Clearing Gatwick Customs & Immigration

So how come they wouldn't let you in if you don't mind?

Ash

Oh, it's a long, old story.  It's somewhere here on the forum, I'm sure...at the end of the day, it came down to the actual IO who interviewed me believing that I wasn't going to do anything illegal, but her supervisor who never spoke to me not believing me.

Almost 3 years later and now with Indefinite Leave, I'm still not really *over* it...

Oh so this wasn't like a normal just coming for vacaction and them kicking you out thing I guess.

Ash

How do you mean that?  I wasn't doing anything I wasn't technically allowed to.  I was coming in to spend some time living with my (then) boyfriend BEFORE we got married.  Same thing many others here have managed to do.

And this was back when we wouldn't have had to get a Fiancee Visa or COA or anything to get married.  And I wouldn't have had to leave to get Further Leave after getting married.  But we had decided that after living together, if things were working out, I'd return to the US and get the appropriate visa and come back.

Just ended up doing things a little quicker than we had planned.  Luckily, I'd known him since 1985.  And it's worked out - like I think we both knew it would.  It's just the immigration authorities kind of pushed our timtetable up...by about 6-9 months.

Peedal it sounds like we had the exact same thing happen to us a few weeks ago  :

Fiancee and her son came to the UK, to try the country (and living with me lol) on for size so to speak. They fully intended to head back to the United States to apply for the correct visas in the proper manner. Of course convincing the IO's at Heathrow TN4 of that proved a much more difficult proposition. On reflection we can understand why there suspicions were aroused, but their point blank refusal to listen to our logical and totally honest explanations, and their instance that their ASSUMPTION of our wishes to live illegally must be correct, will rankle for a very long time.

For the record, our plans and situation that caused the 'issues' were:

1- No return ticket. We reasoned that because it was a long summer we would take our time, and try to time the return to the states to coincide with having all the visa applications completed and ready to apply. All we wanted to do was maximise our time together, and minimise the time spent apart, but it meant we didnt have an exact return date. Doh! This was the question that tripped the whole thing off.

2- A lot of luggage. We used up the full allowance of luggage on the plane. No more than allowed, but on the limit. To the IO's this was too much for a visit. We were bringing things over in advance of the final move later in the summer, to get around flight baggage restrictions. Did they believe us? Nope. Still difficult to accept this, if there is a recommended amount of luggage that immigration officers accept as suitable for a visit then it might be useful if they told us.

3- Fiancee's cirmcumstances meant she had no reason to return to the US. After the detention interview, they decided that my Fiancee's life in the US must be so bad that she would have no reason to return. Why? Because she had moved in with her sister prior to coming over (had no permanant address of her own you see) and was between jobs. This is the killer for us. It just seems to smack of attempting to justify their decision after the fact. The simple assumption was that living in the US legally with her friends and family for a few weeks, whilst applying for a settlement visa, was somehow less preferable than living with an illegal status in the UK.


End result? 2 days temporary stay in the UK with fiance (and yeah, if they were going to then they could have run off) before having to head back stateside. Still we got a free flight courtesy of the UK Government, which saved us a bit of money. Not that this in anway offsets or compensates the sheer distress and discomfort caused by spending 10 hours in detention with a young child. Grrr it really makes the blood boil.


Sorry if this worries anyone, I would lay odds that we probably just ran into the wrong IO on the wrong day, but still take heed. It was the return tickets issue that kicked it all off, everything else just seemed to be justification of the decision to refuse entry rather than a decent reason in itself.

Anyway, just like Peedal, all that has happened is that we have pulled our plans forward by a month or so, and are very nearly ready to send in the applications. Fingers crossed then we can get it all behind us and look forward to our wedding in September. Pretty sure we wont be using Heathrow to fly back in though...

Stu,

Wow - that was like reading my own story!  I'm so sorry Cathy and her son had to go through that.  I had two kids with me at the time.  At least we were allowed 10 days and they flew us back to NY instead of Florida (where I'd come from) so we could get the visas and return *right away*.  It's a horrendous experience - and as you said, one that will "rankle" for a long time to come.    In my case, it's been almost 3 years and it still offends...

For the record, our plans and situation that caused the 'issues' were:
2- A lot of luggage. We used up the full allowance of luggage on the plane. No more than allowed, but on the limit. To the IO's this was too much for a visit. We were bringing things over in advance of the final move later in the summer, to get around flight baggage restrictions. Did they believe us? Nope. Still difficult to accept this, if there is a recommended amount of luggage that immigration officers accept as suitable for a visit then it might be useful if they told us.

Why would the IO care how many bags you have?  Wouldn't it be the Customs official?


In regards to not having a return ticket, it would have been easier to set a date to return and always change it at a later date.  The IOs in the US would think the same way if a foreigner entered with a one-way ticket.

bvamin

Why would the IO care how many bags you have?  Wouldn't it be the Customs official?

bvamin

When you're detained they collect your luggage for you and go through all of it to see if you've brought anything that might indicate you're staying longer than you claim or are coming in for other reasons. So bringing an excessive amount of clothes for a 2 week trip might be one thing they look for. Or, bringing in things that you just wouldn't need with you on a vacation (cherished items like photo books or something). They also look to see if you've brought anything that might indicate you will be working. The IO that went through my luggage was hung up on my laptop and said she didn't understand why I'd need it if I wasn't going to be working. Frustrating.

End result? 2 days temporary stay in the UK with fiance (and yeah, if they were going to then they could have run off) before having to head back stateside. Still we got a free flight courtesy of the UK Government, which saved us a bit of money. Not that this in anway offsets or compensates the sheer distress and discomfort caused by spending 10 hours in detention with a young child. Grrr it really makes the blood boil.

This should have resulted in a formal complaint to the Immigration Service. 

Dang!  I met an expat who moved to the UK to be w/her British boyfriend (now husband) back in 2001 - but just after 911, and her idiot boyfriend came over to her right as she was getting her passport stamped w/a tourist visa.  When the person asked her the purpose of her stay, the boyfriend announced, 'She's coming to live with me.'  And the person stamped her through!  He mumbled, 'Well, technically you're not supposed to' but I guess he couldn't be arsed.  Whew!  She found out later she could have been sent back.  This was at Gatwick, though.

This should have resulted in a formal complaint to the Immigration Service. 

It very nearly did. I know its a cop out, but we just didnt want anything else to be hanging over us right now. Had we not been in a position to go straight ahead with the fiancee visa application then we would have for sure. Once things are resolved then we may go back to try to do something about it. We genuinely would not like to see this happen to anyone else. There are other factors involved that make it worse too, believe it or not, but I spared the details.

As I said its not the initial suspicion thats the issue, we can see why that arose. Its just the way Cathy and her son were treated and the fact the IO's gave absoloutley no indication that they had listened to a word we said (let alone believed us). The 2 day entry was just the final straw. "Yeah we think your dishonest, but to be sure were giving you a chance to prove it - If you dont then your going back to the US in 2 days". Nonsense.

Anyway, sorry for ranting. 

It very nearly did. I know its a cop out, but we just didnt want anything else to be hanging over us right now.

Complaints don't affect individual cases in the sense of hanging over your head.  They go to a different office and are handled by different people.   

Well, I just got back to the States from seeing my fiance.  Thanks, everyone, for sharing all the advice and experiences, by the way.  So, here is my experience:

I filled out the form they give you on the plane with all my personal info and noted the address I would be staying at, my fiance's in Southampton.  When I got to immigration, after seeing that it was obviously a residential address, she asked me if I was staying with friends or family.  I said friends as this is true.  Then she asked when and where I had met my friends and had they been to see me in the States.  I answered honestly, she stamped my passport and told me to have a nice visit. 

That was it.  All that worry and stress and I was waved right through.  I had brought wedding services contracts to show I would be going back just in case.  I was terrified they were going to ask what in the world I was bringing a creme brulee set over with me for (and all the assorted other things I ended up leaving there).  Next time I pass through Gatwick it will be with my spousal visa!

I am truly sorry and feel for those of you who had bad experiences.  My fiance was absolutely grilled when he came to the states to stay for nine weeks.

Anyway, thanks again.

Jenn

That's great, Jenn! I'm glad it went so smooth! I think it all depends on the IO and probably on their mood as well. Funny how you had no trouble getting in and your fiance had a hard time coming to the states. It was the complete opposite for me (being detained twice and denied once) and when my husband (fiance at the time) came to the states he said, "I'm staying with my friend," and pointed at me and the IO stamped his passport and said "Have fun!"

Can somebody walk me thorugh what happens when we enter Gatwick customs and immigration for the first time when moving?  We are flyign into Gatwick on the morning of Aug. 23. My wife and I both have our work permits and work visas. We'll also be carrying the maximum allowable luggage and carry-on bags. Are they going to go through everything we own? Do we need receipts for stuff? I've read elsewhere here that all electronics must be at least 6 months old. Everything we are bringing is older than 6 months, but I dont have receipts for my wife's digital camera, for example, which is only about 5 months old right now.  Any advice for making our process move smoothly? (I've heard the one about mailing your address books and journals to your home rather than carrying them on plane!)
Thanks.