Australian travel agents are warning of a growing crisis for travellers heading to the UK, with passport confusion, flight booking scams and a lack of clear guidance leaving clients in tears and agents under extreme pressure.
Belle Goldie, founder and lead travel advisor at The Cruise & Travel Store, said the fallout from recent UK passport and entry rule changes is far bigger than many realise.
“There’s a huge fallout here. This isn’t a small issue – it’s a big issue,” Goldie told Travel Weekly.
Goldie said her agency has seen a sharp rise in distressed clients, including travellers who have lost thousands of dollars after being scammed while trying to book flights to the UK online.
“They came in my door this morning in tears – two women in their mid-50s – because they’d gone online, booked flights to the UK and been scammed,” she said.
“One of them was scammed $7,000.”
According to Goldie, scammers are exploiting heightened demand and confusion around UK travel requirements, paying to appear at the top of Google search results for “flights to the UK” and posing as legitimate travel agencies.
“These scam websites are paying to sit at the top of Google, and people are being scammed left, right and centre.”
Passport delays and ‘unachievable’ timelines
Goldie said the situation has been compounded by uncertainty around British passport renewals, certificates of entitlement and citizenship requirements, particularly for British citizens living in Australia.
The UK passport rule changes, announced by the British government in January and coming into force on 26 February, require British and Irish dual citizens to enter the UK on a valid British or Irish passport, or hold a Certificate of Entitlement to the right of abode in their non-UK passport. Dual nationals will no longer be permitted to enter the UK using only a foreign passport, such as an Australian one. Neither a Certificate of Entitlement nor a British passport is easy or quick to obtain, leaving travellers with April and May travel plans in turmoil.
“When I told them the processing time could be 12 to 17 weeks, they both burst into tears,” she said.
“They’re devastated that their own government has now put systems in place that make it almost unachievable for them to even go back to their own country.”
She described the impact on elderly travellers as particularly distressing, including an 85-year-old client planning what may be her final visit to the UK to see family.
“This was meant to be her last holiday. Now everything is up in the air.”
Agents overwhelmed as guidance falls short
Goldie said travel advisors are bearing the brunt of the confusion, with conflicting information coming from airlines, head offices, consulates and passport offices.
“Nobody actually knows what the requirements are – not head office, not the consulate, not the passport office. It’s a massive dog’s breakfast.”
She said the emotional toll on frontline agents is escalating, with staff dealing with distressed clients, long hours and increasing abuse.
“It feels like Covid again. Clients are crying, agents are being abused, and we’re completely overwhelmed.”
Goldie said she has been contacted by dozens of agents experiencing the same issues, warning the scale of disruption for UK-bound travel is significant.
“We’ve got around 40 clients travelling in the next 90 days alone. And that’s just one agency.”
Calls for stronger advocacy
Goldie has called for clearer communication and stronger advocacy from industry bodies and government, saying travel advisors are being left to manage the fallout alone.
“We’re supposed to be travel advisors, not crisis managers or advocates. But right now, it feels like we’re doing everything.”
ATIA’s Dean Long said that while there had been plenty of notice, some travellers had still been caught short.
“The UK Government first announced these passport changes in May 2025 and reinforced the requirements publicly again in November 2025. However, while this is not a sudden or unexpected development, it is clear there are still travellers being caught out by the changes,” he said.
“Since those announcements, ATIA has been working closely with the Home Office, Consular Representatives and VisitBritain to pass on feedback from our members about the lack of awareness and frontline impact.”
