Travel after citizenship ceremony

[joelm]

I know this question has been asked before but it just wanted to check the situation given the introduction of ETAs.

I'm a New Zealand citizen on ILR who's just been approved for citizenship. Not sure yet when my ceremony will be, but my council hold two per month and the 3 month deadline is 23 December.

I'd booked travel to Kenya from 12 December to 12 January in the expectation that my application would take 6 months to process, but in the event it was approved within about 3 weeks.

It will be tight getting a UK passport by 12 December. Previously it's been advised that I could in theory travel on my NZ passport (given visa free entry) and apply for a UK passport once I'm back. However NZ visitors are going to need an ETA to enter the UK after 8 Jan next year so I'm a bit stuck on my best course of action.

I really don't want to cancel the travel as I will have lost over £1k if I do so.

[contorted_svy]

Have you booked a ceremony with the council? Do they offer private ceremonies?

If your timing would be too tight to get your UK passport, you could try to travel back visa free with your NZ passport, get an ETA, and bring your citizenship certificate with you - as a UK citizen you can't be refused entry at the border. Just don't do this as a rule, treat this as an exception, and get a UK passport straight after.

[joelm]

A private ceremony could be an option to look into, yes.

In the absence of that though I'm unclear if I'd actually be eligible for an ETA. My understanding is they're only for tourism purposes, and of course by that stage I'll be a citizen, so would I still be able to get one for my NZ passport?

[contorted_svy]

Has the process been published? As it is just being rolled out there isn't a lot of knowledge about it yet. Could you make a mock application and see if there are any requirements?