Need a UK visa just to pass through Heathrow?

[jpduggan]

This morning I got a call from my Thai partner in tears to tell me she was at Suanabhumi and the British Airways check in staff would not allow her on the flight to Ireland because she did not have a visa for the UK even though she did have a valid one for Ireland to come and visit me. I had booked the ticket for her through Skyscanner and was unaware of this rule and didn't think it was necessary as she was only going to be a transferring passenger in Heathrow. She was given a phone number to contact by the check in staff and listened to it ring two times for 25 minutes each time. There's no ticket desk in Suanabhumi where she could go to change the ticket.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem and has any suggestions as to how I might be able to claim back some or all the 42,000 baht this cost me?

[beachproperty]

Curious???

Does she have to go through customs and immigration at Heathrow before she catches her flight to Ireland?...if so...my guess would be that she does need a visa to the UK.

If not ....doesn't make sense.

[jpduggan]

Curious???

Does she have to go through customs and immigration at Heathrow before she catches her flight to Ireland?...if so...my guess would be that she does need a visa to the UK.

If not ....doesn't make sense.

As far as I know ,she was just to go from one terminal to another but not through any immigration. It's the same scenario if we stop at Abu Dhabi on route!

[Upnotover]

I think it is all to do with the uncontrolled border from the Republic into Northern Ireland. Both the IATA travel advice site and UK.GOV both say a visa is needed for transiting to Ireland. Doesn't make a lot of sense of course as your say, no different to transiting via AUH or elsewhere.

[Tony M]

Immigration controls for the "Common Travel Area" are carried out on arrival at Heathrow. UK visa regulations say this :

Airside Transit (where available):

Airside transit passengers are those who do not need to change airports and do not need to pass through the UK border. Passengers cannot transit AIRSIDE to the Republic of Ireland or anywhere within the common travel area.

[7by7]

I'm confused, as it says here

You might be eligible for ‘transit without (a UK) visa’ if:

• you arrive and depart by air
• have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after you arrive
• have the correct documents for your destination (eg a visa for that country)

One of the following must also apply:

• you have an Irish biometric visa and an onward flight ticket to the Republic of Ireland

I suppose "might be" is the key, and that page does finish with

You won’t be able to transit without a visa if a Border Force Officer decides you don’t qualify under the immigration rules. You can apply for a transit visa before you travel if you’re unsure whether you qualify for transiting without a visa.

jpduggan, I'm afraid that if you check the terms and conditions of her ticket you will find it is the passenger's responsibility to ensure they have all the necessary visas etc. and that the airline reserve the right to refuse carriage if they believe this is not the case and if they do so they will not make any refunds.

[bobrussell]

This seems to be yet another 'no win' situation with the .gov website.

It states that 'You should apply for another type of visitor visa if you're travelling to or from Ireland, the channel islands or the Isle of Man'. Click on it and you just go to the generic tourist visa page of .gov.

How on earth is anyone supposed to get things right when the advice available is so diabolically poor? I assume that it is necessary to pass through immigration if Ireland flights are considered domestic!

I can understand why you are so upset. Should it really be necessary to get legal advice to apply for simpler visa types?

I suspect the number she was given was the visa advice line (premium rate). My experience is that on the very rare occasion you can get through, they are as useful as a chocolate teapot!

It might be helpful for a bit of advice to be forthcoming when applying for the Irish visa to warn people that they go through immigration at Heathrow.

Edited August 14, 2015 by bobrussell

[swampdonkey]

Curious???

Does she have to go through customs and immigration at Heathrow before she catches her flight to Ireland?...if so...my guess would be that she does need a visa to the UK.

If not ....doesn't make sense.

As far as I know ,she was just to go from one terminal to another but not through any immigration. It's the same scenario if we stop at Abu Dhabi on route!

She does have to pass through immigration

[oli123]

Unfortunately the Terminals at heathrow are spaced out - I think 4 and 5 are a fair way from 1 2 3

So she would need a transit visa to traverse to a different terminal. Not really right I mean its obvious she is going on to Ireland and they should have a transfer system where no transit visa is needed (There is a direct train already)

[7by7]

This seems to be yet another 'no win' situation with the .gov website.

It states that 'You should apply for another type of visitor visa if you're travelling to or from Ireland, the channel islands or the Isle of Man'. Click on it and you just go to the generic tourist visa page of .gov.

How on earth is anyone supposed to get things right when the advice available is so diabolically poor?

Can you link to the relevant page, Bob?

The first item on the UKVI home page of the gov.uk site is Check if you need a UK visa.

Clicking on that takes you to a tool which, by answering the questions, took me to the page and information in my previous.

It appears to me that if the conditions on that page are met then no transit visa is required if transiting via the UK to the RoI; even if one does have to pass through UK immigration.

The more I think about this, the more I believe the BA staff at Bangkok made a mistake!

Unless one or more of those conditions were not met.

[stoneyboy]

Unfortunately the Terminals at heathrow are spaced out - I think 4 and 5 are a fair way from 1 2 3

So she would need a transit visa to traverse to a different terminal. Not really right I mean its obvious she is going on to Ireland and they should have a transfer system where no transit visa is needed (There is a direct train already)

Correct the terminals are linked by the free train which of course means clearing immigration to access them.

[stoneyboy]

Curious???

Does she have to go through customs and immigration at Heathrow before she catches her flight to Ireland?...if so...my guess would be that she does need a visa to the UK.

If not ....doesn't make sense.

As far as I know ,she was just to go from one terminal to another but not through any immigration. It's the same scenario if we stop at Abu Dhabi on route!

As stated to change terminals at Heathrow one has to clear immigration.

It's a bloody joke if you ask me,sorry to hear of your misfortune in this instance,just another wind up when it comes to the UK boarder agency,it's a complete farce and uncalled for.

Edited August 15, 2015 by stoneyboy

[7by7]

I am among the first to criticise UKVI, the Home Office and the government where such criticism is warranted.

But as explained above, it seems to me that in this case the fault lies with BA's staff at Swampy!

[bobrussell]

This seems to be yet another 'no win' situation with the .gov website.

It states that 'You should apply for another type of visitor visa if you're travelling to or from Ireland, the channel islands or the Isle of Man'. Click on it and you just go to the generic tourist visa page of .gov.

How on earth is anyone supposed to get things right when the advice available is so diabolically poor?

Can you link to the relevant page, Bob?

The first item on the UKVI home page of the gov.uk site is Check if you need a UK visa.

Clicking on that takes you to a tool which, by answering the questions, took me to the page and information in my previous.

It appears to me that if the conditions on that page are met then no transit visa is required if transiting via the UK to the RoI; even if one does have to pass through UK immigration.

The more I think about this, the more I believe the BA staff at Bangkok made a mistake!

Unless one or more of those conditions were not met.

Very bizarre!

Go to:

https://www.gov.uk/transit-visa/visitor-in-transit-visa

and click on the link 'You need to apply for another type of visitor visa' and you go to the page I talked about (generic and useless page.

If you click the UK visitor in transit link you do indeed get to the check if you need page!

Two completely different links in the same paragraph, going to totally different pages.

Badly worded and very confusing for the inexperienced and experienced alike! It is hardly surprising that people get very confused. I cannot believe that BA and other airlines are unaware of the need to pass through immigration at Heathrow. Why would the general public be expected to realise that they go through immigration at Heathrow for what really are international flights?

I really consider the airlines and their agents to be at fault here!

(I have checked but happy to be corrected but it does seem that Dublin is classified as domestic at Heathrow as a passport is not usually required to fly)

Edited August 15, 2015 by bobrussell

[Tony M]

This may clarify the Common Travel Area that I mentioned earlier :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area