EU or Other Nationalities at Heathrow Airport

[JamesH]

I will be returning to the UK in June for a month and for the first time my Thai wife who will be accompanying me. She will be on her first UK Visitor Visa and when we arrive at Immigration Control would she be allowed through the  EU nationals Passport Control with me or must she go through the Other Nationalities Control on her own, which I would imagine would be quite daunting. Alternatively would I be allowed to accompany her through the Other Nationalities Control.

[steve187]

you would be better going through the auto gate, and then wait for her close to the other's area

Edited February 20, 2017 by steve187

[Flustered]

When my wife travels on her Singaporean passport with me, we always go through the EU passport control together. I once went with her through the other nationals and was told we could have gone through the EU one.

 

Mind you, on a few occasions when the queue had been almost non existent in the non EUs we use that as faster.

[brewsterbudgen]

I will be returning to the UK in June for a month and for the first time my Thai wife who will be accompanying me. She will be on her first UK Visitor Visa and when we arrive at Immigration Control would she be allowed through the  EU nationals Passport Control with me or must she go through the Other Nationalities Control on her own, which I would imagine would be quite daunting. Alternatively would I be allowed to accompany her through the Other Nationalities Control.

You can go through the EU passports control together.

[Trevor1809]

I regularly went through the other channel as the was queue was shorter than the UK/EU one. If I am with my wife then I go through the other channel with her. Sometimes get a strange response.

[post]

11 hours ago, Flustered said:

When my wife travels on her Singaporean passport with me, we always go through the EU passport control together.

Just a matter of interest: What is her immigration/visa status in the UK?

[JamesH]

No status at all. She will be travelling on her first UK Visitor Visa. 

[sandyf]

7 minutes ago, JamesH said:

No status at all. She will be travelling on her first UK Visitor Visa. 

I can confirm what was said in post No 4. Over the last 7 years I have been in and out of the UK with my wife on quite a few occasions. I have normally gone with her through Foreign Passports without anything being said. Last year when we arrived at Heathrow the Immigration Officer asked if I was aware that as my wife and being together that we could both use the EU channel.

We went from Heathrow to Malta and a week later flew back into Manchester and both went through the EU channel  without too much of a problem. A woman tried to get us to go through the auto gates but when I pointed out my wife had a foreign passport we were directed straight to the counter.

Be prepared to answer a few questions, usually fairly straightforward like why have you come, where will you stay and for how long. One would think that with a visa in the passport the questions had been answered but not so.

[bobrussell]

Go for the fastest moving queue!

Sometimes the non-EU passport line goes faster because there are more staff. Generally the questioning is brief going through the EU line so it can move fast despite the number of people waiting.

Even in the EU line you get questions such as where have you arrived from, how long have you been away etc. For a visitor how long are you intending to stay and who are you travelling with.