Entering the UK- or going to happen now

I've posted this before and I will post it again.

Some of the rules for certain countries were brought in OVERNIGHT! It meant travel plans were disrupted, families upset because people coming from overseas missed family celebrations or funerals etc. There was absolutely no need for that knee-jerk reaction on the part of the Government who wished to do something to show that they were doing something about illegal immigration. It penalised ordinary people who were visiting for holidays etc.

Chocolatelovinggran

I did point out in my post, that it is not unusual for a country to add a requirement to people entering. I paid for an ESTA to visit the USA, as I said, and jumped through several ( expensive) hoops to travel to India and Russia.
I understand that nanna is exasperated, but if she wishes to travel outside of her own country, then this is the price we pay : no one is being unreasonably mean to her or her family.

I understand that nanna is exasperated, but if she wishes to travel outside of her own country

Can't she travel wherever she likes on an Australian passport, all except for the UK which requires someone with dual British/Other nationality to have both passports?

And that is a totally valid interest Mamie

I would guess that knowledge of another country varies like everything else. My son, British/Australian probably knows more than I do about UK politics and his different perspective is invaluable. My brother, living in America, also offers a different view - not currently, of course, the family there is very quiet but then, that's a perspective in itself I suppose.

But this thread doesn't seem to have set out to be a request for help/information. My posts about this are, as much as anything, a lesson to myself about which posts to get involved in.

RosiesMawagain

I don’t know why you are so angry or even surprised. This is the situation the other way round

UK citizens traveling to Australia for tourism or business (up to 3 months) must obtain an electronic visa, typically the free eVisitor (subclass 651) or the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601) via the app. Applications are made online or via app, usually requiring no embassy visit. Other options include Working Holiday visas (subclass 417) for ages 18–35

This seems to be the situation for other nationalities visiting the UK
Visitors from other countries to the UK generally require a "Standard Visitor visa" for stays up to 6 months, costing £127, applied for online up to 3 months before travel. Many nationalities may instead need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) (£16) for short visits. Requirements vary by nationality; check eligibility via GOV.UK

Presumably you CHOSE to become an Australian citizen.

Exactly this! Why didn’t OP retain her British passport as I, and many others, have done? Why so much anger when it’s been law for other countries and Britain is just “catching up”? As for the small boats comment, words fail me!

DaisyAnneReturns

Mamie

I guess if posters have never lived abroad for a time, they can't really make judgements of the level of knowledge and understanding that the British abroad have of the UK. Obviously it will vary enormously.
Though these days it is not like we live in the Himalayas with The Times arriving once a month by Special Messenger.
I remember many years ago on Gransnet being accused of "fleeing the country". Very Burgess and Maclean. 😂

I think you will find many of us have spent years living abroad and have families, in Australia and other countries, who need the correct paperwork when they visit the UK, as they do when visiting other countries.

The AI's analysis is that the aim seems to be primarily to vent frustration and express anger which it goes on to expand:

More specifically, the post appears to:

*Complain about a perceived rule or policy
The writer is upset about being told they must show a UK passport to visit the UK, despite holding an Australian passport and having lived abroad for decades.
*Express indignation and emotional reaction
Phrases like “I am absolutely furious,” “How dare they?” and “I will never visit again” show this is emotionally driven rather than a calm request for clarification.
*Use sarcasm to criticize UK immigration policy
The line about “going in a little boat from Calais” is almost certainly sarcastic. It references media coverage of small boat crossings by migrants and implies a perceived double standard - suggesting that irregular entry might be treated more leniently than lawful travel requirements.
*Provoke discussion or validation
The tone suggests the poster may be looking for agreement, outrage, or debate rather than practical advice.

*So overall, the aim seems to be:
To vent
To criticize UK border/immigration policy
Possibly to provoke a reaction or spark political discussion

*It does not read like a genuine request for help, even though it is framed around a travel issue.

Having read this it's easy to understand the confusion that follows. Maybe it's worth analysing such posts first, before deciding whether to join the thread?

Is that in response to me DAR? If you read the thread my interest is partly because this will affect my Spanish grandchildren and partly because I tend to respond to posts suggesting that people who chose to spend time living abroad can't possibly know anything about the UK.
In no way do I agree with or condone negative or inflammatory comments about the UK. It is not my experience.

Indeed Chocolatelovinggran.

But then it seems that the OP "does not read like a genuine request for help, even though it is framed around a travel issue". So all those who genuinely want to help (GN at it's best) were on a hiding to nothing and that at some point, someone would be told they were being "rude".

I did point out in my post, that it is not unusual for a country to add a requirement to people entering. I paid for an ESTA to visit the USA, as I said, and jumped through several ( expensive) hoops to travel to India and Russia.
I understand that nanna is exasperated, but if she wishes to travel outside of her own country, then this is the price we pay : no one is being unreasonably mean to her or her family.

Mamie

I guess if posters have never lived abroad for a time, they can't really make judgements of the level of knowledge and understanding that the British abroad have of the UK. Obviously it will vary enormously.
Though these days it is not like we live in the Himalayas with The Times arriving once a month by Special Messenger.
I remember many years ago on Gransnet being accused of "fleeing the country". Very Burgess and Maclean. 😂

I think you will find many of us have spent years living abroad and have families, in Australia and other countries, who need the correct paperwork when they visit the UK, as they do when visiting other countries.

The AI's analysis is that the aim seems to be primarily to vent frustration and express anger which it goes on to expand:

More specifically, the post appears to:

*Complain about a perceived rule or policy
The writer is upset about being told they must show a UK passport to visit the UK, despite holding an Australian passport and having lived abroad for decades.
*Express indignation and emotional reaction
Phrases like “I am absolutely furious,” “How dare they?” and “I will never visit again” show this is emotionally driven rather than a calm request for clarification.
*Use sarcasm to criticize UK immigration policy
The line about “going in a little boat from Calais” is almost certainly sarcastic. It references media coverage of small boat crossings by migrants and implies a perceived double standard - suggesting that irregular entry might be treated more leniently than lawful travel requirements.
*Provoke discussion or validation
The tone suggests the poster may be looking for agreement, outrage, or debate rather than practical advice.

*So overall, the aim seems to be:
To vent
To criticize UK border/immigration policy
Possibly to provoke a reaction or spark political discussion

*It does not read like a genuine request for help, even though it is framed around a travel issue.

Having read this it's easy to understand the confusion that follows. Maybe it's worth analysing such posts first, before deciding whether to join the thread?

Has Britain got so much worse? I had relatives who emigrated to Australia in the 50s when I was a child. What was life like in an industrial city in the midlands?

Like the other kids I played in the bombed building sites, lots of fun but not exactly ideal.
Peasoupers where you literally couldn't see your hand in front of you. No wonder I was blue lighted to hospital with severe bronchitis round about the same time DH nearly died of pneumonia. Don't think the pollution helped us much.
Oh how I'd have loved central heating and double glazing although as a child I did like the patterns jack frost left on to he inside of my bedroom window.
Toilet at the top of the backyard, common where I grew up, not many about now.
Very strict discipline at school, well you can't have much time to comfort a scared five year old when you've got 48 in the class and don't even know what a TA is.
In the 60s I started work, like most of us I got paid about half what a man doing the same job got paid.
I lived near a home for unmatrird mothers, when I was queuing to use the phone id hear them begging to be allowed to bring baby home. I think most were adopted. Do we still have those homes?
As a young mum in the 70s I have memories of trying to get baby, toddler, shopping and pushchair on a bus. Of course the pushchair had to be folded and it was hard. I take GC on the bus now and the driver lowers the floor so I just wheel him on and park him in a designated space. Even bigger thing for people in wheelchairs, how did they ever go out?

Oh I forgot we didn't have as many potholes.

I agree with everything Bluebell posted. The comment about the small boats came across as spiteful and unnecessary and yes racist. Then subsequent posts blamed KS and despite her being told it was absolutely nothing to do with this government , she never once acknowledged that she had got her facts wrong. Again despite knowledgable , well informed posts from others, she seems to know so little about the UK that she doesn’t seem to appreciate any of the advantages of dual citizenship her dgc could enjoy . I would have thought the right to work especially for a travelling youngster would be great.. And then comments about voting and the state of the UK came across as ill informed rants and understandably raised hackles.
Well we all know a lot more now than we probably wish about dual citizenship and passports and ETAs both for Australia and elsewhere.

Martintaurus We read things quite differently, in Nana8 anger, I believe her opening remark was very racist, and certainly put my hackles up. Then when she went on blaming our government and prime minister calling them money grabbing (also in her anger) and not very knowledgable as we know it was not their decision, again all knee jerk reactions, like a kid stamping its feet. She is blaming everyone except herself for not keeping her British passport alive.
And yes I can comment I have a son and family in NZ in the same position, kept their British passport for years then didn’t bother to renew it and got caught out, they have to get over it and do what’s needed next time they come over.
They need the equivalent of a visa just like we need when we go there or most places…. it’s irritating but it’s not the end of the world.

I guess if posters have never lived abroad for a time, they can't really make judgements of the level of knowledge and understanding that the British abroad have of the UK. Obviously it will vary enormously.
Though these days it is not like we live in the Himalayas with The Times arriving once a month by Special Messenger.
I remember many years ago on Gransnet being accused of "fleeing the country". Very Burgess and Maclean. 😂

My nephew is in what appears to be exactly the same position with his Norwegian-born son coming to visit soon.

DaisyAnneReturns

What would you say, on re-reading it, is the tone, content and aim of your OP Nanna8?

PS
My post was a summary of this question, but I might of course be wrong!

From my perspective,

The content of the OP is the passport issue, which has recently changed, and the cost. There was also a mention of circumventing or dodging the rules.

The tone was one of frustration and of being pissed off. Irritation is understandable. I don't think it was racist.

The aim, I assume, was to have a rant, and to bring about a discussion. There have been some interesting and informative answers.

What makes the OP genuine, is that nanna8 is in that actual position. I have no relative in that situation, so at least I learnt something here.

I get angry at the utter nonsense people post on here about France.
That's probably because it takes a lifetime to understand the unique culture! There's so much history and background. (Even I struggle sometimes, and that's being at school in France, having a degree in French, and living there for many years).

I also agree with your comment at 4.36 (UK time).

I do agree that people should not spout uninformed opinions about other ountries based on fleeting visits and unverified opinion in the media.
I get angry at the utter nonsense people post on here about France.
Mostly based on equally uninformed Anglophone media.

I think what living in France has given me is the chance to understand how another country really works and how the values of the Republic underpin everyday life.
I think it also depends where you live. When my grandchildren were younger I spent weeks at a time in England looking after them in half terms and holidays. We can get in the car and drive over in about five hours. We even have pretty much the same weather as our daughter 100 miles away.
We have television, radio, internet and frequent lengthy chats to friends across the country. I am not sure what it is we can't know.

What would you say, on re-reading it, is the tone, content and aim of your OP Nanna8?

Why doesn’t that surprise me ?

I've just asked AI to analyse the tone, content and aim of the OP. It's fascinating reading.

We have 3 separate groups of family members visiting us from the other side of the world recently including my brother and his family from Australia.

Well, no-one is going to call them whingeing POMS here in the UK are they!! 😁
Perhaps Australians may think they are though.

Blimey. I can now understand why the Australians called the British born Australians the ‘whinging poms’.

We have 3 separate groups of family members visiting us from the other side of the world recently including my brother and his family from Australia. So far no one has their phone or money stolen in dangerous Britain and surprise, surprise, no one complains about visas either.

Tuliptree

Allira

I doubt any Australian visitors (apart from my own) would bother to come here
But, if they do, they will find a lot of potholes! The roads are in a terrible state.

Goodness anybody who lives here permanently not noticed this? We need emigrants to tell us - thank you so much.

This is exactly what I meant about hackles rising!!
Emigrants are probably astonished rather than critical.

Thinking about it, one of the things that’s definitely deteriorated is Gransnet.

A lesson for me I think.