I don’t know what it is about Aussies, but British immigration officials always seem to have it in for us. I am yet to enter the country without being grilled mercilessly by some officious, pallid bloke about where I intended to stay and how I planned to support myself. Similarly, when I leave, they always try to trick me into confessing that I worked illegally during my stay, which of course I never did.
These days I have a proper spouse visa but the inquisition from immigration officers hasn’t stopped. Now they pull me aside and demand that I prove I’m still married. Pointing to Sally standing next to me usually works, but not always. I’ve always taken it on the chin, figuring that by hassling an Aussie they can meet their work targets without the risk of being called a racist.
But then, this morning, I came upon an article on The Times Online saying that the British government are thinking of scrapping ancestral visas for Australians. Enough is enough.
Under the scheme any Commonwealth citizen with a British grandparent is allowed to enter and settle in Britain. Of the record 582,000 people who immigrated to the UK last year only 10,000 entered using this scheme. That’s a paltry 0.17%! And what’s more, they’re not allowed access to public housing or unemployment benefits. (Just like Aussies on a spouse visa, btw)
I’m not saying that Britain’s resources aren’t being stretched by immigration. But it’s not by Aussies. In a recent report by the BBC on people born abroad living in the UK, Aussies had an employment rate of 90.57%. That was second only to the Kiwis at 93.56%, interestingly another one of the nationalities affected by this ancestral visa decision.
Obviously, Blair and his mates want to be seen to be getting tough on immigration. And it’s easy to score points against hard working, self-sufficient immigrants who probably plan to go home after they’re run with the bulls, drank at Oktoberfest and visited Gallipoli anyway.
This is where you'll find everything you need to know about me and my books.
Being married to a Brit, don’t you have indefinite leave to remain? (Which would lessen the hassle from immigration types, and also [I believe] allow you to go on the dole should the whole writing thing fall through;))
Being an Aussie in the UK, I never had much hassle visiting except the one time I came through on a fiancee visa. Since then it’s been cool, though. Weird!
Hi Mark,
All I know is that my visa has ‘no recourse to public funds’ stamped on it and I have to reapply after two years. Whether it becomes an indefinite right to remain after that I’m not sure.
Nice to know you got such a positive outlook on my long-term future as a writer though!
It’s probably ‘passport envy’.
‘No recourse to public funds’ is a bit harsh, but understandable in light of the sporting thrashings that Aussie delivers to the Brits …
I’ve always thought it was ridiculous, given our history. Most of the Commonwealth didn’t exist before Britain came along and created us. Now they propose to abandon ties of blood, culture and shared histories. Worse, they freely admit people the British have fought against for hundreds of years: the rest of Europe.
Britain and her colonies have changed each other so much over the years. Whyis Britain’s national food curry? Why is her national drink tea? The fact that we’re called the Commonwealth should tell you how much our fates have been intertwined. We still have the right to vote here, for goodness’ sake. Yet we are treated with suspicion, as if we are second class citizens.
We are family! Just because we’ve grown up and left the house doesn’t mean we should be locked out, and especially not in favour of those neighbours next door whom Britain has always quarreled and fought with.
I have found it interesting that the UK hasn’t been harder on Aussies with regard to Visas. Considering that for Brits to do the reverse – emigrate to Australia, its an extremely hard task. No ancestry visas for Brits living in Australia!
It must be part of a roll-back program. Recently the 2 year under 30 visa was rolled back to 2 years with no more than 12 months working.
I shouldn’t complain, I wangled myself a British passport and the common response when I say, “Oh, I don’t worry about visas and all that, I’ve got a passport,” typically tends to be, “Oh, Mike, you suck!”
I would just say to anyone who has an entitlement to a Purple passport, go out and apply for it even if you don’t need it… Paternal rights to that may be extinguished too!
I know a few people who are able to apply for British passports through right of abode or ancestry etc but WONT! I just don’t understand it. One excuse I heard was “well, I’m not coming back to Britain when I leave” which I think is a little lame – what about the rest of Europe? And what about your kids?
Peter, they must’ve changed things. I came over as a fiancee, had a work permit a few months after we were hitched, and then a year later had an indefinite leave to remain.
BTW – WHEN IS THE NEW BOOK OUT??
Hi sory mate, love your books, but really, come on you think aussies have a hard time living in pommie land, its an even more massive arse the other way round. Your islands immigration policy makes the Brits one looks easy.
Hey guys – thanks for the tips. I’ve got a meeting with the Home Office in March. Since this post the British government has introduced a new scheme to test immigrants on their general knowledge about Britain. I can name four different Page 3 Girls and find Walford on a map so I should be right.
As Mike and Dave P rightly pointed out, it’s not like the Aussies roll out the welcome mat for the Brits. Sally (my wife) had to have a $400 medical that included her having to read a paragraph about a ship being tossed about in a storm while she was in her underwear. I’m hoping the Brits don’t require me to do something similar in March.
And finally, to PJ’s comment, I agree, the Commonwealth is a very under-rated thing. We all put our lives on the line for the ‘Empire’. And the ‘Empire’ gave us pretty good legal systems and government institutions as well as cricket. There’s a solid, dependable bond between us. Don’t toss it aside to chase some ephemeral dream.
I moved to England on this Visa about 4 years ago and I am also married to a Brit but moved here on an ancestry visa.
England isn’t cutting off all ties with the Commonwealth!
All the Commonwealth countries are trying to get away from England.
For starters my husband moving to Australia there is a 2 years processing I need to prove I can support him over there and even then he is still not allowed benfits! plus his application could still be rejected due to one reason or another.
Another reason why people from the Commonwealth are not allowed public funds is because alot of the Commonwealth countries have ceased financial ties with England a few years ago and vice versa.
As much as I thank my nan every day for being british, which enabled me to move to this lovely country I think it is a good idea that England starts taking a different approach to ‘Ancestry Visas’ because we have been spoilt being able to get into the UK so easy and the Brits have to put up with the scoring system to go to Australia etc.
I’m half Oz – British dad, Oz mum – and was born in England. At the age of 14, my mum, brother and I went to the land of Oz, where I worked and paid taxes for 17 years. When I was about to leave for overseas, I applied for an Oz passport, only to be told that I had to stay in the country for another 2 years before they could give me one! As my plans had already been made, I left with on a British passport.
I have now applied five times for an Australian passport and still haven’t been given one.
May I point out that out of 35 countries, the only place where I had all of my luggage searched (hand luggage + checked-in luggage) was on arrival at Sydney airport? And that was only to be allowed in the country for 10 days! Ok, I’m French, I live in London and I was flying in from Saudi Arabia so they may have had a point. But still.
Seriously, I think the British government is realising that 99% of bar staff in London is now Australian or South-African and they’ve had enough of being the butt of cricket and rugby jokes from said bar staff.
Hi Bruno,
If it’s any consolation I always get searched at Sydney airport too – but I think it’s a hangover from when an ex-girlfriend’s father (who was a Federal policeman) put a mark against my name in the computer system as a suspected ‘druggie’. Made for some interesting homecomings, let me tell you!
Re: Your bar staff remark. Unfortunately, the Poms have started beating us in cricket and rugby. You’ think they’d let more of us in just to gloat!
Did any of you see the stories recently about British immigration officers issuing visas in return for sex? (You’ll find an article about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4576618.stm )
It certainly explains why I always get such a hard time. I’ve got to start putting out!
In response to the comments made regarding people who can but don’t bother to get their British Passports.
Although having a British passport is sometimes a good thing as it allows you to reside in the UK and the EU I think that ‘just getting one’ is everyones own choice and some people don’t see it as a nessesity.
It doesn’t affect your children travelling to the UK as UK Immigration base your entry on the parents being British and having a British birth certificate. It actually is based on your grandparents if you’re trying to get an ancestral visa,although the laws change quite frequently(I should know as this is what happened to me)
What I find to be quite a concern is that people will marry a British citizen just obtain their British residency or passport. This seems to be quite common with people paying for a ‘marriage’ or just marrying someone for this and then splitting up after the passport is issued. What’s the big issue with having a British passport?I’ve got one and I live in Australia!
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article British Government Declares Open Season on Aussies, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.