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British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

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navalaviator
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British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by navalaviator » Sat Dec 19, 2015 5:06 pm

Hi,

I am a British citizen and was stopped by immigration officer at heathrow airport when I presented him my passport, the officer asked me if I have been refused any visas in past??? He said he needs to check my passport so he told me to sit down with a detention form!!! I was naturalized in 2014 and this is the very first time I used my passport for traveling.

I absolutely can not comprehend as why the officer asked me about previous visa refusals when there are no refusals except one fiance visa refused 5 years ago!!. Furthermore, he said if I am still married to which I replied yes. Additionally, He said I was refused a visa in 2013 but I was on ILR in 2012!!!! I feel so devastated by the behavior of immigration officer and his questions about visa refusals just does not make any sense at all when I am a British national and supposed to be allowed freely.I feel my rights being a British citizen have been seriously violated by the immigration officer and I am deeply upset as I was detained and made to sit down in front of other people when there was no reason at all!!!

If someone could guide me in a right direction as to what I can do about this incidence I would be really grateful and Please feel free to share any similar experiences.

Thank you
Which is it of the favors of your lord that ye deny.

lynxukauq
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by lynxukauq » Sat Dec 19, 2015 6:39 pm

Don't let these things make you upset as it is completely normal for them to do checks.

Next time use e-gates, no questions will be asked.

lake1
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by lake1 » Sat Dec 19, 2015 7:42 pm

It's not normal at all, if am correct all they need to establish is that you are the rightful owner, this I think can be done without asking you such questions and even sitting you down with a detention form.

If the person said you were refused visa when you were already on ILR that might mean they might be confusing you with someone else.

Am not sure what way you can use to complain but I'll leave that to others to assist.

Just to be prudent you might want to do a FOA to see what they have about you.

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Casa
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by Casa » Sat Dec 19, 2015 7:56 pm

Here's a link to the complaints procedure

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisat ... -procedure
(Casa, not CR001)
Please don't send me PMs asking for immigration advice on posts that are on the open forum. If I haven't responded there, it's because I don't have the answer. I'm a moderator, not a legal professional.

secret.simon
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by secret.simon » Sat Dec 19, 2015 9:05 pm

lake1 wrote:Just to be prudent you might want to do a FOA to see what they have about you.
Not an FoI request (I think that is what was meant), but a SAR (Subject Access Request).

They typically take a printout of anything that contains your name, redact anything that identifies individuals within the Home Office or other government branches and then send it to you.

The Immigration Officer is required to verify your identity when you enter the UK. He can ask questions to verify your identity independently of your passport. From your description, it sounds like he may have confused you with somebody else on the immigration journey who has the same name. Do you have a very common name, such as Will Smith or Imran Khan?
I am not a lawyer or immigration advisor. My statements/comments do not constitute legal advice. E&OE. Please do not PM me for advice.

navalaviator
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by navalaviator » Sat Dec 19, 2015 11:56 pm

Thank you for your replies, I need to do this SAR to see why I was asked if I was refused a visa in 2013 when I was granted ILR in 2012, I am now seriously believing that they may have confused me with somebody else even though my name is not very common as one person has suggested above. How could he just say that I was refused a visa in 2013 when I was on ILR since 2012.

I found the following link which is almost similar to my situation.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/genera ... 65228.html

Do you guys think that it might be the case as in above link?

I just do not understand how could he possibly confuse me with someone else even though the officer scanned my passport and then he said ''have you been refused any visas?'' I said no just one visa in 2009 and that's all. Then he said it says here that you were refused a visa in 2013 so I need to check your passport and then he handed me that detention form.He came back after 10 mins and said ''sorry you can go.'' I asked him if I will be stopped again in future to which he replied there is no guarantee!!.I felt so humiliated and now thinking to go back to my previous Pakistan passport and completely forget this idea of traveling on british passport.!!!!!!

He asked me if I am still married, I just do not understand why he wanted to know that when as a British national I went through all immigration processes in past and have never ever been illegal. After returning passport he said have you ever been refused any student visas or tourist visas???? I can not comprehend why he kept asking me about visa refusals when I never applied for any tourist visas and have never been refused a student visa!!

It is absolutely ridiculous that British nationals are being treated as foreigners in their own country all in front of every one.
Which is it of the favors of your lord that ye deny.

lynxukauq
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by lynxukauq » Sun Dec 20, 2015 10:06 am

Sorry I was relating this to my experience and realised I was only questioned when I was holding ILR and not British Passport.

After you become British Citizen and hold British Passport, IO's should not give you any hassle as the passport itself state to allow the bearer to pass freely unless they see something different on the system.

There must be some fault or error on the system which might have alerted on their Warning Index possibly linking you by mistake with someone else

Just simply make a complaint as suggested by casa and they should rectify this for you.

navalaviator
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by navalaviator » Sun Dec 20, 2015 5:08 pm

lynxukauq wrote:Sorry I was relating this to my experience and realised I was only questioned when I was holding ILR and not British Passport.

After you become British Citizen and hold British Passport, IO's should not give you any hassle as the passport itself state to allow the bearer to pass freely unless they see something different on the system.

There must be some fault or error on the system which might have alerted on their Warning Index possibly linking you by mistake with someone else

Just simply make a complaint as suggested by casa and they should rectify this for you.
Thank you for your reply, Will definitely complain and gonna do SAR as well.I am 100% sure that it has been some kind of their system error as I have never been illegal or applied and refused visas in past for more than once.But it casts serious doubt over the credibility of the whole system which is prone to link one person to another and then untrained officials start asking questions which do NOT have any relevance.

Asking questions about previous visa refusals is out of my comprehension particularly being a British Citizen you should not be asked such questions which are not relevant anymore no matter how many visas were refused in past.
Which is it of the favors of your lord that ye deny.

secret.simon
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by secret.simon » Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:34 pm

This thread, immediately above yours at the time of writing, makes me wonder if the Border Force have become more vigilant about the Warnings Index after the recent events in Paris. On a point of interest, where were you flying in from?

May I also say that while you have grounds to be aggrieved and you should look into making a complaint and applying for a SAR, I think you may be getting a bit too het up about this matter. At the end of the day, most of us want to live in a safe and secure country and I would rather that the Border Force question more people than let an undesirable person (who, these days, can do terrible damage) into the country.

While I have not yet had issues with my passport (and I have been in and out of the country a fair few times), one would be amazed at the number of times I have been subject to a "random" security check. But, I can't help it if terrorists these days are as good-looking as me :D :P . I am not looking at the end of my days and I appreciate that the security forces doing their job makes my safety possible.
I am not a lawyer or immigration advisor. My statements/comments do not constitute legal advice. E&OE. Please do not PM me for advice.

vinny
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by vinny » Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:43 am

Relax. They may question you all they want. Be confident in the fact that once they have established that you are a genuine British citizen, then they cannot hinder entry.
This is not intended to be legal or professional advice in any jurisdiction. Please click on any given links for further information. Refer to the source of any quotes.
We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

navalaviator
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Re: British Citizen questioned about past visa refusals

Post by navalaviator » Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:53 pm

secret.simon wrote:On a point of interest, where were you flying in from?
Traveling back to UK from Pakistan via Dubai.

But the thing which I do not understand is why he said I was refused a visa in 2013 when I was granted ILR as a spouse of British citizen in 2012.

Questioning won't make me uneasy, its questions regarding visa refusals which made me really upset, when there are no refusals except one 5 years ago and after that in the past fiance, spouse and ILR were granted without any issues at all.
Which is it of the favors of your lord that ye deny.

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