Tourist Visa Entry

[bubbles]

hello all

my gf had been granted a tourist visa to come to the uk for a few months until before Songkran, that was part of the sponsorship letter, visa runs til july 11 though. she is scared of flying so she has asked that i travel with her, so i've booked a single and not a return for both of us, just in case she gets bored here or has to rush home to thailand.

at the immigration desk at LHR, will the officer be concerned with the flight situation & only booking a single? i will be with her of course so if they have questions they can ask but i would like everything to go smoothly so thought i'd ask you guys/girls what you think. i'm quite happy to produce documents, bank statements etc if you think that would help...

cheers!

jt

[Basil B]

Not sure whether this will be a problem but did you not consider a open return or a ticket with a degree of flexibility that would allow changes of flight without or minimal penalty?

[bubbles]

Not sure whether this will be a problem but did you not consider a open return or a ticket with a degree of flexibility that would allow changes of flight without or minimal penalty?

to be honest yes and no. i looked at the possibility of booking an open ticket but decided against when my friends in the business said don't do it because of the complexity of getting the money back

[bubbles]

Not sure whether this will be a problem but did you not consider a open return or a ticket with a degree of flexibility that would allow changes of flight without or minimal penalty?

actually starting to worry about this now

[7by7]

When a visitor enters the UK immigration may ask them to produce a return or onward ticket or show that they have sufficient funds available with which to purchase one.

These funds can come from her resources, yours or a third party.

i looked at the possibility of booking an open ticket but decided against when my friends in the business said don't do it because of the complexity of getting the money back

Not sure what your friends in the business meant by this. As Basil says, most airlines will sell you a 6 month return, with an option to change the return date and return earlier for a minimal fee. No need to get a refund on any return ticket as she would be using it when or before her visa expires to return to Thailand.

[bubbles]

When a visitor enters the UK immigration may ask them to produce a return or onward ticket or show that they have sufficient funds available with which to purchase one.

These funds can come from her resources, yours or a third party.

i looked at the possibility of booking an open ticket but decided against when my friends in the business said don't do it because of the complexity of getting the money back

Not sure what your friends in the business meant by this. As Basil says, most airlines will sell you a 6 month return, with an option to change the return date and return earlier for a minimal fee. No need to get a refund on any return ticket as she would be using it when or before her visa expires to return to Thailand.

thanks, should of been cleared my friends are travel agents and airline staff. like i said, i will be with her so showing the funds and explaining why its only a single wont be a problem, i thought she will get asked the questions personally without me though, is that right?

[7by7]

If you leave her alone to go through the Non EU entry while you go through the EU one you may have difficulty in returning to help her answer any questions.

However, you do not have to go through the EU entry; you can join the non EU queue and go to the desk with her.

[bubbles]

If you leave her alone to go through the Non EU entry while you go through the EU one you may have difficulty in returning to help her answer any questions.

However, you do not have to go through the EU entry; you can join the non EU queue and go to the desk with her.

i was going to go through non-eu/fast track with her so you think everything will be alright?

originally i was more scared of her not been able to board the flight to abu dhabi to the uk, etihad have a security check point at the gate and they look harsher than the immigration desk...

[7by7]

If you can show that the funds to purchase a ticket out of the UK are available to her, then yes, it'll be alright. (She may not even be asked about this, or any questions at all.)

The airline will only be concerned that she has a valid entry clearance for her final destination; which she does.

Security checks at airports are not concerned with checking people's visas.

[Madivad]

I know the OP is talking about UK concerns, but I can speak from experience that Aussie carriers can and do check for return tickets and/or long term visas. eg. Taking my wife to Oz back Feb last year I had to produce an onward ticket to Fiji. They weren't satisfied that her ticket was one way for a tourist visa and the Fiji leg fixed things. For Aussie carriers it seemed irrelevant that I have a multitude of creditcards I could have used. They wanted a ticket.

Maybe the UK/UK Airlines are more forgiving in this regard

[bubbles]

If you can show that the funds to purchase a ticket out of the UK are available to her, then yes, it'll be alright. (She may not even be asked about this, or any questions at all.)

The airline will only be concerned that she has a valid entry clearance for her final destination; which she does.

Security checks at airports are not concerned with checking people's visas.

thank you 7by7, i feel a bit better now. i'll be taking copies of my bank balances, and my savings acc statement then...

[7by7]

Following Madivad's point, to clarify;

Para 2.1 of the Immigration Directorate Instructions says

Although all the requirements of Paragraph 41 must be met, the main points on which the immigration officer needs to be satisfied are.........

......that there are sufficient funds available to finance the stay (and that of any dependants) and the onward or return journey.

Obviously, possession of a return ticket would satisfy the latter.

It should be added that the IO should only question a person seeking entry if they have reason to believe that there is reason to do so.

The examination of general visitors should be aimed at identifying promptly, with a minimum of questioning, those passengers who clearly meet the requirements of the Rules. If it immediately becomes apparent that a passenger qualifies for leave to enter as a general visitor, the examination should be concluded and the passenger given leave to enter.

Maybe the Australian rules are different.

It has to be said, though, that simply showing a credit card (or cards) does not indicate that the funds are available. The card(s) could be at their limit. So a current ( or as current as possible) statement is better.

[bubbles]

Following Madivad's point, to clarify;

Para 2.1 of the Immigration Directorate Instructions says

Although all the requirements of Paragraph 41 must be met, the main points on which the immigration officer needs to be satisfied are.........

......that there are sufficient funds available to finance the stay (and that of any dependants) and the onward or return journey.

Obviously, possession of a return ticket would satisfy the latter.

It should be added that the IO should only question a person seeking entry if they have reason to believe that there is reason to do so.

The examination of general visitors should be aimed at identifying promptly, with a minimum of questioning, those passengers who clearly meet the requirements of the Rules. If it immediately becomes apparent that a passenger qualifies for leave to enter as a general visitor, the examination should be concluded and the passenger given leave to enter.

Maybe the Australian rules are different.

It has to be said, though, that simply showing a credit card (or cards) does not indicate that the funds are available. The card(s) could be at their limit. So a current ( or as current as possible) statement is better.

I was going with bank statements re current account so I guess that would be alright, i mean thats usable cash after all.

i think the point madivad was going for was that the airline (correct me if im wrong) would be responsible for the return flight if she got rejected at the IO level. so they are extremely careful with things like this and would want a return ticket bought.

im thinking about booking a single flexible ticket from lhr to bkk for her just to be on the safe side, which i could cancel. im told that this would be refunded but it would mean a £900 charge for me, my only concern then is, would they refund it or am i been lied too.

[7by7]

i think the point madivad was going for was that the airline (correct me if im wrong) would be responsible for the return flight if she got rejected at the IO level. so they are extremely careful with things like this and would want a return ticket bought.

If an airline knowingly carried a passenger without the correct entry clearance for their destination and that passenger was refused entry then the airline would not only be liable for the cost of returning the passenger to their departure point, but also possibly have to pay a large fine ($20,000 springs to mind, but I may be wrong).

However, airline check in staff are not immigration officers, and if the passenger's passport appears to contain any necessary entry clearance then it is not up to them to determine if that entry clearance is valid or not. If upon questioning by immigration at the passenger's destination it turned out that this entry clearance was not valid and so the passenger was refused entry the airline would not be subject to any sanction.

Bubbles, from what you have said I do not foresee her having any problems. You will be with her and so, if necessary, can show that the funds are available for her to purchase an onward or return ticket when the time comes for her to leave the UK.

[Madivad]

@7x7, I did mean the statements thereof.

@bubbles, I hadn't considered they being responsible for the return leg if rejected (I would suppose if they satisfied immigration they at least checked the return flight they can satisfy that part of it). I know on my third trip here I only bought one way and just to be on the safeside I bought a hop to Singapore. At the counter I didn't initially tell them and there was no way I was getting on without that ticket. This is the airline at the departure point, mind you. Nothing to do with immigration. I really did feel they were overstepping their boundaries, but who am I to say.

It seems as though the UK side of it is more lenient.

Really, if you need to, just buy the cheapest throwaway(-able) fare from the UK to France or similar. That way the airline is satisfied you're / she is leaving that country. But as indicated here: you don't need to.

Bon voyage!