Thread: british passport

I have travelled for many years for work, and I have always run two passports, and it has nothing to do with loyality.

If I end up with an Israeli stamp in my passport - this would exclude me from travelling into certain areas in the middle east, and visa versa, this is also the same (well not so much now) with places like greece/cyprus and turkey and quite a few of those breakaway states in eastern europe

It's just convenient

Early 1980's I worked for a while for a major distributor of heavy equipment. Our General Manager and Major Accounts Manager flew off to PNG to try to stitch up a deal with Ok Tedi for dump trucks. General Manager was a pom who arrived here in 1950 and still had a British passport. Major Accounts was an Australian and a notorious brown noser. He would have spent the entire trip schmoozing the GM. On their return to Brisbane, Customs said to GM "You can't come in. You are a pom and don't have a re-entry permit. The airline will be taking you back to Port Moresby". Brown-nose Bill was on the 'phone to HQ in Brisbane in a right panic wanting us to do something. Both were thoroughly disliked and the general opinion was "Good, send the pommie b back to PNG, don't want him here". And "Well, BB, you are the senior officer and on the spot. Show some management ability. We are going to lunch." Much toing and froing and ever increasing level of panic later, BB managed to get the local office of Dept. of Immigration to issue a re-entry permit. BB got the blame for taking so long, much to the amusement of the rest of us.

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Just do not expect too much help from The Australian Embassy if you get into trouble travelling on another passport. The Consuls take a rightfully very dim view of people travelling on second country passports who come to the embassy for help or money.

When I was in Riyadh, an Australian vet was on a ship in the gulf that was hit by a couple of RPG7s. He wanted help to get off the ship and enter Saudi and called the Oz embassy, who told him to talk to the Brits seeing he was on a British passport. I think the Brits told him to talk to the Oz embassy.

I am dead against dual passports . You can only be loyal to one country. If you want to be a Brit, go live in Britain.

Same with all the Greeks who do military service there to ensure thay can own land. We shouldn't let someone back in who has done military service in another country. Who are they loyal to?
Regards Philip A

This is an awful comment and to be honest is almost racist and along the likes of love it or leave it stickers we see. Just because someone has two passports (which I have) does not mean anyone is less loyal to a country. My home is Australia, my children are Australia but I was born in the UK and am allowed to hold a UK passport which I use to enter and leave the UK, nothing more nothing less.

This quote by Philip should be removed.

As for the "loyalty" issue - we support, to the point of providing coverage under our DVA system, the service men and women who fought for our Allies in past wars, and then moved to Australia.

I recall having to assist with the tricky situation of an Australian who fought for the USA in Vietnam (one US parent, birth registered there though born here, had the bad luck to be drafted while visiting his Uncle!) He had effective dual citizenship, though neither country recognised it at the time (he met the necessary criteria for US citizenship AND for Australian citizenship).

Australian citizenship is a recent phenomenon. The Australia Act, requiring British subjects to become Australian citizens, took effect from (from memory) 1983.

Originally Posted by adm333

Depends if your a ba$tard or not.

Seriously. I have a British passport and there were a couple of basic criteria. Your father has to be a british subject and your parents had to be married at the time of your birth.

I had to produce an original of my father's birth certificate and an original of my parent's marriage certificate.

That's going to stop a lot of people these days - so many couples breed outside marriage.

I am afraid that I strongly believe that citizenship does involve loyalty.

You make an Oath of Alliegence when you become an Australian citizen and this alliegence is implied if you are born here, hence the crime of treason.

How does that allow military service for another country eg Greeks? I presume an Oath is also necessary then.

Now that the UK is part of the EC, the old patrimony rules should be changed.

Maybe if /when we become a republic.

This may sound "old fashioned" but only because Australia has not faced a direct threat for 60 years. But things can change quite quickly.

I suggest you read this
Dual Nationality - Travel information - Consular services - Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Regards Philip A

yeah and if I own two passports.......how does that make me less loyal? if australia called me up for national service tomorrow I would not hesitate to join!

Originally Posted by PhilipA

I am afraid that I strongly believe that citizenship does involve loyalty.

Don't disagree with that...

But you first said:

Originally Posted by PhilipA

I am dead against dual passports . You can only be loyal to one country. If you want to be a Brit, go live in Britain.

Which I DO disagree with.

Jon