It's the travel season, and there's always lots of bfs and gfs heading back-and-forth across the pond with romance on their minds, and the same question: "What happens if I get questioned or detained in immigration?".
If you travel in and out of the UK and do it repeatedly, sooner or later you will activate the built-in radar of an Immigration Officer, and you will need to answer some questions. And if you are on your 2nd or 3rd trip to the UK as a visitor with nothing else to explain your visit except that you are "seeing some friends", it makes sense that the Immigration Officer's curiosity would be aroused. And on your 3rd or 4th trip over a short period of time - like 2 years or so, there's a 99% chance you will be caught out. If that happens, there are several outcomes: you might be released into the UK for 24 hours; you might be released into the UK for a specific period of time, like 2 months; or you might get sent back.
The entry refusal rate at our airports runs fairly consistent. 1 person out of every 2,300 arrivals will get detained and sent back. Caribbean people hold the #1 slot for entry refusals at port. There's a tie for 2nd place with Americans, Canadians, South Africans, and so on all running neck and neck. Other nationalities run a distant 3rd place. Of course, visa-nationals, from Pakistan or the Philippines for example, are not generally refused entry at port because they already have entry clearances.
Yes, it's stressful and yes, there's lots of advice on the internet about how to cope with it. So that's not the point of this article. If you are having stress about being refused entry, if you are travelling short of funds, or if your travel history begins to look conspicuous, there's a sure-fire way of coping with it. You can get an entry clearance. It's a type of visa where they ask all the nitty-gritty questions before you travel, and get that part out of the way. If they don't like what's going on or they suspect your intentions, you can learn about it straight-away. American visitors don't need one, but lots get them because of stress.
Here's a rough extract from the Home Office's site: "...People ... who do not need a visa but would like peace of mind can seek entry clearance before travelling. This takes the form of a certificate placed in their passport. This is not a requirement and does not guarantee entry into the UK, but it may make passage through immigration control easier. Application for entry clearance is made to the British Embassy or High Commission... A fee is charged for entry clearance..."
And here's a quote about the same thing, but from a different point of view: "...The rate of refusal of leave to enter at the port to visitors from some non-visa national countries ... is higher than for visitors from other countries. It can therefore be advisable for nationals of those countries to obtain entry clearance, and the rules permit though they do not strictly require it (para 23A). Even before the Immigration Order 2000 SI 2000/1161, entry clearance would ease the traveler's passage through immigration control and help to avoid wasted airfares and the distress of refusal at the port..." (source: "Immigration and Asylum Law", Gina Clayton, LLM, Oxford University Press, 2004).
Once again, it's optional. But if you are having stress about the Immigration Officer, if you are travelling with minimal funds, if you have no way to explain what you are doing in the UK, or if your travel history starts to look conspicuous, then the entry clearance is an option to check out!