I’m suddenly British, even though I really don’t want to be

August 29, 2026 — 5:30am

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You could call it “compulsory citizenship”. Due to a recent change in the law, any Australian who’s eligible for a British passport is required to get one – otherwise, they won’t be allowed to visit the UK.

There are some technicalities and exclusions, but it covers most people with British-born parents. It certainly includes me.

Waving my Australian passport at Heathrow will no longer get me through. So, much to the horror of Jocasta, I am now British to the bootstraps.

I don’t want to be British, but I don’t have a choice. I could renounce my UK citizenship, that’s true, but the cost is nearly $1000. Or I could get a “certificate of entitlement”, placed inside my Australian passport, but that costs even more. So, if I want to visit the UK, the cheapest option is to apply for a UK passport, priced at about $290.

Is Britain now so impoverished it needs to scam the children of its diaspora? It seems so. You are deemed to be “British by descent”, whether you like it or not, and are now required to enter the UK on the “correct” passport.

Paying the money is one thing, but the hassle is worse. After searching various cupboards and drawers, I located birth certificates for myself and my parents, but was then told I had to also send their marriage certificate. The end of........

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