Prior entry clearance for grandaughters visit?

My 12 year old grandaughter will be coming to visit me for a month in July.  She will have a roundtrip ticket.  She will be flying alone and will have an escort service provided by Delta.  They will be walking her through customs and I will be there to pick her up on the other side.  Does she need to get prior entry clearance before this trip?  Will she need a letter from me stating where she will be staying?  What should she expect when going through customs?

My 12 year old grandaughter will be coming to visit me for a month in July.  She will have a roundtrip ticket.  She will be flying alone and will have an escort service provided by Delta.  They will be walking her through customs and I will be there to pick her up on the other side.  Does she need to get prior entry clearance before this trip?  Will she need a letter from me stating where she will be staying?  What should she expect when going through customs?

A clear letter from the parents stating who you are, your relationship to the minor, how to contact you, how long she is staying extra.  Plus the letter you mention from yourself, stating similiar things and in particular how to contact you and where you will be when she arrives if there are any questions (e.g. mobile phone, in the arrivals hall).

Customs will be the easy bit.  Immigration is the more stressful bit because she will have to interface directly with an Immigration Officer and anyone in a uniform can be intimidating, even for us fully fledged adults!  What airport and what will she be coming through?  I would double check with the airline what the actual procedure.  UAMs (unaccompanied minors) are usually escorted all the way to the person they are supposed to meet and the person will have to show identity documents for the minor to be released.  I know most flight attendants like UAMs and enjoy the process (especially if she is a nice young lady, which I am sure she is).

Prior entry clearance is not usually needed, especially for 4 weeks during school holidays.

Oh, also, she can expect questions (some of them will sound weird, but they serve a purpose) like:

• What is your name?
• What is your birthdate?
• Where were you born?
• How old are you?
• Where do you live?
• Who are you visiting?
• Where do you go to school?
• When was the last time you saw your grandmother?
• What is her name?
• Why does she live in the UK?
• How long has she lived in the UK?
• Who bought your plane ticket?
• Why aren't your parents here?
• Have you ever been to the UK before?

I would suspect her clear grasp of the English language, clear documentation, and a grandmother on the other side of arrivals they can get ahold of will not cause too much of problem.

Thanks so much Kitsonk!  She will be flying from Los Angeles to (probably) Atlanta and then to Gatwick.  She is quite a little charmer.  She's a definite talker and will make friends with anyone she comes in contact with.  I don't see her being too easily intimidated and I am quite sure she will happily answer any question they may pose to her.