Basic travel allowance - essential or a scam

[crowing55]

A friend has been asked to have BTA ($350 on their person) when they return home to Australia - where they live. Is this a legal and essential thing for travelers coming home from United Kingdom to Australia. Or without this money people not permitted to fly home eventhough they have the ticket. Plus she has 2 children do they also have to have this cash?

[jno]

sounds odd. Are they Australian citizens? If so I would have thought they'd be allowed in whether they had money or not. If they just look like visitors, however, immigration people might like to be assured they aren't just going to go on the dole. In that case could they get residency permits stamped in their passports?

[dzug]

WHO has asked them this? As jno says it sounds very odd. It doesn't sound like an Australian government requirement, not if they LIVE in Australia as citizens. If they live in Australia as visitors/temporary residents then most countries require you to be able to show means of support when arriving. Most are not that specific on how much though.

If it's an official requirement then you can't really call it a scam. If it's an unofficial requirement then maybe someone is trying to scam them.