Does a Filipino passport hokder need UK Transit Visa?

[Norrad]

I have a friend from the Philippines traveling to Norway for a holiday. She has a valid Norwegian visa. The cheapest flights have a 20 hour layover in Heathrow airport. Would she need a UK transit visa for the journey?

[RabC]

If she plans on leaving the terminal (passing through immigration) then yes she will, if remaining in the terminal then no.

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y

[theoldgit]

If her bags are checked through and intends to remain airside for 20 hours, then, as RabC advises, no visa is required.

If she needs to clear Immigration then a transit visa would be required.

[Norrad]

Thanks everyone. Her bags are checked through and she should have no need to pass through border control. She has just been worrying as she heard that some airlines may refuse her boarding.

[RabC]

Maybe worth letting her know not to buy duty free alcohol in BKK as she won't get it past security at LHR as it originated outside the EU.

[Denim]

A twenty hour layover at Heathrow airport will be hell. Nothing is cheap there in the way of decent food etc.

Might be worth finding out how much more it would cost to fly out a bit quicker. Obviously, if its hundreds of dollars the saving could be worth it but for a couple of thousand baht why suffer.

[Richard W]

If her bags are checked through and intends to remain airside for 20 hours, then, as RabC advises, no visa is required.

Are you sure of this interpretation? There's a summary list of UK visa requirements that looks ominous. For airside transit, which is what she would be doing, one requirement is that she "have a confirmed onward flight departing the same day from the same airport".

I wasn't sure what 'same day' meant, so I did some digging and found [url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/document-checks-and-charges-for-carriers]Document Checks and Charges for Carriers. In the linked to PDF, which is at Version 7, I found that the corresponding condition was more clearly expressed, in Section 2.6, as, "have a confirmed onward booking, to a destination outside the United Kingdom before 23.59 hours the same day from the same airport – i.e. Heathrow, Gatwick or Manchester".

I think she needs a visa for the UK.

[theoldgit]

Pretty sure yes, as I understand Filipinos only need a visa if they are going landside, in which case they would need a non-Direct Airside Transit Visa, some nationalities do need a visa even if they are staying airside.

In the Statement of changes published when these rules were introduced it states that the onward flight must be no later the 23.59 the day after arrival in the UK, though I'm not convinced that travellers to Norway are part of that scheme, but as they intend to stay landside as I read it they are not seeking leave to enter.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-transit-visas-immigration-act-2014/changes-to-transit-visas

To be honest the UKVI don't make it easy for budget travellers, the charging procedures guidelines amount to 26 pages and the statement of changes a further 18, though the section relating to transit passengers is only a couple of pages.

If I were the OP's friend I would be saving myself grief from check-in staff and IO's and get a transit visa, I certainly wouldn't relish the prospect of spending 20 hours at Heathrow.

[DipStick]

another potential issue is if she had to change terminals after arriving, not sure if there are airside transfers or she would need to to go through immigration to make her way to her departure terminal. This is a scenario I haven't thought about before. For those who know Heathrow, the distances between terminals in some cases is quite a lot

[Richard W]

In the Statement of changes published when these rules were introduced it states that the onward flight must be no later the 23.59 the day after arrival in the UK, though I'm not convinced that travellers to Norway are part of that scheme, but as they intend to stay landside as I read it they are not seeking leave to enter.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-transit-visas-immigration-act-2014/changes-to-transit-visas

I certainly wouldn't relish the prospect of spending 20 hours at Heathrow.

I read that change as being for landside transit.

As I understand it, the intention is to stay airside. (This may be inhumane - apparently, Terminal 1 gets very cold at night, and the others are closed.) The problem is that I would expect the 20 hours to encompass midnight - e.g. arrive at 13:00 and leave at 09:00. It is only because the stay encompasses midnight that I think a (landside) transit visa is required. A Direct Air Transit Visa would not suffice - it does not cover midnight! (Well, it could if a plane were sufficiently delayed in departing.)

I think 'same day' in the rules for transiting airside mean 'with no intervening midnight'. Unfortunately, I can't even find the rule (apart from the fining of airlines) that stops someone taking a week to transit airside, though I strongly suspect such a rule exists.

[theoldgit]

The problem as I see it is that the UKVI rules are complex and not very joined up, the guidelines, as I read them, don't really allow for a 20 hour layover airside - who would even consider it.

Last night I asked two Border Force Officers their view, one said they could transit airside with no problem whilst the other said they would require a visa, neither mentioned that they wouldn't be allowed to wait in the terminal - we've all seen those that seem to be there for the duration.

Not really a very scientific survey but if they can't agree how on earth can the travelling public hope to understand the rules.

I think the biggest hurdle would be persuading the airline staff to allow them to board the aircraft in the first place.

[Richard W]

another potential issue is if she had to change terminals after arriving, not sure if there are airside transfers or she would need to to go through immigration to make her way to her departure terminal. This is a scenario I haven't thought about before. For those who know Heathrow, the distances between terminals in some cases is quite a lot

There are airside transfers by free bus - allegedly very frequent throughout the day, but I have my doubts about them being such high frequency at night.

I had a look at the inter-terminal itinerary for transferring between PR720 from Manila due at T4 at 21:00 on 9 June and SK820 to Oslo due to leave T2 at 7.05 the following morning. It mentioned clearing security in T2, but nothing at all about clearing immigration.

I have seen a report of people staying overnight being herded from the lounge area to a gate, and passports and flights being recorded. That might be when transit visas are checked. The report is a few years old, so things may have changed.

Apparently, it is an administrative concession that airside transit passengers who are visa nationals don't normally need a visa to enter the UK, though there is a statutory instrument for Direct Air Transit visas (DATv). It therefore seems that the Home Office can impose whatever rules it likes, without giving Parliament any opportunity to object. It looks as though DATv enforcement is primarily done by airlines - rather like the onward ticket for tourists' visa-exempt entry to Thailand.