General · 16 July 2026
Teen stranded 6 weeks due to new dual national passport rules.
The 15-year-old dual British-Italian national was stopped from boarding a flight home after February's rule change required dual nationals to use a British passport or a certificate of entitlement. Her father, Rowan Somerville, said she was stranded for six weeks until the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office issued an emergency travel document. The delay meant she missed six weeks of school, and her local MP Joe Powell helped press her case.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs