Some British and Irish backpackers are becoming so desperate to stay in Australia they are risking jail time.

Wannabe-citizens have been lodging asylum claims under false pretences in a bid to stay Down Under, despite facing penalties of up to 10 years behind bars. 

The trend has raised alarm bells in the Department of Home Affairs, which flagged a spike in $50 protection visa applications, a pathway reserved for those fleeing persecution. 

To be granted asylum in Australia, applicants must prove they face a real risk of serious harm or persecution in their home country, based on factors such as race, religion, nationality or political views.

The UK is considered a safe, democratic country, so it's very difficult for British citizens to meet that threshold. 

But in practice, lodging a protection visa can allow applicants to remain in Australia for years - even if their claim is ultimately rejected. 

Once an application is submitted, individuals are typically granted a bridging visa, allowing them to stay lawfully while it is assessed. 

While there is no fixed processing time, cases can take months to several years to finalise, and significantly longer if refused decisions are appealed through the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). 

In an onshore protection visa processing report seen by the Daily Mail, 41 people from the United Kingdom lodged an application for a protection visa in March.

The Department of Home Affairs insists the protection visa is not for those who are seeking to extend their stay. 

But visa migration agent Mark Pelley described the ability to apply for a protection visa as 'the biggest legalised scam in the migration industry'.

'Anyone from anywhere can apply for refugee status. It takes from six months to two years to have the visa considered and a decision made by the department so that person can stay up to two years,' Mr Pelley told the Daily Mail. 

'If they get rejected, they can appeal to the ART. That process could take three years because it's so full of fake refugee claims. If the ART fails, they can go and appeal to the Federal Court and that process can take years.

'So there are people living in Australia legally - but they are actually just exploiting the system that is designed for real refugees to have their asylum claims independently verified.'

Mr Pelley called out those who are applying for refugee status from a first-world country, and said travellers needed to do their own research on how to stay in Australia rather than look on 'online forums.'

'They are hurting other Brits and Irish people who are trying to do things legitimately, they're hurting real refugees who desperately need this system to help them and they're stuck in limbo, and they're hurting their own credibility and reputation for even applying for this,' he said. 

'It's just embarrassing and this legal loophole literally represents that they are too lazy to do the right thing in the first place, or they are getting really dodgy and exploitative migration advice.'

He also slammed expats entering sham marriages with Australian citizens to secure partner visas.

'One of the reasons that I've become outspoken about the migration industry is because of the phone calls I receive - more than 70 per cent are from people attempting to defraud the system - and I couldn't take any more,' he said.

'I've been approached by travel agents, other migration agents, and marriage celebrants who have tried to offer me money to help recruit local Australian women who are vulnerable to be part of this where they get paid, anywhere up to $50,000, to be a sham partner in a sham marriage for the case.'

Mr Pelley also called on the Albanese government to close the legal loophole by removing the ability for people from certain countries, such as the UK and Ireland, to apply for asylum from the start. He also said the visa processing system needs vast improvements to help clear the backlog.

He added: 'You can do it the right way but it takes forever. The system is literally set up for people to exploit it.'

Mr Pelley said expats should return to their home country, work in a trade and then apply to come back to Australia if they seek to extend their stay.

But Brits like Amy and Aaron say Australia's sunny weather, beaches and a laidback lifestyle are hard to resist. 

'I haven't heard about people abusing the visa system but I wouldn't be surprised, there's so many hoops you have to jump through that, unfortunately, people try what they can,' Amy, from Manchester, told the Daily Mail.

'I think the fact the seasons back home are the complete opposite here... you're in the sun here for so many months of the year, and then you see everyone back home in their winter coats... It almost solidifies that you'll do whatever you can to stay here.'

Amy, who works in hospitality management in Sydney, is trying to secure permanent residency after living in Australia for almost four years. 

However, she warned those attempting to falsely apply for a protection visa.

'I don't think I'd ever feel unsafe enough to seek asylum from the UK. I mean, I'm not proud of the way the UK is going post-Covid; the country is falling apart, but absolutely not. I'll find a legitimate way to be here,' she said.

'It's hard visa-wise, even now in comparison to when I arrived four years ago, it is a lot more complex. There are a lot more changes to the jobs that can be put forward for sponsorship... but I don't feel that morally anyone would get to that point.

'You just have to try your luck, find your way around all the new legislation, get yourself on board with a good employer and go from there.'

From the dozens of British and Irish travellers the Daily Mail spoke to in Sydney's eastern suburbs, all described the difficulties they'd experienced in extending their time Down Under. 

Aaron, who has been in Australia for nearly two years, is currently on the final year of his working holiday visa and plans to 'never go back.'

The hospitality worker from the English city of Luton recently moved in with his Australian partner and hopes to be able to apply for a partner visa, but admits it's 'really hard to get one.'

'It's quite expensive, but we're going to try our best,' he said.

When asked about reports that British travellers had been falsely claiming asylum in a bid to stay, Aaron described their actions as 'silly'. 

'It's not really fair. A lot of us are trying really hard to do it. Everyone wants to stay, I think for the weather and we don't really like England, but they're not bringing much to the country,' Aaron said.

'It's changed a lot here in the past year, people just want to come here to party and you can do that back home. No one really wants to work. We're here to be happy, not just to get away from England because you don't like it.'

Katie, who moved from Ireland to Sydney in 2020 for a 'better quality of life', said she was shocked by the hoops she had to jump through to extend her visa. 

'The visa process shocked me in terms of how difficult it is and the expectations on people overseas to go and work on the farms, which may not suit every traveller from across the world,' she said.

Zac, who is a permanent resident and moved from Essex nearly four years ago, said he could somewhat understand why some Brits were going to extreme lengths.

'In comparison to where you're living in the UK to here, there's just not much to do. You go to the pub with your friends, watch the football, but day to day, you're not doing much,' he said. 

'But it's crazy. The UK isn't that bad. Go through the correct channels, get sponsorships – my friends are having to do that.'

A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told the Daily Mail the department has denied over 85 per cent of protection visa applications.

'Refusal rates for some nationalities are close to 100 per cent,' the spokesperson said.

'A protection (subclass 866) visa is for people who face a real risk of persecution or significant harm in their home country and who therefore require Australia's protection.

'Applicants who provide false or misleading information face serious consequences, including significant financial penalties, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.'

The Department also warned of scam migration agents that are encouraging migrants to apply for fake partner visas. 

If a protection visa application is refused, applicants and their families may find it harder to visit Australia in the future, and the rejection will stay on the applicant's immigration record for life.

Brits were also the fastest-growing nationality of people taking up working holiday visas to Australia in 2024/25, a rise of 80 per cent from the previous year. 

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the increase was driven by a near doubling of the number of arrivals on temporary working holiday maker visas.