British nationals will be exempt from Trump’s travel ban, foreign office says
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tonight said UK nationals will be exempt from US President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven majority Muslim countries.
UK nationals who are travelling to the US from one of the seven countries, which include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, will not be barred entry even if they were born in one of the banned countries, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said in a statement.
"The order does not apply to you – even if you were born in one of those countries," the FCO said.
Dual citizens travelling to the US from outside of the banned countries will have no trouble entering, but those travelling from one of the seven countries "might have extra checks".
The statement says:
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 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 FCO said the 90-day travel ban will not apply to those travelling from another country, like the UK, regardless of nationality or place of birth.
"The US has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the expeditious processing of all travellers from the United Kingdom," the statement said.
Trump signed the executive order Friday to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US". The order suspended admission of refugees for four months and stopped visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries for three months. His abrupt executive order has been met with international criticism, legal challenges and protests around the US.
Earlier today, Theresa May said Britain doesn't agree with the President's harsh new immigration policies. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said, "We do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking."
The White House issued a press release this evening that said visas would again be issued to residents of all countries on the condition of a review and implementation of new security policies during the 90-day ban.
He said the media was falsely reporting his executive order was a ban on Muslims: "This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe." However, during his presidential campaign, he often spoke of banning Muslims from entering the US.