this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2025

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183

I went to the UK last week. Nothing about my trip was legal. (piefed.social)

submitted 2 days ago by cabbage@piefed.social to c/unitedkingdom@feddit.uk

34 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A friend of mine was getting married last weekend in England, so I had to pay it a visit. I am amazed at how illegal it ended up being.

The opportunity arose to go there on a small sail boat crossing the English channel, so I of course opted for that as my way of entry. That caused a pretty major problem in its own right, but more about that later. First I had to get the fucking £20 ETA – Electronic Travel Authorisation.

To get the ETA you need to fill in this pretty basic but overall dumb online form. It went pretty smoothly until the end, where I'm confronted the dumbest most open ended question imaginable: "Do you have extremist opinions". Yes/no. No definitions, no nothing.

Of course I'll say no. By my own standards I do not hold extreme opinions - I consider my opinions to be perfectly sane. You'd honestly be somewhat extreme to disagree with me. I do however also know that if I told an English policeman that I support Palestine Action they would throw me in jail. So I guess I am forced to start off the entire trip by, in the eyes of the government, lying about not being an extremist in order to enter. So far so good.

Then comes the actual sail across the channel. Smooth sailing, except for the near misses with French fishing boats fishing more or less legally with or without radios on in the middle of the night. Arriving in England we seek to announce our arrival, only to learn that they have created some fucking beta website in which you need to announce your journey ahead of time. It is not advertised anywhere, and it is impossible to announce one's arrival into the UK retroactively or in any other way than through this form in advance.

Basically the only way to legally register our arrival at this point was to sail back to France, fill in the form, and then come sailing back to England again with our newly filled forms. We of course sailed with a yellow flag and all that jazz, but none of that seems to matter without having filled in this new and completely unknown web form. So I of course said fuck it and skipped border controls.

There is a customs house in the port where we arrived, but after many years of irrelevance it has been turned into a (rather nice) pub.

For good measure I spent most of the days leading up to the wedding illegally wild camping.

I'm not sure I'll be coming back soon.

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[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 6 points 1 day ago

The whole scenario gives me Douglas Adams vibes

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 60 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Small footnote: I noticed this post got deleted from !casualuk@feddit.uk for not being casual enough (I guess I am extreme), with a suggestion it could be put here instead. As I spent some time writing it and was lucky enough to still have it open in a browser window I figured I'd give it a shot, even though I feel like this community might be for slightly more serious stuff. I hope it's not too out of place :)

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I expect that it's straying much too close to dicussion of the ongoing hot-button political issue of asylum seekers and small boat crossings for Casual UK's "no politics" rule. Glad you could still post it here without re-typing it though

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 11 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I'm pretty sure it's because I mention that I support Palestine Action, which although it's not a central point in the post is a pretty hot political potato in the UK at the moment. Fair enough. :)

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago

It's only a hot button issue from the sense that declaring your support for them is illegal. Your support for them itself is not a controversial topic since it's pretty much in line with everyone else's view.

[–] towerful@programming.dev 5 points 2 days ago

I'm guessing that - from my experience of the CasualUK community when I used to be on Reddit - they have similar rules of ABSOLUTELY no politics. Even something that might lead to politics.
It's to keep the place extremely light hearted and not turn into a depressing news/politics community.

So immigration/border policy and Palestine Action would both be out.
Even jokes about small boats would likely be too close.

It is a fun story, glad you shared it. And good on the mods recommending an alternative community

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 6 points 2 days ago

Good point!

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Even beyond the recent proscription of Palestine Action, UK anti-terrorism laws are concerningly vague. For example, anti-capitalist views are described as extremist views

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, I suspect I have a neat little collection of views that would be considered extreme by certain layers of English society. Feels weird having to lie about agreeing with UK politics in order to enter the country as a tourist.

[–] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

The majority of British citizens would not pass a british citizenship test or even those same customs checks. The customs checks are so broad everyones going to ding at least one flag and the citizenship test has stupid innane stuff like sports questions.

[–] cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 32 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Right here officer, one of the small boat crossing the channel illegally

More seriously, UK is out of Europe so it is a third country with everything that goes along. If you go there for business trip you need a Brexit letter as well to make sure that you are coming in the right framework. It sucks but this is the reality. Don’t let the bureaucrats stop you visiting.

[–] c10l@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago

Don’t let the bureaucrats stop you visiting.

In this case there will be no incentive for the bureaucrats to change.

If they can keep doing this kind of stupid shit and it doesn’t hurt statistics and the economy, they will just keep piling up stupid shit.

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 11 points 2 days ago

At least it feels good to be part of a statistic.

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

yeah, arriving illegally with boats in a port is surprisingly easy almost everywhere. I suspect it's because the rich people would get annoyed on their yachts when the procedures are too strict.

Same with private jets/planes. If you charter your own plane, you usually board/exit through a smaller, less strict terminal. AFAIK it's unlikely someone even checks your luggage or pats you down. They'll likely just check passports.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I flew from China to Ireland on an airliner and not once did the Irish check my bags

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 8 points 2 days ago

That extremist views thing is crazy. Of course everyone views their views as reasonable in context. If its not supposed to be made from the fillers point of view then like should everyone who believes woman should be able to vote mark yes. I mean that at one time was a very extremist view. How about not believing in the divine right of kings.

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Good on you. Fuck the UK. Should've flown a kite while you were there.

[–] SpatchyIsOnline@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

I saw the thumbnail in the preview and my brain immediately started singing

We flew a kite in a public place we flew a kite in a PUUUBLIC PLACE

[–] Soot@hexbear.net 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You sailed into the UK in a small boat, during the period at which the country is at it's most fascistic mouth-frothing about people arriving by small boats. Blame right-wingers.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 5 points 1 day ago

Yeah and he got in without being challenged. So it doesn't seem like all of the incoherent yelling that comes from the likes of reform is really achieving anything.

I also like the bit where they've made it impossible to actually legally announce yourself, that seems like a great idea.

[–] Barabas@hexbear.net 1 points 2 days ago

Went over with my partner who is from England whose British passport had run out. The option if you’re a citizen is to either get a new passport delivered which will take months, get a proof of residence which costs £600 and takes 8 weeks or lie about not having any other nationalities in the ETA (UK is not available since only non-citizens are supposed to apply). When she asked the embassy they basically just shrugged their shoulders.

Worked to apply for the ETA but their current rules are a clusterfuck.

[+] MurrayL@lemmy.world -12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The ‘beta website’ for announcing your arrival says right at the top that its been live since November 2023, so it seems more like you just didn’t bother to do the proper research before arriving?

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 40 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

When you read guidelines about sailing to the UK anywhere this website is never linked, at least not in any source I could find, as it is too new and nobody seems aware of it yet. The harbour in which we arrived were also not aware of it before making several phone calls. And to find it again I had to try several different search terms while adding "site:gov.uk" into the search engine. All the search results are just about illegal immigration. I'm not sure exactly how they expect people to gain awareness of it.

If you press the big green button saying "start now" you'll come to the website of the form, which states clearly on top: "Beta This is a new service – your feedback will help us to improve it", which is why I describe it as a beta website. Because it literally is.

If you proceed to try to fill in the forms they ask weird questions like if you'll be paying VAT on your boat, why exactly you won't be paying VAT on your boat (giving a range of options, none of which made any sense coming in on a tiny boat with a crew of five), and if you have a tax free store on board. The whole site is absurd to the point where even if I found it before leaving, I would have thought it was made for someone completely different than random tiny boats crossing the channel.

[+] MurrayL@lemmy.world -29 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Sorry but I don’t believe you.

A quick web search for relevant keywords (‘uk legally registering entry immigration border small boat’) immediately brings up not only the supposedly impossible to find link, but also a guide from the Royal Yachting Association that tells you that you need to register in advance and links directly to the form.

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 45 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

It's easier to find the website retroactively when you already have it and you know which vocabulary it uses. Use the wrong word and you only get a million articles about illegal immigration.

Furthermore, we had no way of knowing a website like this now existed, as in the past you would sail in (with yellow flag + courtesy, obviously) and then register. We had no reason to believe anything had changed on that front and therefore no reason to conduct a whole lot of research into it. Had we known there was a website we would of course have managed to find it.

If I wanted to enter illegally I would obviously have saved my £20 and not gotten an ETA, as I ended up not needing it anyway.

[–] leraje@piefed.blahaj.zone 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

On behalf of the saner members of the UK, sorry about Murray. Sadly, we're overrun with pedants of this nature which is largely why we've become such a backward set of mouth breathers since 2016-ish.

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 11 points 2 days ago

All good - the UK is a fascinating mix between the best and the worst. I guess that's almost part of the charm at this point.

[–] c10l@lemmy.world 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Sorry but I don’t believe you. I just searched your exact terms on my search engine of preference and I still haven’t found said beta website.

Furthermore, and most importantly, if you know exactly what to look for, eventually you will. In the same vein, if I had typed the URL to said website on my browser’s address bar, guess what… I would have found it without even have to search for it! 🤯 Even easier, by your logic.

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Yeah, in order to find the site again for the purpose of this post I had to switch search engines as well.

Also doesn't make it easier that a minority of the crew spoke good English. Most are only comfortable in French. I imagine most Brits would struggle if they had to dig up obscure government websites in French that they had no idea even existed.

[–] cute_noker@feddit.dk 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If one has travelled outside of ones country, surely there is no doubt that one can nod agreeingly to the BS of navigating the legal system of another language, culture, where you don't follow the news-stream

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago

Of course, I wouldn't expect the UK government to produce information in French. However there is a traditional way of doing things: You fly a yellow flag, and you report to a port of entry upon arrival.

If this is changed without being very publisized, it is really stupid not to at least have a transition period where people can still register their entry into the country after their arrival, until the new rules are well established and the website that is supposed to be serving them is out of beta testing.

If you want to sail from the UK to France, you just raise the appropriate flags, and then you announce your arrival when you get there. Ask in the harbour and they'll let you know where to go. So you wouldn't have to navigate their legal system, you just need to know how to use flags.

That said, I had no problem being in the UK illegally, so no real complaints from my part. It just seems like an attempt at tightening control of the borders that ended up having the exact opposite effect.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

While I loved your story and agree with all your points, I should note there's a big difference between having an immigration website in English and having one in pretty much any other language.

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah, but it needs to be announced somehow. We all filled in ETAs, because this is something people have heard about. It would make sense to inform of something like this at the end of the ETA registration. Instead, the fact that I had a travel authorization lead me to believe that I was, in fact, authorized to travel to the UK.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Oh yes, like I said I agree entirely with your post