Entering the UK- or going to happen now

And my question still stands - how do they (the busy customs officers at border control) even know you have British nationality?

Look back to nanna8's last post. She gives an explanation.

That is what I wondered with my granddaughters who were born here in Australia. With anyone born in the uk it says so on our current passports but not for them. My daughter assures me that ‘they know ‘, she checked. So they are reluctantly forking out if they are not too pissed off with the powers that be. Seems ridiculous as their Dad is Aussie from way back when, no ties with uk .

Being born in the UK doesn't automatically make you British, unlike in the US. (My little grandson was born there of German parents and is lumbered with US citizenship now).

This is from the gov.uk website:

You may be eligible to apply to ‘register’ as a British citizen if you were born in the UK. It depends on when you were born and your parents’ circumstances.

Therefore: if you were born in Britain this does not automatically mean you are British.

For anyone born after 1983 this definitely applies, for those born beforehand other conditions apply.

OK. I think I u understand now.

It's explained clearly here on the Home Office website

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10344/

Uk is late doing this we are playing catch up with the rest of the world it’s not a money making scheme at all *Nana8 its to bring us in line with everywhere else electronically
There seems a lot of confusion around the price so this is what I pulled up on both Google and ChatGPT and this was what I was using as the price guide

The UK's new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme requires most visa-exempt visitors (non-visa nationals) to get digital permission to travel to the UK, with full enforcement starting February 25, 2026, meaning you could be refused boarding without one. The ETA costs £16 and lasts two years, allowing multiple short stays (up to 6 months), and requires a passport, photo, email, and fee payment via the GOV.UK website or app. It's a digital pass for entry, linked to your passport, for tourism or transit, and covers all travel routes

So where does it say it costs lots of money to get an ETA ??

My ds had to renew her passport for a visit to uk in a couple of months. She had the photo taken but it was really difficult to find someone of standing in the uk who knew her, no relative could do the signing not in-law nor outlaw. She was turned down twice but third time lucky as a `friend` from long ago did it. This was enabled because that friend had been in Australia last year and had paid her a visit. She now has her passport and has retained dual nationality

She is now all set for her visit

So are your grandchildren claiming dual nationality nanna?

Just been talking to my Dd who is a joint citizen of UK and OZ. Apparently Australia has had this rule for a long time. When she travels to OZ: Out on UK passport, into OZ on Australian passport and the reverse on the way.

She says the UK is just catching up. BTW, if you are a citizen of UK you can only enter with your UK passport and vice versa! You are not allowed to use ETAs but I don’t know why not.

It seems to me that if you emigrate, you have to make a decision.
Do you renounce your British citizenship, or keep dual nationality and passports.
You can’t have it both ways.

My grandchildren don’t want British citizenship. They don’t want a British passport . They are being forced to because of their ancestry. I don’t want dual nationality either but I am not paying to dump it, why should I have to ? No one has ever asked me to renounce British citizenship, I am not interested in doing that and I was born there and still have friends from a schooldays so why bother ?

I think I will vote next time - move over horrible Keir. Never have since we left but I do still care when the place looks as though it is in trouble.

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My daughter is a Norwegian citizen and votes in Norway. She does not vote in Britain, as she does not live here, and, therefore, is not obliged to live with the consequences of her choices.
I do not feel that Britain is " in trouble".

But f your grandchildren are not dual nationality they can just come on an ETA surely?

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10344/#:~:text=their%20digital%20UK%20immigration%20permission,them%20travel%20to%20the%20UK.

You can register as an overseas voter if you move or live abroad
^You must have previously lived in the UK and *be either*:
a British citizen^
an eligible Irish citizen registering to vote in Northern Ireland

How can you threaten to vote in the UK if you no longer have British citizenship? And if you do, why are you not prepared to have a UK passport and dual nationality?

BlueBelle

I dont think anyone is getting Nana8s anger
The rules for Uk have changed and she can no longer get into Uk on her Australian passport alone

I'm not sure why. Some rules changed last year, I know.

I have Australian relatives, some have dual nationality but not all. Must investigate.

I d know that of some people coming from Trinidad had to have visas, the rules changed suddenly too late for them so their planned trip had to be cancelled.

I dont understand this either.

To register to vote you must be ... one of the following:

•a UK or Irish citizen
•a qualifying Commonwealth citizen living in the UK
•a qualifying EU citizen living in the UK

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/who-can-vote-uk-elections

nanna8

My grandchildren don’t want British citizenship. They don’t want a British passport . They are being forced to because of their ancestry. I don’t want dual nationality either but I am not paying to dump it, why should I have to ? No one has ever asked me to renounce British citizenship, I am not interested in doing that and I was born there and still have friends from a schooldays so why bother ?

Being born in a country and having friends there (even family) does not give any moral right to vote there when you say you have lived on the other side of the word for 50 years.
If you haven’t renounced your GB citizenship and don’t want dual nationality, are you then an Australian citizen?
Given the vast numbers is Australians of British heritage I imagine that could seriously affect our election results at the expense of those of us who live with the consequences

some people want one foot in both camps, so they can buy a property in the uk, claim residence and hence access pension, nhs and benefits, in spite of not having paid a penny. Leeches

RosiesMawagain

It seems to me that if you emigrate, you have to make a decision.
Do you renounce your British citizenship, or keep dual nationality and passports.
You can’t have it both ways.

Australia allows dual nationality and you just have to keep renewing your British passport if you want to retain it.

Visitors from 85 nationalities, including the United States, Canada, and France, who do not need a visa will not be able to legally travel to the UK without an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from 25 February 2026.

This is a significant step towards digitising the immigration system and paves the way for a contactless UK border in the future.

Enforcing will mean that everyone who wants to come to the UK must have digital permission through either an ETA or an eVisa. Carriers will be checking people before they travel.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp

Allira

RosiesMawagain

It seems to me that if you emigrate, you have to make a decision.
Do you renounce your British citizenship, or keep dual nationality and passports.
You can’t have it both ways.

Australia allows dual nationality and you just have to keep renewing your British passport if you want to retain it.

Visitors from 85 nationalities, including the United States, Canada, and France, who do not need a visa will not be able to legally travel to the UK without an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) from 25 February 2026.

This is a significant step towards digitising the immigration system and paves the way for a contactless UK border in the future.

Enforcing will mean that everyone who wants to come to the UK must have digital permission through either an ETA or an eVisa. Carriers will be checking people before they travel.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp

So if you don’t want to retain it nanna8 what are you complaining about?

I think many people don't understand that this digital entry system is worldwide.
Most places are already using it.
We are amongst the last to implement and the EU will be fully integrated into it this autumn.
The EU have been operating a sort-of "soft touch".
If anyone doesn't want to comply with the "new" system I think they should probably resign themselves to staying home.

My take on this is that the Australian media love to wind people up ptobably even more than the UK media (if that's possible) I have Australian friends and family and the news reporting there is dreadful.

My sister rang me the other day because she'd seen a news article on the TV saying someone had been murdered in the nearby woodland and thrown into a lake.

I reassured her this was not the case and that the police were merely on a training exercise!

It wasn't even on the local news here...