'Sheer panic': Dual-citizenship Brits have to get UK passport to return

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Dual New Zealand nationals will need to get a British passport

Thousands of travellers are affected

Changes come in next month - Brits can no longer use an electronic travel authorisation (ETA)

Dual British-New Zealand citizens are angry and bemused after discovering they have to pay hundreds of dollars to return to their country of birth.

Travel agents are warning that many passengers are unaware of the change, which will come into effect for expat British and Irish dual citizens from next month.

While other visitors can pay $37 for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), New Zealand passport holders born in Britain will have to travel on a UK passport - and some say it is not straightforward to get one.

Vince and Diane, who live on Auckland's North Shore, moved from England in 1966.

They were shocked to find they could no longer visit British family and friends without first applying for a UK passport; the last time they used one was 50 years ago. From the end of February, they cannot use their New Zealand passport, as UK citizens will no longer be eligible for ETAs.

Vince, who asked that his surname not be published, did not believe it when he first heard the news.

"I said, no, that's a load of absolute rubbish. There's no way they would do that. There's no way they would penalise me just because I am British. So then I did some research and it is definite that on the 25th of February if you're a dual citizen and you're born in Britain, then you have to have a British passport.

"If you as a Kiwi [born in NZ] wanted to go to Britain, no problem at all - just use your Kiwi passport."

It put British citizens in a worse position in their own country than visa-waiver travellers - such as New Zealand-born citizens using ETAs, he said.

His shock at the cost was matched