Problems with immigration at Stansted

I have been an avid reader of this forum for months & would like some advice on the problem I have been experiencing with immigration at Stansted since early this year.

I am an Indian national & had applied for a UK visit visa in 2000 while I was a student. I have to admit I was a bit naive at the time & had no clue about how to go about applying for a visa. Basically I pitched up at the embassy with a letter sent to me by an aquiantance who had stated that he was happy to support me whilst I am here. The trouble was that it was just on his letter pad & was not notarised by a solicitor, for example. I also did not have his bank details or a bank account of my own & had no way to prove that I had suficcient funds to finance my trip. What I did have was a plane ticket, which I bought for a discount from a family friend who worked in the aviation industry.

I got the sense that the lady conducting the interview was very negatively predisposed to my application right from the onset. She took up issue with my passport, which was genuine but badly made & had stains around & behind the photo. She suggested that it had been tampered with (which wasn`t true anyway) My visa was duely refused & I did not bother to appeal & left it at that.

Three years later, I applied again for a tourist visa, this time with proper documetation & a new passport with a scanned photo (my other passpor had expired by then) &, after an interview where we very briefly went over the reasons for the previous refusal, I was granted a visa. I have been working in this country in a professional capacity for about 4 years & would be eligible for ILR next year.

Now, in January of this year, I was asked by the immigration officer in Stansted on my return from Germany whether I had been refused a UK visa in the past. I gave her an honest answer & she said that 'its on the system' & asked me for the reasons for the refusal. I have to admit I could not clearly remember the reasons stated on the refusal letter & told her that it was for something like lack of documents or whatever. She said that she would put in a request to the home office to erase the entry as I have been legally present in the country for many years now.

I was asked again about the visa refusal by immigration yesterday (this time by a foreign lady who could barely speak English herself) & was asked questions about the refusal again. I did get a bit anxious during the chat as I was aware that the ECO in the embassy had suspected a photo switch or something back in 2000 & have heard horror stories going around about identity fraud for passports & such like. I asked her why she was asking me these questions when this incident related to the past & had no relevance to my current stay in the country, she gave me the stock answer that 'its on the system' When I remarked that I would hopefully not be asked such questions once, she said 'you never know',as if she knew something that I did not.

Since 2003, I have extended my stay 4 times, all in this country i.e. my tourist visa briefly, my work permit, extension of my work permit & HSMP, without any problems whatsoever.I have not made any false statements to obtain my visa or extend my stay but I realise my application in 2000 was amateurish,to say the least. So why do they keep asking me about my visa refusal in 2000? Is it just routine immigration harrassment or something else? Why did I not have this problem until 2006, as I travelled abroad atleast 15 times prior to that without problems? Now I am worried whether the HO would use this against me when I apply for ILR & naturalisation in the future?

Any suggestions/reassurances welcome

Well,
To put your mind to rest. Make a Subject Acess request under the DPA and you can see what is held on the HO systems and files concerning you. There and only then you can take action if you find anything at all to complain about.

All the best

Hi,

It is the same problem with me, with a HSMP visa.

I applied for EC in Chennai,India. Though I had all papers for EC application, guys at VFS misguided me. Here goes the incident.

I had a big file with all relevant documents.I was asked by VFS officer to submit ONLY LIMITED DOCUMENTS. Thus proof of financial status was left out. Though I argued with VFS guy, he said no need for it.

It went to BHC and got rejected with the reason going by this way - ' You did not prove your financial status or economic activity.' Sorry but I dont remember the reason exactly since it has been 3 yrs now. The very next day I re-applied since I had all relevant documents and got it approved.

During my first visit to UK at Heathrow, I was questioned why my visa was rejected and infact my passport was taken for checking by an official. I was made to wait for sometime in the airport till official returned with my passport. Each and every time I enter UK after brief Indian holiday, Iam questioned (ofcourse no waiting time but just questioned.) though none is my mistake.

My query to John and others,

1. Is there a way to remove the entry from system? If yes what is the procedure?

I had extended our HSMP without any problems. I know it may sound silly. But it is kinda awkward to get questioned why visa was rejected everytime at airport and that too when the fault is not mine. As r_raj I am also worried, it may influence my ILR.

Any suggestions is appreciated.

Thanks
HSMPnUK

My query to John and others,

1. Is there a way to remove the entry from system? If yes what is the procedure?

I had extended our HSMP without any problems. I know it may sound silly. But it is kinda awkward to get questioned why visa was rejected everytime at airport and that too when the fault is not mine. As r_raj I am also worried, it may influence my ILR.

Any suggestions is appreciated.

Thanks
HSMPnUK

If the entry on the system was an error then you can complain to the IND and through their complaints Unit and this would be actioned. I doubt in your case (as you posted) you can get this deleted until such time when the records can be overwritten iff it is allowed. I think it is documents in overseas visa posts which are destroyed after a certain number of years (I think 5 years or more due to storage issues but I have my doubts conerning the IND Visa systems) though. You may have to go through the explanation process everytime you come through IC until you get your ILR or maybe Naturalisation.

I had the same issue and I complained to HO. After couple of months I got a letter from HO stating I am removed from the "watch list"

Either they are very sweet or they are pit bulls at the border. If I get a pitbull, they are just jerks but since they never have anything on me, I usually get through. (knock on wood) Once the guy had to show off his power over me and made me sit to the side to check my passport, he didn't do anything but watch me. I just began to read my book. As he could tell, I wasn't bothered by his nonsense, he quickly called me over and of course, had to reprimanded me with some bs. I just rolled my eyes waiting for him to hand me back my passport.
There is no one in between who is just cordial and doing their job

I must say that I come and go through Stansted regularly and often see BIA officers holding up people of colour.

Are they been dearly beloved?

I think so!

I do not think they are perticularly dearly beloved because you are likley to be checked first by a Indian or African/Jamaican at the airport ( atleast for terminals at heathrow). they will then handover the case to IO's who will then shout at you and make you nervous. I guess this trick works most of the time.

In India, earlier (prior to 2000) there have been cases reported about passports being re-issued with the same number as shown in the old expired passport.
By any chance yours happened to be the same while presenting at the airport?

If a visa or entry permit is rejected, that information is held normally for 10 years or so under the passport number by the HO and verified every time when presented at the border control. Hence, you are asked the question(rightly so) but I really don't think they will honour your request to erase that information since that event was not entered by mistake into your files.

Hi maveli62,

Was your case similar to mine in the sense that you too didnt submit ALL relevant documents for EC or is it similar to r_raj's passport problem?

Though both of us had problems in EC stage, the reasons are quite different. Now that you have said that HO had removed entry from system, can you let us know which suits your situation best? HO may deal each situations differently. So I am curious to know yours so that I can apply one for myself.

Did you complain that you are being questioned at airport about HSMP visa refusal during HSMP first year or did you complain after getting HSMP visa extended?

Also how did you contact HO? Is it through email id, ind.cu@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk?

Thanks Again
HSMPnUK

vin123 wrote:In India, earlier (prior to 2000) there have been cases reported about passports being re-issued with the same number as shown in the old expired passport.
By any chance yours happened to be the same while presenting at the airport?

If a visa or entry permit is rejected, that information is held normally for 10 years or so under the passport number by the HO and verified every time when presented at the border control. Hence, you are asked the question(rightly so) but I really don't think they will honour your request to erase that information since that event was not entered by mistake into your files.

In response to the first question, no, my passport does not bear the old number although it does mention the number & place of issue of my previous passport.

My issue with this sort of questioning is that it simply exercises prejudice without taking into account one's current circumstances. Afterall, I have been legally resident in this country for over 4 years & pay more taxes than most locals do. There is no reason why I should be treated with suspicion & put on a 'watch list', especially as I am totally innocent. My only worry is that this might complicate my ILR application next year. Has anyone had experience of applying for ILR with a similar problem?

Anyway, I am flying out of Heathrow this weekend & would be back 5 days later. Will keep you posted on whether I encountered the same problem again

My only worry is that this might complicate my ILR application next year. Has anyone had experience of applying for ILR with a similar problem?

This would have no impact on your ILR application. So long as you meet the requirements for ILR when the time comes, you are good to go. Your visa refusal in your home country has nothing to do with it. Unless of course you have broken any of the immigration rules

jes2jes wrote:

My only worry is that this might complicate my ILR application next year. Has anyone had experience of applying for ILR with a similar problem?

This would have no impact on your ILR application. So long as you meet the requirements for ILR when the time comes, you are good to go. Your visa refusal in your home country has nothing to do with it. Unless of course you have broken any of the immigration rules

Thanks jes...That's a great relief. I am waiting for the day when I would be 'free of immigration controls' so I can give the ppl in immigration a piece of my mind..I`ve had enough of being treated like scum & asked personal & intrusive questions by people who probably acquired their burgundy passports by devious means themselves! One can`t help noticing how white immigration officers are somehow always nicer compared to the naturalised lot.