Summer in Australia always comes with a soundtrack
Cicadas. Ice clinking in a glass. And every couple of years, the unmistakable chorus of the Barmy Army reminding us that Jerusalem can, in fact, be sung loudly, repeatedly, and with alarming confidence in 35-degree heat.
We’ve been serenaded all season. From Perth to the SCG, with brass instruments blaring, voices cracking, and hatless bald heads burning, we’ve seen, heard and felt it all. And now, as the final Test draws to a close, we wave goodbye to the England team and their loyal followers, as they depart empty handed.
The poor POMs can’t even point the finger at the umpire’s poor decision making for their loss. With the snickometer and every marginal decision replayed ad nauseum in forensic slow motion until all hope – and all excuses – are well and truly extinguished.
But as the last trumpet is packed away and the final pint is sunk, there’s just one more thing the POMs would like to whinge about.
And honestly, it’s a good one.
When Two Passports Aren’t Better Than One
For years now, many UK-born Australians have been living the dual-nationality dream. British by birth, Australian by choice, and smugly waving whichever passport suited the moment.
- Europe? UK passport, and ‘I’ll stay here as long as I like, I might even live, work, or study here.’
- French hotel reception? Australian passport, you wouldn’t want to be mistaken as English!
- Brexit? Oh no, what have we done!
Post-Brexit, more than a few UK passports were quietly shoved into drawers, expired, unloved, and deemed ‘not worth the paper they’re written on’. The Australian passport, meanwhile, strutted confidently around the world opening doors, waving people through, and generally being far more popular at border control.
Except now . . . it’s not opening one very important door anymore.
The Motherland Says: Not So Fast
From February 2026, the UK has decided to remind everyone who’s boss.
Under new rules, all UK citizens must enter the UK on a British passport. No exceptions. No cheeky Australian passport with an ETA (visa). No ‘but I was born here’ excuses.
If you are a dual UK-Australian citizen and you rock up to Heathrow with your perfectly valid Australian passport, you’ll be met with a polite but firm version of:
“Lovely to see you. You can’t come in.”
And this is where the wailing begins.
Because a lot of POMs living in Australia have let their UK passports expire. Some years ago. Some a long time ago. Probably during the reign of a different monarch.
Cue the Panic (and Paperwork)
Suddenly, WhatsApp groups are lighting up.
‘Do you still need a UK passport if you’re Australian?’
‘How long does a renewal take?’
‘Does anyone know where my birth certificate from 1968 might be?’
What are my options?’
With the introduction of the UK ETA system, dual citizens can’t just apply for an ETA and sail through either. Nope. UK citizen? UK passport required. End of story. Or is it?
Here are your options:
- Apply for a UK passport – lots of hours of personal admin, registered postage to the UK plus £127.86 (approx A$260) passport fee and postage back.
- Apply for a Certificate of Entitlement (I’m sure many poms feel this should be given out at birth), but it in fact costs £589 (Approx A$1,180).
- Renounce your UK citizenship status. And get this . . . there is an application fee of £450 (approx A$905) which is non-refundable if your application is refused. What the . . .
So now begins the great scramble.
Forms. Fees. More forms. Certified copies. Postage. Waiting. Waiting some more. And the creeping realisation that renewing a UK passport from Australia is not a quick, cheap, or particularly joyful process.
Farewell, Barmy Army
As we bid farewell to the Barmy Army this summer, they leave us a little quieter, and a little smug.
They depart without the Ashes.
Without the brass band fanfare.
And without that little urn they keep insisting belongs to them.
And we shed a small tear for the UK citizens now locked out of their own motherland, undone not by cricket scores, but by bureaucracy.
A Gentle Reminder (Before You Book That Flight)
If you’re a dual UK-Australian citizen living here in the sun and sand, consider this your friendly nudge.
Before you book flights.
Before you plan that nostalgic trip ‘home’.
Before you assume your Australian passport will save the day.
Check your UK passport. Dust it off. See if it’s still breathing.
Because nothing puts a dampener on a reunion tour quite like being told you can’t come in the front door.
But wait, there is some good news, if you have a UK passport you don’t need a visa to go on holiday to Brazil, Vietnam, Turkey and Mongolia, but you do if travelling on an Australian passport.
Turns out the real win this summer wasn’t the Ashes at all – it was remembering where you left your UK passport.
Written smugly by Suzanne Holden (who already has both a UK & Australian passport)
