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Hey guys .... this question is for my own benefit.
Wife travelling via london and wants to take a day halt (as in go outside for a day). We do have a US GC (indian citizens). So wondering what's the visa requirements for London.
Any first hand experiences will be appreciated.
well ... I am going to answer my own question ...
Use this tool ..
https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
An outstanding tool for anybody transiting through london.
Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
UK has imported all the mullahs over the last 50 years in the name of liberal democracy, and now after the 2005 bombings are paying the price; and they treats all brown-foreigners as potential terrorists. You may not need a transit visa if you have a GC, but if you miss your flight and want to leave the airport, they will give you a royal-rogering of a time.
Thanks nbk. So are you saying that even with a US GC, UK immigration most likely will not give us a TWOV (Transit without visa) exception?
I wonder if there is anybody on forum who got TWOV exception at UK immigration.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nbk1976
Your wife is eligible for Transit without Visa since she has US GC. Note that:
- The halt/duration of stay in UK should be less than 24 hours. The departure time of the onward flight should take care of that.
- Your wife should have visa/necessary documents for her final destination.
- Finally, the immigration officer decides whether to let the traveler in or not. Not sure what the criterion are but if the officer denies entry she will be stuck in the airport.
Thanks ravn. That's my fear.Quote:
Originally Posted by ravn from blah
As ravn said, GC holders may not need transit visas if the flights will depart within 24 hoyrs. If you miss the flight or the flight is rescheduled and you have to catch a flight the next day, they will really harass you: GC or no GC.
Avoid London (especially if you need to change from Heathrow to Gatwick). Better transit thru Frankfurt or Paris or Amsterdam. I have had much better experiences thru those airports.
Because of all these transit issues, I am completely avoiding European countries for transit for the last couple of years. My favorite route is Qatar airways from DC. Qatar has connecting flights to most of major cities in India. Other good gulf route flights are Emirates, Gulf air etc. Why pay our air fare to these European airlines when they don't treat us with dignity !Quote:
Originally Posted by nbk1976
Alright guys an update finally. The UK immigration officers did grant a TWOV (i.e. transit without visa - a fancy name for entering UK without visa) to my wife.
Although my wife has a GC - I believe anybody with a valid US or Canadian visa can get such a TWOV when leaving on a flight within 24 hours.
Q,Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
Glad to hear that.
I think it would take something quite serious not to grant a TWOV to someone who qualifies for it, particularly a GC holder.
Thanks Spec. WE didnt know anybody who had done it before. The only person who we knew were parents of one of our friends 7 years back. Were not sure if recently anything changed. The UK gov website did clearly say that Indians with any valid visa may get a TWOV solely based on the border agents discretion.
So I guess that discretion will always make one nervous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spectator
Q,
Its good to know she passed the transit without any hurdle. We welcome her back!
What I want to say is that there is a caveat given in the government website itself saying the following .....
"Transiting without a visa is a concession. This concession does not apply to nationals of the countries shown in red above. Nationals of these countries need visas, even when in direct airside transit, unless they are in possession of one of the following documents:
a) a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from another country
or territory to the country in respect of which the visa is held;
b) a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from the country in
respect of which the visa is held to another country or territory;
c) a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America to another country or territory, provided that the transit passenger does not seek to transit the United Kingdom on a date more than six months from the date on which he last entered Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America with a valid visa for entry to that country;
d) a valid USA I-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21 April 1998; or an expired USA i-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21 April 1998 provided accompanied by a valid I-797 letter authorising the extension, issued by the Bureau of Citizenship; or a stand alone US Immigration visa Form 155A / 155B (attached to a sealed brown envelope);
e) a valid Canadian Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 28 June 2002;
f) a valid common format Category D visa for entry to an EEA state or Switzerland;
g) a valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA State or Switzerland pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002.
NB: in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) a "valid visa" shall include a transit visa
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...y_2014__2_.pdf
Is this not sufficient ? Do we still need to worry? As gcq said, I do not vote for a London transit. I, myself was treated badly.
Kanmani - sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. I know how hurtful it is. I had a terrible experience in costa rica where some airport border agents just wanted to be racist pigs and refused to accept that the visas we had were actually issued by their New Delhi consulate. So we spent the night on the airport and were rescued by our client the next day.
Anyway coming back to UK. You should visit the UK visa site too. That is the best site you will ever find on UK visa requirement. Based on that we took a calculated risk.
p.s. - Other than wife's US GC - one thing that I believe also came in useful was the fact that our daughter was travelling on a US passport.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanmani
Thanks Q. I almost forgot Heathrow. I posted for the benefit of other Indian passport travelers taking that route.
My mom's visiting next month through BA via Heathrow (direct airside transit). She has a B1/B2 - have travellers with this visa faced issues at Heathrow?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanmani
My wife traveled to India via Heathrow on valid H4 in May. she didnt have any issues. I traveled in June on valid H1B. The immigration officer just looked at my visa and the connecting flight ticket and let me pass. We did not get direct airside transit visa.Quote:
Originally Posted by kuku82
More Info on this link
https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
For Indian Passport Holders in transit (bags checked in all the way to destination and wont be picked up at Heathrow airport)
According to this, as we were travelling from USA and it was more than 6 months, we were required to have DAT Visa. But I had couple friends who had traveled few months before us on valid US visa and they didn't have any problems. So we took a chance.Quote:
You’ll need a visa to pass through the UK in transit (unless you’re exempt)
You should apply for a Direct Airside Transit visa if you arrive in the UK on a flight and leave again without passing through immigration control.
Exemptions
You won’t need a visa if you:
- are travelling to Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
- are travelling from Canada, New Zealand or the USA and it’s less than 6 months since you last entered that country with a valid entry visa
- are travelling to or from Australia and you have an Australian visa sticker in your passport - Australian e-visas and paper confirmation slips aren’t accepted by UK border control
- have a valid US permanent residence card issued on or after 21 April 1998 (or an I-797 extension letter issued by the Bureau of Citizenship if it’s expired)
- have a valid Canadian permanent resident card issued on or after 28 June 2002
- have a valid uniform format category D visa for entry to a state in the European Economic Area (EEA)
- have a valid uniform format residence permit issued by an EEA state
Looks like your mom (assuming travelling from India) is exempt and wont require DATV. Just show the VISA and boarding pass for connecting flight. It doesn't matter what type of US visa (B1/B2, H4, H1B) as long as its valid.
Just to have additional document to support this, go to the link and finish the questionnaire and ask you Mom to keep a printout of the exemption list.
Hope this helps.
This helps greatly, thanks!
@gten20 how much is the typical transit time at Heathrow, for the flights I have booked we have 1 hr 30 minutes is it sufficient, I know that they would screen the hand baggage and make you pass through security once.
Teddy,
It is going to be a tight schedule for you, they of course open the cabin baggage.
They will not allow you to carry a small hand bag/pouch while boarding the flight, you must stuff everything into the cabin bag. Women are suppose to remove all the jewelry including ear rings, metti and things, pass the scanner bare foot. Avoid wearing any ethnic wear which has stones/chumky/fancy button which would cause cloudy image in their scanner.
If you pre-prepare with the above facts, you can pass smooth. One more hurdle on the transit is, they would change the gate number at the last minute(?) You should always be vigilant and scan the information/notice board for the next flight.
Happy Journey!
1hr 30 mins should be more than sufficient. They were pretty quick and have screening points at each gate.. it was more like a extended TSA security check. Once you are done with security check, find your connecting flight terminal. You might have to use subway to change terminals.Quote:
Originally Posted by TeddyKoochu
Thanks a lot Kanmani for the details will keep these points in mind. We have had a similar experience couple of times but good to know.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanmani
Will definitely keep hand baggage down to a minimum.
Thanks a lot gten20, the transit is within terminal 5, hoping the flights operate timely I will be going to Delhi and Dec time is fog season.Quote:
Originally Posted by gten20
My mom flew to / fro in 2013 by Virgin Atlantic via Heathrow on B2 visa, smooth transit, no issues...Quote:
Originally Posted by kuku82
YMMV of course - but I have sworn to never transit through Heathrow again if I have any possible alternative at all.
BTW - Air India direct flight from ORD to DEL is a gem. No need for a Europe connection. You get in, you sleep, watch a movie or two and voilà - you are there dealing with Custom thugs in New Delhi (which are actually better than their Mumbai counterparts). The flights leaves at a reasonable hour, reaches at a reasonable hour when you still can take connections to your final destination (if not Delhi). The DEL to ORD has the usual past-midnight departure - but at least you reach on the morning of the same day!