British father asked to consider DNA test for daughter’s passport application

A British father living in France said he was asked to consider a DNA test during his teenage daughter’s UK passport application, The Guardian reported on 12 October 2026. The application was later accepted, but the report did not say whether a passport was issued. The case matters because British dual nationals travelling to the UK can face boarding checks if they lack a British passport or other proof of their right to enter.

What happened in the daughter’s passport application

The father, identified only as BN, said he is a UK citizen married to a French national. Their two older children have both French and British passports. Their third child was born while the family lived in Zimbabwe and has only a French passport, according to his account published by The Guardian.

BN said he began the British passport application in February. He supplied pregnancy and family photographs, hospital records, and officially translated French marriage and birth certificates. He also described an official interview that asked about his job, commute and the layout of the family home, but little about his relationship with his daughter.

He said he was subsequently told the evidence did not establish paternity and was invited to consider DNA testing. BN put the proposed test’s cost at £600 and said it would add time. That is his account of the request and price; the published report does not independently verify every document submitted or explain the initial concern about the evidence.

What HM Passport Office says about DNA evidence

HM Passport Office guidance updated on 2 October says DNA evidence in a passport application is voluntary and staff must not insist on it. For international applications, officials may offer DNA testing when evidence is insufficient, missing or difficult to verify, or when documents or an interview raise concerns. The guidance says it should not be the only option offered.

If an applicant declines DNA testing, staff must assess the documentary evidence on the balance of probability, the guidance says. They must not automatically refuse an application because DNA was not supplied. It also tells staff to consider the expense to applicants and whether the evidence already available is enough to decide nationality and identity.

Where evidence remains insufficient and an application is refused, the applicant must be given all the reasons, including any lack of evidence of a biological link to a British parent. The Home Office declined to comment on BN’s individual case. It told The Guardian that extra evidence, potentially including details such as a home’s layout, may be sought to add what it called ‘credible authenticity.’ Its guidance does not establish whether officials followed the process correctly in this case.

Why travel documents matter for dual British nationals

In a written parliamentary answer dated 2 March, Home Office minister Mike Tapp said dual British citizens cannot obtain an electronic travel authorisation, or ETA. From 25 February 2026, they risk being refused boarding unless they show a valid British passport or a foreign passport with a Certificate of Entitlement to the right of abode. Irish citizens, including dual citizens, are exempt from the ETA requirement.

The House of Commons Library explains that there is no specific legal requirement for a British citizen to travel on a British passport. In practice, however, the ETA system and carrier checks make travel from outside the Common Travel Area difficult without a British passport or Certificate of Entitlement. British-Irish dual nationals are treated differently because an Irish passport permits unrestricted UK travel without an ETA.

The Commons Library lists the Certificate of Entitlement at £589 and an overseas child passport application at £75.50. Those are document fees, separate from the £600 DNA-test cost BN reported. Its briefing records examples of children and young people being denied boarding for lacking the required status documents, but provides no measure of how common such cases are.

The available account does not establish whether a different travel document or permission was available in this daughter’s particular circumstances. Nor does it show how often passport applicants are invited to provide DNA evidence. For this family, the confirmed development is the reported acceptance of the application; the issuance of a passport and any subsequent UK visit remain unconfirmed.