Britons with dual citizenship from banned countries exempt from US executive order

ABU DHABI // For Abdullah Ahmed, a 33-year-old British-Iraqi, plans to pursue an MBA at an Ivy League university in the US this year are back on track.

He is one of many Britons with dual citizenship from one of the seven countries banned by US president Donald Trump who are exempt from the executive order — as long as they are travelling from a country other than those barred.

The announcement was made by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Sunday night after Mr Trump signed an order on Friday banning citizens from Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran, Iraq and Syria — including those with dual nationalities — from entering the US.

After holding talks with the US government, the UK’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, issued a statement that the order would only apply to dual citizenship British passport holders travelling from one of the seven countries.

“We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad,” Mr Johnson tweeted on Sunday.

According to the statement, Britons travelling to the US from anywhere other than one of those countries will not be banned nor experience extra checks, regardless of their nationality or place of birth.

“If you are a dual citizen of one of those countries travelling to the US from outside those countries then the order does not apply to you,” the UK foreign office said.

“The only dual nationals who might have extra checks are those coming from one of the seven countries themselves. For example, a UK-Libya dual national coming from Libya to the US. The US has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the expeditious processing of all travellers from the United Kingdom.”

Although content with the outcome, the exemption still instils doubt in Mr Ahmed’s mind. “I am still extremely worried and thinking of all sorts of backup options because this uncertainty over the last 48 hours looks like it could be repeated,” said the Dubai resident. “There is no guarantee a different ban won’t come through and they’re acting in an [unpredictable] way.

“Lawyers in the White House weren’t asked about this and there was miscommunication with the relevant departments in the US so you just don’t know if an order can come out a week before I’m about to start my studies.”

Mr Ahmed said the whole ordeal made no sense and that there was still no confirmation from the US that the British exemption applied.

“The law should cover dual nationals,” he added. “If you’re a threat, whether you travel through the UK or Iraq, what is the difference? I’m the same person and I can book a flight from Baghdad to New York or stop in London for a day. If people travel directly from those countries, they have less to hide. This might be a safe-facing measure and gives them a narrow escape.”

Amira Saad, a British-Iraqi who works for a software company in Dubai, said the ban did not seem to represent the views of Americans she knew.

“I travel regularly to the US for work so this would have impacted that,” she said. “I was disappointed and saddened by it and I’m glad the ban has been lifted for us but I think it should apply to all dual nationals.”

Americans agreed. “It’s a good thing that Britons are now exempt from the ban but it shouldn’t stop there,” said Patricia Ardalan, who lives in Abu Dhabi. “It’s not fair to other people, whether they be green card or visa holders or immigrants. Trump’s ban is ridiculous, racist and discriminatory.”

She said in no way did the ban represent what her country stood for. “America was built by immigrants,” she added. “I don’t think people should stop protesting against it even if Britons now are exempt. We need to keep speaking out until this ludicrous ban is lifted entirely.”

Zanan Rahma, a 32-year-old Iraqi-Briton, said the ban created more issues for the US. “They’re going against their very principles of freedom,” she said. “The exemption clarifies it a bit and it makes a bit more sense but it mainly doesn’t include people who really need refugee status in the US.”

She said she had no plans to travel to the US for fear of getting stuck at the border. “It just seems inconvenient more than anything else,” she said. “My sister had a US nationality and she recently revoked it.”

cmalek@thenational.ae