Manchester airport harassment

[Gsh]

My wife was given a hard time my a very unpleaseant immigration officer at the weekend. She has been in the UK for 3 months on a 6 month visitor visa and we had just been to visit friends in Oslo for the weekend. He repeatly asked irrelevent questions about her employment in Thailand then called me over to question me about our living arrangments etc. Does he have any legal right to deny entry if she has a valid visa? Have other members had similar problems in Manchester?

[Crossy]

Yes he does. If he believes she may be breaking or about to break the terms of her visa.

A work mate was in a similar situation at Heathrow (he'd just proposed to his Malay girlfriend on a romantic weekend in Amsterdam) she was actually denied entry and shipped off back to Malaysia at his expense.

[robertthebruce]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

The visa said 6 months .... End of.....

[theoldgit]

As Crossy has advised, Border Force Officers to have the right to satisfy themselves that the person holding entry clearance is still a genuine visitor, in fact that's part of their job.

However they cannot deny landing on a whim, they must be able to satisfy a manager that the visa was obtained fraudulently or there had been a material change since the visa was issued.

Border Force Officers have a pretty thankless job, you will have all seen the long queues waiting to be processed and many passengers have just had a long journey, are pretty tired, and want to get to their final destination quickly, and the officers need to ensure that they are still properly checked. They should however deal with passengers with courtesy, and whilst I think using the term harassment may be a bit over the top, and I accept I wasn't there, if you believe you are treated badly in the future, you should try and remain calm, hold your ground and ask to speak to a senior manager.

[uptheos]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

The visa said 6 months .... End of.....

Obviously British enough to get a job with UK Border agency.

I assume he was trained and qualified, which is the main criteria.

[nontabury]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

The visa said 6 months .... End of.....

Suvarnabhumi

Are there any Brits working at Heathrow, I think not. Compare with Suvarnabhimi, how many non Thais are working there. Which country has got it Right?.

[theoldgit]

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

The visa said 6 months .... End of.....

Obviously British enough to get a job with UK Border agency.

I assume he was trained and qualified, which is the main criteria.

Spot on uptheos

The posts are reserved posts and open ONLY to nationals of the UK (under the terms of the 1996 Nationality Act, unless in a civil service post on or before 31 May 1996). You should be:

• a British citizen;
• a British subject under Part IV of the British Nationality Act 1981 having the right of abode in the UK; and/or
• a British Dependent Territories citizen acquiring citizenship from a connection with Gibraltar.

In addition:

• Have been resident in the UK for five years before you apply.
• Have the flexibility to work a range of shifts

[robertthebruce]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

The visa said 6 months .... End of.....

Obviously British enough to get a job with UK Border agency.

I assume he was trained and qualified, which is the main criteria.

No not really , most employers have to by LAW to employ diversity....

Hence the reason....

[rgs2001uk]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

The visa said 6 months .... End of.....

Obviously British enough to get a job with UK Border agency.

I assume he was trained and qualified, which is the main criteria.

Sounds more like PC world gone mad, my mrs asked the "Brit" why he couldnt speak English, but thats another story.

[sustento]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

How do you know? Did you see his passport?

[metisdead]

A post using disguised vulgar profanities and racist overtones has been removed.

[robertthebruce]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

How do you know? Did you see his passport?

There was a couple of dead giveaways...

[tw25rw]

I was expecting this when I brought the GF in, but everyone was really nice to her on both occasions at LCY. And both times we came through separately and I waited at the back.

[manarak]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Yes he does. If he believes she may be breaking or about to break the terms of her visa.

A work mate was in a similar situation at Heathrow (he'd just proposed to his Malay girlfriend on a romantic weekend in Amsterdam) she was actually denied entry and shipped off back to Malaysia at his expense.

As Crossy has advised, Border Force Officers to have the right to satisfy themselves that the person holding entry clearance is still a genuine visitor, in fact that's part of their job.

However they cannot deny landing on a whim, they must be able to satisfy a manager that the visa was obtained fraudulently or there had been a material change since the visa was issued.

Border Force Officers have a pretty thankless job, you will have all seen the long queues waiting to be processed and many passengers have just had a long journey, are pretty tired, and want to get to their final destination quickly, and the officers need to ensure that they are still properly checked. They should however deal with passengers with courtesy, and whilst I think using the term harassment may be a bit over the top, and I accept I wasn't there, if you believe you are treated badly in the future, you should try and remain calm, hold your ground and ask to speak to a senior manager.

UK's border agents are not the only ones doing this, and AFAIK, cases of abusive treatment by border officials are on the rise.

I think this behavior is unacceptable, I would have filed complaints whereever possible and also the press!

Regarding persons who are on short visas (less than a year) and invited by a citizen, do these "government agents" who should serve their citizens actually realize that they work against their citizens?

What does the previous employment of persons in Thailand have to do with being denied entry, if the person follows the labor rules ?

Even if the person is a prostitute in Thailand, what does it change? AFAIK, prostitution is legal in the UK, so if the tourist follows the rules and doesn't work in the UK, why slam her with something that is legal in UK?

They are practically penalizing one or two persons for an offence that hasn't yet been committed!

Minority report anyone?

In the case of the repatriated Malaysian, if I was the guy, I would have tentatively substracted the costs from my tax bill !

These power hungry nitwits (border agents are typically not bright and not well educated) need to get penalized for every wrongly denied entry.

Talking to a supervisor is probably the best thing to do, with the hope of talking to someone with an IQ higher than 80.

Edited September 26, 2014 by manarak

[sustento]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

How do you know? Did you see his passport?

There was a couple of dead giveaways...

Which were?

[MJP]

I had this years ago at Heathrow. It had taken 6 months and court hearings to get a 6 month family visitor visa for the old woman and Number 1 daughter.

Got to Heathrow and the b1tch tried to refuse entry even though it was a court ordered visa. Said it was her final say and not the judges. After getting the court papers out she stamped the passports, yelling after us we'd have to be out within 6 months.

Vile .

Edited September 26, 2014 by MJP

[manarak]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

How do you know? Did you see his passport?

There was a couple of dead giveaways...

Which were?

You try to provoke a racist statement, but I think it is irrelevant.

Try to put yourself into the situation of that guy - the entry of his girlfriend being unfairly denied by someone who not only has foreign origins but who also could not speak proper English !

I think the situation is highly offensive - not illegal - but I think it is very understandable that the guy felt it like an insult and resented that treatment.

[robertthebruce]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

How do you know? Did you see his passport?

There was a couple of dead giveaways...

Which were?

Cannot remember , but I tell you what, you see, to have a good imagination, work it out for yourself.... Get it right and you are top of the class,

[Lazy Sod]

I can't understand the time that is wasted by the Border Agents considering the scrutiny we've already been through during the visa application process in Bangkok. Why do we have to answer the same questions twice (once in Bangkok and once at the Border). it's inefficient. What this implies is that the Border Agents don't trust the Embassy visa section. In my opinion the Border Agents should simply check that the fingerprints match the visa applicant's unless there is something suspicious. Thai women have no history of being terrorists in the UK, they (mostly) have no desire to overstay, I don't know any Thai's living off UK benefits, so why waste everyone's time with this BS.

[PeeJay1959]

I can't understand the time that is wasted by the Border Agents considering the scrutiny we've already been through during the visa application process in Bangkok. Why do we have to answer the same questions twice (once in Bangkok and once at the Border). it's inefficient. What this implies is that the Border Agents don't trust the Embassy visa section. In my opinion the Border Agents should simply check that the fingerprints match the visa applicant's unless there is something suspicious. Thai women have no history of being terrorists in the UK, they (mostly) have no desire to overstay, I don't know any Thai's living off UK benefits, so why waste everyone's time with this BS.

Give a plebe a badge and a uniform and some will always overstep the mark. Do they even earn £18,600 needed to get their relatives in?

[sustento]

O

I had the same carry on at Heathrow last year with my partner, I was fuming.... The visa was for 6 months but he was interrogated as if he was a criminal, of course me being me, I was right over, giving my tuppence worth..

The annoying thing was the Immigration Offocer, his English was poor , and was no way British in my eyes...

How do you know? Did you see his passport?

There was a couple of dead giveaways...

Which were?

Cannot remember , but I tell you what, you see, to have a good imagination, work it out for yourself.... Get it right and you are top of the class,

He had brown skin?

[Basil B]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Yes he does. If he believes she may be breaking or about to break the terms of her visa.

A work mate was in a similar situation at Heathrow (he'd just proposed to his Malay girlfriend on a romantic weekend in Amsterdam) she was actually denied entry and shipped off back to Malaysia at his expense.

As Crossy has advised, Border Force Officers to have the right to satisfy themselves that the person holding entry clearance is still a genuine visitor, in fact that's part of their job.

However they cannot deny landing on a whim, they must be able to satisfy a manager that the visa was obtained fraudulently or there had been a material change since the visa was issued.

Border Force Officers have a pretty thankless job, you will have all seen the long queues waiting to be processed and many passengers have just had a long journey, are pretty tired, and want to get to their final destination quickly, and the officers need to ensure that they are still properly checked. They should however deal with passengers with courtesy, and whilst I think using the term harassment may be a bit over the top, and I accept I wasn't there, if you believe you are treated badly in the future, you should try and remain calm, hold your ground and ask to speak to a senior manager.

UK's border agents are not the only ones doing this, and AFAIK, cases of abusive treatment by border officials are on the rise.

I think this behavior is unacceptable, I would have filed complaints whereever possible and also the press!

Regarding persons who are on short visas (less than a year) and invited by a citizen, do these "government agents" who should serve their citizens actually realize that they work against their citizens?

What does the previous employment of persons in Thailand have to do with being denied entry, if the person follows the labor rules ?

Even if the person is a prostitute in Thailand, what does it change? AFAIK, prostitution is legal in the UK, so if the tourist follows the rules and doesn't work in the UK, why slam her with something that is legal in UK?

They are practically penalizing one or two persons for an offence that hasn't yet been committed!

Minority report anyone?

In the case of the repatriated Malaysian, if I was the guy, I would have tentatively substracted the costs from my tax bill !

These power hungry nitwits (border agents are typically not bright and not well educated) need to get penalized for every wrongly denied entry.

Talking to a supervisor is probably the best thing to do, with the hope of talking to someone with an IQ higher than 80.

"What does the previous employment of persons in Thailand have to do with being denied entry, if the person follows the labor rules ? Even if the person is a prostitute in Thailand, what does it change? AFAIK, prostitution is legal in the UK, so if the tourist follows the rules and doesn't work in the UK, why slam her with something that is legal in UK?"

The OP stated "He repeatly asked irrelevent questions about her employment in Thailand", I am assuming Immigration officers at port of entry have access to notes relating to the original visa application, and if the OP's wife originally said she was only staying a few weeks and has a job to return to, then in the UK for 3 months she leaves the UK for a few days and on her return the IO asks if her job is still open, do you not think that correct action? has not her "reason to return" somewhat diminished?

"They are practically penalizing one or two persons for an offence that hasn't yet been committed!", they have a duty to prevent such an offence crime being committed, I.E. if an IO suspects there is a high risk of a person overstaying their visa and with refference to a senior IO who also agrees, that person can be denied entry.

[theoldgit]

Yes Basil, Border Force Officers have access to the original application quite easily, and even the supporting evidence given time.

So yes, if an applicant stated she was visiting the UK for a couple of weeks or so and provided evidence of employment as evidence of a reason to return and then pitched up at a UK Border with a return ticket for six months hence, the Border Officer may well be thinking that there was a material change and the passenger would, rightly in my view, subject to further examination.

To comment on a couple of other posts, as I've said before, Border Force Officers face a challenging task, they deal with long lines of passengers, many of whom have had long flights, have waited in line and just want to be landed and get home. Officers are under pressure to clear these never ending lines, whilst ensuring that passengers who really shouldn't be landed are prevented from doing so, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I know many Immigration Staff, some retired and some still in harness, all those I know are well educated, well trained and conscientious, they are well paid for their challenging job and would be more than qualified to sponsor person seeking settlement.

Whilst of course some are more relaxed than others when dealing with passengers, some may seem abrupt and will push the boundaries of acceptability, also some passengers might fly off the handle because they're frustrated, some members have indicated they have stepped up to the plate when their partner was challenged.

In my years of travelling through UK Borders my partner and I have treated with courtesy and respect and, apart from one occasion, if my partner was questioned it was done politely and professionally.

On the one occasion where we had an issue, similar to one described earlier, we had been holidaying in the UK and were returning from a short side trip to Paris, my partner was addressed in a rude and patronising manner and when I stepped forward he attempted to brush me aside. I stood my ground, politely but firmly, and she was allowed to land, I will admit it left a bad taste in my mouth.

[jpeg]

Does he have any legal right to deny entry if she has a valid visa?

Yes he does. Rather like Thai Immigration.

[pitchag]

I had a problem a couple of years ago at Heathrow, I am English born in London traveling on a Australian passport, I was asked at immigration where I would be staying, I said with my brother in law,i said the address is in my case that is on the carrousel, so this extremely dark officer with quite bad English was trying to tell me I could not enter without her knowing where i was staying I stated that my relatives were meeting me outside so I did not need the address. I was getting quite stressed by this time and said what if I had no plans to stay anywhere but just to hire a car and drive around England, this kind of baffled her, my wife had already gone through her immigration and came back to calm me down, I could not believe I was going to be denied entry to the country of my birth by a obvious immigrant.

Yes before you lot berate me I am as racist as the average person but normally only against pumped up &lt;deleted&gt; in uniform

And yes I do live in a racist country Thailand

[richard_smith237]

For the purposes of balance and fairness I should add my experiences which have been nothing other than positive.

On our numerous arrivals in Manchester over the past 7 years or so my Wife is usually asked a couple of questions such as how long and where is she staying and then welcomed in, usually with a comment such as enjoy your stay.

On a recent arrival at Heathrow we were once again dealt with in a very polite and relaxed manner. We'd queued up in the Non-EU line, the Immigration officer also informed me that this isn't necessary, as a UK citizen its my right to bring my family through the EU line which I was advised would be quicker... (which it would've been, as it happened we'd been moved to the front of the queue as we were travelling with a child).

Thus: Our experiences upon arrival in the UK have always been friendly and positive.

However, on one occasion in Transit at Frankfurt Airport my Wife was dealt with unprofessionally.. A rather curt and rude German Immigration officer had already questioned a Singaporean businessman somewhat aggressively in heavily accented and difficult to comprehend English, in response the Singaporean became agitated and stood his ground.

A Thai lady next in line was a frightened upon questioning and couldn't answer the officers questions... She was told to stand aside.

Next in line, after seeing her Thai Passport the immigration officer assuming my Wife and the Thai lady in front of us were traveling together was told to stand aside. My Wife refused, she was asked a series of questions in a somewhat aggressive manner, again with a strong german accent I had difficulty understanding, when asked for our boarding passes the Immigration Officer saw that my Wife and I were travelling together and in Business Class. His tact suddenly changed, he became very polite, apologised to my Wife and I... At which point I asked him if he was planning on upsetting everyone in the queue...

Understandably its the immigrations officers Job to profile and question people, they must also place them under a certain level of pressure and see how they respond. This is extremely difficult to achieve tactfully, politely and respectfully.

[bertty]

This reminds me of the many times I have arrived thru Heathrow to be asked by an IO several questions many of which I have not been able to understand.

'Answer my question'..... Sorry what did you say!!!!

Simular the British woman asking in the British embassy in Bangkok 2 weeks ago what was the code for India. Sadly the woman behind the counter didn't know it.

Well why would she ?

[7by7]

Rudeness is never acceptable; especially rudeness by public servants.

But neither is arrogance aimed at those servants trying to do their job.

It seems to me that what the OP and others object to is not so much being questioned; but being questioned by someone with a brown skin!

Otherwise, why bring the IO's appearance up at all?

There is more to this than the OP has said; like what was said in the original application about length of stay etc.

[manarak]

The OP stated "He repeatly asked irrelevent questions about her employment in Thailand", I am assuming Immigration officers at port of entry have access to notes relating to the original visa application, and if the OP's wife originally said she was only staying a few weeks and has a job to return to, then in the UK for 3 months she leaves the UK for a few days and on her return the IO asks if her job is still open, do you not think that correct action? has not her "reason to return" somewhat diminished?

"They are practically penalizing one or two persons for an offence that hasn't yet been committed!", they have a duty to prevent such an offence crime being committed, I.E. if an IO suspects there is a high risk of a person overstaying their visa and with refference to a senior IO who also agrees, that person can be denied entry.

Offence, because not in the criminal code.

And then I consider it very vicious to grant a 3 months visa if after a couple of weeks or a month of stay the border agents consider that the person has been away from the job for too long to still have a reason to return - and I guess the border agents are completely unaware of how easy it is in Thailand to take time off from a job, even 3 months.

Why don't embassies then just issue visas with a stay limited to 2 or 3 weeks?

[Basil B]

I had a problem a couple of years ago at Heathrow, I am English born in London traveling on a Australian passport, I was asked at immigration where I would be staying, I said with my brother in law,i said the address is in my case that is on the carrousel, so this extremely dark officer with quite bad English was trying to tell me I could not enter without her knowing where i was staying I stated that my relatives were meeting me outside so I did not need the address. I was getting quite stressed by this time and said what if I had no plans to stay anywhere but just to hire a car and drive around England, this kind of baffled her, my wife had already gone through her immigration and came back to calm me down, I could not believe I was going to be denied entry to the country of my birth by a obvious immigrant.

Yes before you lot berate me I am as racist as the average person but normally only against pumped up <deleted> in uniform

And yes I do live in a racist country Thailand

If you are English born in London then are you not British? if so you have every right to enter the UK and should have used your British Passport, if you do not have a British Passport you should have shown proof you are a British citizen with right of abode in the UK, they can not refuse you entry.

But even if you were of English decent but were registered as another nationality and not registered British then you are just another foreigner.