Marcus is widely considered to be a doyen on all issues associated with immigration, citizenship and foreign investment in New Zealand. The media often seek expert advice on such topics and even wider associated issues. Over the years Marcus has been asked to provide a lot of live commentary on TV, radio and print media. In this case, Marcus was asked to comment on the UK Electronic Travel Authority (eTA) restrictions for British-New Zealand dual nationals. There are links to jocular interviews with Mike Hosking and Leah Panapa below:

Newstalk ZB with Mike Hosking

The Platform with Leah Panapa

Foreign (UK) citizenship and passport policy is outside our wheelhouse as specialists in New Zealand based matters. Nevertheless, Marcus is always up for the challenge and can quickly digest information to deliver insightful commentary.

In this case, some of the online commentary by those impacted by these changes demonstrate that obtaining clarity around say, an English person’s citizenship eligibility is not straightforward but this UK government website should provide some clarity. One is typically entitled to a travel document or passport of a country they are citizen of. That’s a privilege. The deprivation of a person’s citizenship is a serious matter and rarely undertaken. The cost of a person renouncing their British citizenship is over NZD 1,000.

If you are a Kiwi with British parents you might assume that you are a British citizen by birth. However, the circumstances are very convoluted and involve factors such as the year you were born, whether your parents were married at the time (but only if the British citizen is your father), whether you were born when Britain was part of the EU and how that impacts your citizenship, and so on. Good luck going through the online checklist!

The salient point here is that there will be people who are in fact British citizens in the colonies, including New Zealand, who are now forced to either renounce their UK citizenship (at cost and time) or get a British passport after they prove their UK citizenship. For example, if you are a British dual citizen based in Aotearoa then your children may automatically be British citizens too. You would therefore be forced to obtain a British passport if they ever want to visit family in the UK. Of course, for most Kiwis, they would just spend some $37 getting an eTA.

This new change becomes effective on the 25th of February 2026 and many appear to be caught on the hop. Perhaps the UK government’s handling of communicating this change could have been better. And that will be why the UK High Commissioner Iona Thomas fronted the media last week given the overwhelming state of confusion around the traps (and probably the wider Commonwealth!).

Notwithstanding the public interest in the British position, QCL is primarily focused on immigration to New Zealand. To date, our Golden Visa intake has largely missed the boat in relation to the exodus of some 10,000 British millionaires who have bailed to Dubai, Miami and Italy given tax considerations and the political climate. Traditionally, Poms topped the nationality of any other inbound immigrant group to NZ for many years but recent trends show a shift towards Asia, particularly India, the Philippines, and China. But it is never too late and let’s hope NZ Inc, Invest NZ, the private sector and everyone in-between works on attracting more Brits to our fertile shores.