Arriving At Heathrow

[Gibbo]

Hi everyone, I hope to be bringing my Thai Fiancee back to England at the end of May - If she gets through the interview stage of her Fiancee Visa application.

Could anyone tell me what happens when we get to Heathrow, do we have to split up when we go through passport control. If so where do we meet up, in the baggage collection area.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Regards

Gibbo

Edited March 13, 2005 by Gibbo

[chonabot]

Obviously she will have to go through non-EU passport control , you are allowed to, and advised to, accompany her. This will ease a lot of stress for the both of you. Just explain to the Immigration officer your situation as you hand over your passports.

Scouse will fill in the gaps.

Good luck !

Edited March 13, 2005 by chonabot

[the scouser]

Hi Gibbo,

No, you don't need to split up. You can either accompany her through the "foreign" channel or ask the immigration officer in the EEA queue whther he/she will attend to your fiancée. They may say no, in which case it's back to the "foreign" queue.

Bear in mind that, technically, everyone who is coming to the UK for a period in excess of 6 months (including fiancé(e)s as this visa ultimately leads to settlement) should be referred to the doctor at the airport for a routine medical and this can cause a considerable delay. However, on the bright side, whether your fiancée will be sent to the doctor depends upon how zealous the immigration officer is.

Cheers,

Scouse.

[peterzxr]

This has been a subject for discussion recently and basically the Imigration Officers don't care.

My wife arrived unaccompanied on a fiancee visa and just strolled through the EU Immigration channel with a very kind couple she'd met on the plane who'd taken her under their wing - no medical, just a cursory glance at the visa.

Edited March 13, 2005 by peterzxr

[jayenram]

In my opinion, you should definitely accompany your fiance through the foreign immigration channel. And remember that a UK visa does not guarantee entry into UK, although I've never heard of anyone with a correctly issued visa being refused entry.

[boogie]

I asked the same question about my wife and children.The kids and I have UK passports, wife Thai. Official response was that she couldnt go through EU line but I could accompany her through non EU. Even with her own kids being UK citizens. Bonkers. If she jumped off the back of a lorry and said here I am, she'd get a house and social security, but I digress.

[markuk]

Just accompany your wife through the non EU side, no problems at all when i did it, unfortunately though the q tends to be longer!!

[Clive sorts]

Gibbo

I would advise that you accompany your g/f through the non EU queue, your passport can be checked there also.

I recently went through immigration at Heathrow, I accompanied her and she had to have a TB check( X-ray ) in the Medical office. Whole process took 20 minutes and we then breezed through immigration. To save time your g/f can have an X-ray done in Bangkok and then bring the results with you through Heathrow where they will be checked by a Doctor.

Good luck

Regards

Clive Sorts

[GU22]

This has been a subject for discussion recently and basically the Imigration Officers don't care.

My wife arrived unaccompanied on a fiancee visa and just strolled through the EU Immigration channel with a very kind couple she'd met on the plane who'd taken her under their wing - no medical, just a cursory glance at the visa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would strongly advise anyone reading this to ignore this comment!

Peterzxr's wife was very lucky, she could easily have been sent back to the non-EU queue and then sent for a medical/chest x-ray. It does sometimes happen that immigration officers will allow a non EU passport holder who is accompanied by an EU passport holder through the EU channel, but to rely on this happening would be extreme folly.

Gibbo, I would follow Clive's advice if I were you. If you leave her in the non-EU queue expecting to meet her the other side and she is sent for a medical, then it is unlikely that you will be allowed back in to go with her.

[lopburi3]

This has been a subject for discussion recently and basically the Imigration Officers don't care.

My wife arrived unaccompanied on a fiancee visa and just strolled through the EU Immigration channel with a very kind couple she'd met on the plane who'd taken her under their wing - no medical, just a cursory glance at the visa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would strongly advise anyone reading this to ignore this comment!

Peterzxr's wife was very lucky, she could easily have been sent back to the non-EU queue and then sent for a medical/chest x-ray. It does sometimes happen that immigration officers will allow a non EU passport holder who is accompanied by an EU passport holder through the EU channel, but to rely on this happening would be extreme folly.

Gibbo, I would follow Clive's advice if I were you. If you leave her in the non-EU queue expecting to meet her the other side and she is sent for a medical, then it is unlikely that you will be allowed back in to go with her.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But it would not be the end of the world if they have to make the trip back and use the non EU line - there should be no reason he can not go with her when told they can not process her passport. I had this happen in US on last visit as prior to 9/11 we were told to use US/Green card lines in both LAX and SEA but last trip SEA said no when got to immigration officer.