoundAbout Travel.

In September 2026 I will be doing two tours, one finishing in Florence at 9am on Friday 25th and the next starting in Budapest the following day at 5pm. Rather than flying, is there a route by train you could recommend? I am very comfortable driving in Europe, is there a suitable driving trip that would be scenic and do-able in the time?
K. Frowen, South Melbourne, Vic

The best train route I can find is train FR9592 departing Florence’s Santa Maria Novella station at 9.55pm, arriving at Bologna Central where you change to NJ40294, departing on the same platform for Vienna. This is a Nightjet train with sleeper compartments and this would be ideal since it departs Bologna at 10.54pm and arrives in Vienna at 9.04am. From there you take train RJX269 departing Vienna at 9.40am, arriving at Budapest at 12.19pm. You can make bookings on the excellent Deutsche Bahn website.

Considering the time you have available, driving is not a great option. Florence to Budapest is close to 1000kms by car. Although you’d pass close to amazing cities including Bologna, Venice, Trieste, Ljubljana and Maribor, you would be on high-speed motorways all the way, dealing with trucks, toll booths and drivers whizzing by at 200km/h. Also, you would be charged a hefty one-way fee for your hire car.

Two adults and our 11-year-old son are planning a 14-day trip to Vietnam in April. Our plan is seven days in Hanoi and seven days at a beach resort. Our budget is mid-range, ie $400 per night. Our initial thoughts were Hanoi/Da Nang but can you offer some suggestions for our itinerary?
S Fenner, Melbourne, Vic

Two weeks for Hanoi and a beach resort is perfect. Using Hanoi as a base, spend the first few days exploring the city’s atmospheric Old Quarter, take in the Water Puppet show and the Temple of Literature and sign up for a food tour, it’s a great way to get a deeper understanding of the city’s food culture. Intrepid Urban Adventures has a three-hour Hanoi Street Food Experience, highly recommended. You might also make a day trip to Ninh Binh where you can take a boat ride through a serene landscape of sheer limestone mountains that rise from the paddy fields. Another option is an overnight boat ride on the fabled Halong Bay, but be sure to pick a smaller vessel and a family-friendly operator with ensuite cabins. The better operators offer sea kayaking and cave trips.

For your second week, take a short flight to Da Nang and stay at a beachfront resort at nearby My Khe, or a family villa in Hoi An, just a short drive south of Da Nang. There’s plenty to do here including visits to Hoi An Old Town at night, visiting the town’s Japanese Covered Bridge and ancient houses and taking a boat ride on the lantern-lit river. Hotels in Vietnam are an all-time bargain. The budget you have in mind will put you into a comfortable four-star hotel in Hanoi and a resort or a villa in Hoi An or My Khe.

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances

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