Do you consider yourself Australian?

[Wanderer Returns]

18 hours ago, Red Rose said:

To those Brits with Australian citizenship, do you consider yourself: Australian; British / Australian; or British (with an Australian passport)?

I have a lot of Australian friends with British passports, but none of them refer to themselves as British, whereas I get the feeling that pomsinoz are more likely to refer to themselves as Australian. 

It's a great question, and beats another covid/vaccine related post!

I consider myself to be both, to be honest. When I'm in the UK I'm British, as I think it would be pretentious to call myself Australian given my thick northern accent. Whereas here I'm proud to call myself Australian, and I feel as though I've earned it. If I was in a neutral country and someone asked me where I was from, I'd say "England, but now I live in Australia". When it comes down to sport then I always back England/Team GB over Australia because the Aussies are such sore losers, so it's great to watch them squirm!  

I think the acid test would be if you had to give up being a citizen of one country (as some nationals do), which one would you choose? I would reluctantly say goodbye to being British. I don't like what's happened to Britain since the turn of the millennium. There's been an erosion of what I'd call traditional British values. I simply don't identify with 'modern Britain', and all the different agendas. Australia is like the UK used to be back in the 90s, but with better weather. I miss the British countryside, the pub culture, and a traditional Christmas, but in every other respect the lucky country wins hands down.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Wanderer Returns

[HappyHeart]

10 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I returned to the UK and felt more Australian than usual!

I felt that quite strongly after only 5 years away. A definite sense of I don’t belong here anymore. A sense of relief as the plane touched down in Perth. Interestingly though, tearful at touching down in the UK too. Heart in both places. Maybe that happens to everyone who moves away from their place of birth? Depends how long you live in a particular place too. Funny because your Englishness is always picked by born and bred Australians.
 

Since that last trip, our 2nd, we haven’t been back and no particular desire to go either, other than to see older relatives.

 At the end of the day it’s an irrelevance, to me at least...I’ve never felt out of place (except perhaps during my 1st job here when I was very green about all things Australian and working with a mainly Australian workforce)

How you came to be in a place and whether you feel like part of the community is probably more due to internal factors. It just is. I honestly think the world is a much smaller place. People are so well travelled and have lived and worked in many places. I don’t see too much ingrained and exclusionary patriotism around me. If I do I dismiss it. It tends to be those who’ve never strayed far from their own back yard that hold those attitudes. Think they own the place. Silly really.  Here and there. 

[Toots]

45 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

I felt that quite strongly after only 5 years away. A definite sense of I don’t belong here anymore. A sense of relief as the plane touched down in Perth. Interestingly though, tearful at touching down in the UK too. Heart in both places. Maybe that happens to everyone who moves away from their place of birth? Depends how long you live in a particular place too. Funny because your Englishness is always picked by born and bred Australians.
 

Since that last trip, our 2nd, we haven’t been back and no particular desire to go either, other than to see older relatives.

 At the end of the day it’s an irrelevance, to me at least...I’ve never felt out of place (except perhaps during my 1st job here when I was very green about all things Australian and working with a mainly Australian workforce)

How you came to be in a place and whether you feel like part of the community is probably more due to internal factors. It just is. I honestly think the world is a much smaller place. People are so well travelled and have lived and worked in many places. I don’t see too much ingrained and exclusionary patriotism around me. If I do I dismiss it. It tends to be those who’ve never strayed far from their own back yard that hold those attitudes. Think they own the place. Silly really.  Here and there. 

Totally agree with you there HappyHeart.

[newjez]

2 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Maybe that's my issue.   I was sent to a speech therapist when I was three to cure a speech impediment.  Unfortunately she didn't just fix the problem, she taught me how to speak "properly".  By the time I started school, I was speaking like the Queen and got teased mercilessly.  The strange thing was that I really wanted to speak like the other kids, but it was always hard work.  I felt I was always 'putting on" the Scottish accent, and even then I didn't do a good job of it - people often thought I was English, though in fact I only crossed the border once in all my childhood/teenage years, to go to a wedding. 

At 18, when I went to London for a working holiday during college, it was a relief to be able to speak in my normal voice!

I guess that much weight is placed on how you pronounce yogurt.

 

[Wanderer Returns]

Surely there's a difference between patriotism and jingoism, and personally I don't feel that national pride is anything to be ashamed of. Only a small percentage of the world's population have the luxury of living in an economically-developed and politically-stable country, yet surprisingly this is often taken for granted by the inhabitants. Australia didn't happen by chance. It grew from a common ideology, and the hard work of those who settled here - and now we can all benefit from that. We can think of ourselves as global citizens who are free to travel and appreciate other cultures, but that doesn't make our own cultural identity less relevant.

[steveshe]

Australian .Being in  this country has been the happiest years ever . 43 years in UK . 21 here . Best move ever and i support Aussies in all sports . My hubby has been here 55 years and doesnt even think of ever being a Pom . As he says , hes Aussie through and through . 

[Quoll]

Dual citizen but when push comes to shove I am English! The accent is Australian and my U.K. mates viewed me as Australian but I don’t feel in the least bit Australian despite having been a citizen for over half my life. If I could only be one, I’d be English which would be tricky because my dual citizen husband is definitely Australian. Have  never really “belonged” even after 42 years. 
 

I must ask my UK son what he is - born in U.K., dual citizen at birth, lived in Aus from the age of 6 months until he left 19 years ago. When he was at Sandhurst his mates viewed him as Australian even though he was actually British born. No idea what he and they see him as now but he certainly copped it whenever England won the ashes! 

[HappyHeart]

I just asked my 15 yr old son. He was 2 when we arrived. He said Australian. Surprised me actually. His accent is very British with mild Australianisms and ‘proper’...not sure where that came from?! Not me or Dad. 
If push came to shove Australian-British and not the other way around....

[Parley]

45 minutes ago, Quoll said:

I must ask my UK son what he is - born in U.K., dual citizen at birth,

No he wasn't. That is impossible.

[MacGyver]

1 hour ago, HappyHeart said:

I just asked my 15 yr old son. He was 2 when we arrived. He said Australian. Surprised me actually. His accent is very British with mild Australianisms and ‘proper’...not sure where that came from?! Not me or Dad. 
If push came to shove Australian-British and not the other way around....

Which part of the UK does his accent resemble? ‘British’ covers a vast range of accents

[Quoll]

8 hours ago, Parley said:

No he wasn't. That is impossible.

British mother, Australian father. He was, and the paperwork followed immediately as we left shortly after his birth. Australian by descent admittedly. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Quoll

[Parley]

1 hour ago, Quoll said:

British mother, Australian father. He was, and the paperwork followed immediately as we left shortly after his birth. Australian by descent admittedly. 

Australian citizenship is not automatic at birth. I was similarly born in the UK. But you do not become an Australian at birth. You only get it after applying subsequently and it being granted.

You must have applied for it and then granted it as an infant. Check the date on his citizenship certificate, it won't be his birth date.

I am splitting hairs but you cannot be be born in the UK and be an Australian citizen  at birth. That is not how Australian Citizenship law works.

[HappyHeart]

9 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Which part of the UK does his accent resemble? ‘British’ covers a vast range of accents

True that!! He sounds more like he's from the South of England than the Midlands like us. The vowels are different. I guess that's the Australian effect 

[rammygirl]

As Wanderer said would I give up my British citizenship to take Australian?  
I am a dual citizen now but spent 5 decades in UK and would say I identify as British, I certainly have not acquired an Aussie twang and still buy Aubergines and red peppers.

If I had to make a choice? I would probably not give up my British citizenship as long as I could stay in Australia. That might change over time though.

A good friend who migrated here over 20 years ago has still not taken out Australian citizenship, he has travelled with RRVs. His kids are both dual citizens having applied before uni. He says he has started the paperwork but........

[Parley]

1 hour ago, rammygirl said:

As Wanderer said would I give up my British citizenship to take Australian?  

Actions speak louder than words. You left Britain to live in Australia.

[Marisawright]

37 minutes ago, Parley said:

Actions speak louder than words. You left Britain to live in Australia.

Not sure that's enough of an indication.  What about all those people who move to Australia but can't bring themselves to take out Australian citizenship because (to quote one of them recently) , "it would feel like a betrayal". 

I'll be honest,  I wouldn't have taken Australian citizenship if it had meant giving up my British citizenship.  But that was purely for practical reasons, because the British passport gave better access for travel. Now, if they changed the rules and made me choose one or the other, I'd choose Australian.

[Parley]

The more telling choice would be...

Keep your British passport and have to move back to the UK

or Keep your Australian passport and be able to remain in Australia.

Then we really see where the loyalties lie.

[HappyHeart]

20 minutes ago, Parley said:

The more telling choice would be...

Keep your British passport and have to move back to the UK

or Keep your Australian passport and be able to remain in Australia.

Then we really see where the loyalties lie.

What a choice. I wouldn’t hesitate. Some people really do have to make that decision. My German friend had to. 

[Blue Flu]

5 hours ago, Parley said:

Australian citizenship is not automatic at birth. I was similarly born in the UK. But you do not become an Australian at birth. You only get it after applying subsequently and it being granted.

You must have applied for it and then granted it as an infant. Check the date on his citizenship certificate, it won't be his birth date.

I am splitting hairs but you cannot be be born in the UK and be an Australian citizen  at birth. That is not how Australian Citizenship law works.

Australian citizenship while not automatic at birth, can easily be applied for if parent Australian born. Just a formality. There was a time when being born in Australia it was an automatic right. Hence giving birth here would allow child citizenship regardless of parents birth place. 

[Blue Flu]

1 hour ago, HappyHeart said:

What a choice. I wouldn’t hesitate. Some people really do have to make that decision. My German friend had to. 

With German nationality a second passport can be obtained, if prove is provided to German authorities, that a citizen will be discriminated against  or in some worse off not being able to take out the citizenship of the country they are living in. Quite a bit of paper work and supporting evidence, but have witnessed it done. 

[HappyHeart]

3 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

With German nationality a second passport can be obtained, if prove is provided to German authorities, that a citizen will be discriminated against  or in some worse off not being able to take out the citizenship of the country they are living in. Quite a bit of paper work and supporting evidence, but have witnessed it done. 

Not sure of the ins and outs of it but my friend delayed getting her Australian citizenship purely because of this. I think eventually she just decided to go for it having lived here for many years and feeling quite settled. Her son has dual citizenship having a British father and that they lived in UK for a time and also Dubai. I'm not sure that she ever got British citizenship. Such complexity involved when we move and have children in different countries. 

[Parley]

10 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

There was a time when being born in Australia it was an automatic right. Hence giving birth here would allow child citizenship regardless of parents birth place. 

Yes that was the case if child born before 20 August 1986. After that at least one parent needs to be a citizen or PR.

[HappyHeart]

Just now, Parley said:

Yes that was the case if child born before 20 August 1986. After that at least one parent needs to be a citizen or PR.

My Grandchildren are born to UK born mother and Australian father. I presume they have automatic dual citizenship. I think I looked into it once and that was the case. My son thinks he might live/work in UK for a time but his preference is Canada. I (selfishly) hope he stays here with me. 

[Parley]

7 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

My Grandchildren are born to UK born mother and Australian father. I presume they have automatic dual citizenship. I think I looked into it once and that was the case. My son thinks he might live/work in UK for a time but his preference is Canada. I (selfishly) hope he stays here with me. 

Yes if they are born in Australia.

The difference is UK citizenship is conferred automatically down one generation if born in Australia or overseas.

If child is born in UK, Australian citizenship is not automatic but has to be applied for. That is the point i was making to Quoll.

My kids are all born in Australia, and automatically UK citizens even though they have never registered it anywhere.

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Parley

[Quoll]

2 minutes ago, HappyHeart said:

My Grandchildren are born to UK born mother and Australian father. I presume they have automatic dual citizenship. I think I looked into it once and that was the case. My son thinks he might live/work in UK for a time but his preference is Canada. I (selfishly) hope he stays here with me. 

Born where?  If in UK, then Parley is right, they are Australian through their dad and there is one extra step before getting passport.  If in Australia then they are British by descent through their mum and all they have to do is apply for their passport.