Visa Question - Repercussions of being refused entry

[Phil_C]

Does anyone know the repercussions of being refused entry to the UK if Imigration Officers are not satisfied with your visa?

Essentially I am trying to find out how long you must wait until you can try again to enter the UK and whether it affects future student visa or Fiance visa applications.

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[Dawie]

Does anyone know the repercussions of being refused entry to the UK if Imigration Officers are not satisfied with your visa?

Essentially I am trying to find out how long you must wait until you can try again to enter the UK and whether it affects future student visa or Fiance visa applications.

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The main repercussion is that you will be held in detention at your port of entry until a suitable flight/boat can be found to take you back from where you came. As you can imagine this is a particularly frightening prospect if you have just arrived after a 14 hour flight and are sent back on the next plane home.

Thereafter you can return to the UK at any time, but if you are a non-visa national and do not ordinarily require a visa to enter the UK you will be advised to obtain entry clearence from a British mission before trying to reenter the UK again or else you are likely to be refused entry again.

In short being denied entry into the UK at a port of entry will not look good on your immigration record.

[Phil_C]

Dawie,

Thanks for your posting.

Presumably being refused entry is very different to being deported, It may not look good on your immigration record but will not affect future VISA applications, is this correct?

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[Jeff Albright]

Essentially I am trying to find out how long you must wait until you can try again to enter the UK and whether it affects future student visa or Fiance visa applications.

You do not need to wait. Application can be made on the same day. All you have to do is to specify in VAF that you were refused entry in the UK and explain the reasons. You will be asked about this during the interview. If you satisfy all the rules, you will get your entry clearance.
If there is a choice between student and fiance visa applications, suggest you go for a finance one.

[Phil_C]

Thanks for that Jeff, makes the process clearer.

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[John]

Does anyone know the repercussions of being refused entry to the UK if Immigration Officers are not satisfied with your visa?

You mean there is a visa in the passport, and then you get to the UK, and then get refused entry? Suspect that when that happens ... rarely ... it is often because the visa is not real! That is, the visa exists in two places ... in the passport and in the IND computer system. So when the person arrives at the UK port of entry the visa is scanned ... and of course should match up with an entry in the IND computer system. However a fake visa would have no corresponding entry in the computer system .... result = person sent back.

[Dawie]

Does anyone know the repercussions of being refused entry to the UK if Immigration Officers are not satisfied with your visa?

You mean there is a visa in the passport, and then you get to the UK, and then get refused entry? Suspect that when that happens ... rarely ... it is often because the visa is not real! That is, the visa exists in two places ... in the passport and in the IND computer system. So when the person arrives at the UK port of entry the visa is scanned ... and of course should match up with an entry in the IND computer system. However a fake visa would have no corresponding entry in the computer system .... result = person sent back.

I agree. Unlike a lot of other countries, if you hold valid UK entry clearence from a British mission you are almost guaranteed entry into the UK. They only reason they can refuse you entry is if they suspect you obtained the entry clearance by deception or fraud.

This is in contrast to the Schengen countries, for example, who explicitly state when you apply for the visa that the mere possession of a Schengen visa does not guarantee you entry.

[Phil_C]

Thank you both for your postings.

I am concluding then, that in theory if you have a valid visa you should be let into the country.

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[jes2jes]

Thank you both for your postings.

I am concluding then, that in theory if you have a valid visa you should be let into the country.

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Phil,
I guess that is the reason why a visa is applied for in the first place.

Have you made any plans of applying yet or what is the current situation in terms of Plan B?

[Dawie]

Thank you both for your postings.

I am concluding then, that in theory if you have a valid visa you should be let into the country.

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Phil, the whole purpose of obtaining a visa in the first place is so that the UK can vet the person and address any admissibility issues BEFORE the applicant even gets on a plane. The decision to allow the person entry into the UK is actually made at this point at the embassy. This means that the immigration officer at the port of entry only has to confirm the identity of the individual and the validity and authenticity of the visa without the burden of having to decide the admissibility of the individual.

When I first read your original post I thought you were referring to what would happen if a non-visa national (i.e. a national of a country who does not normally need to a visa to enter the UK for tourist or business purposes) was denied entry when attempting to enter the UK.

[Phil_C]

Phil, the whole purpose of obtaining a visa in the first place is so that the UK can vet the person and address any admissibility issues BEFORE the applicant even gets on a plane. The decision to allow the person entry into the UK is actually made at this point at the embassy. This means that the immigration officer at the port of entry only has to confirm the identity of the individual and the validity and authenticity of the visa without the burden of having to decide the admissibility of the individual.

Dawie, thanks for the above.

I am going round in circles slightly with the situation my girlfriend is currently in. She has a student visa valid until the end of February, she went home for a 2 month holiday to South America and is due back mid January. Whilst in South America she attempted to apply for a new student visa however this was rejected, I dont see why this should change her current student visa which is valid until the end of February but it may have and I am concerned that immigration will refuse her entry.

It's a complicated situation, I strongly believe she should be allowed entry into the uk until the end of her visa. It's easy to say thats a big gamble, it's going to be tough etc, but what I really require is a solution or genuine help, we both stand to loose a lot of money (flight fee + college fee) if she does'nt get in. Her course is all but completed apart from 3 exams which she will be taking in February providing she gets in.

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[stedman]

She was given a student visa to study and is yet to complete her studies. She applied for an extension and this was denied. The original visa was not cancelled, so is still valid for immigration purposes.

When she gets to Heathrow she should be given a stamp reflecting the few weeks she has remaining here. However, she will need to return to Brazil at the end of the visa.

I know people who have waited until the end of their 6 month visitor's visa before travelling to the UK, foolishly hoping they will get a 6 month stamp. They have been given a hard time at Heathrow/Gatwick but in all cases allowed to enter, with a very short duration stamp being given - in one case for a miserly 3 days!

[Phil_C]

Thats exactly my own feeling Steadman, regardless of being rejected a new Visa her original visa was valid until the end of February and should still be honoured. She has completed her course from the class hours point of view however I will be getting paperwork proving that she has 3 exams to take in February (paid for) in order to get a certificate / qualification for the course.

[Phil_C]

I have come accross the following website on the internet today, it is the experience of Alex Fear who's wife was rejected entry to the UK from Heathrow airport, some of his comments may be found offensive but on the whole he is giving a good insight into UK immigration, especially as he has been through recently.

See link:

http://www.abandonallfear.co.uk/blog/20 ... art-1.html

To Quote Alex:

[quote]Folks, if you really must come to this country (UK), whatever you do, don't tell them the truth, such as you want to learn new things, hang out, get married, enjoy life. It's not about the truth of your visit, it's a quiz. Basically the idea is to get the right answer- so here's the right answer: "Just visiting." That's all you need to say. They don't actually care if you have come to commit a crime, bomb a tube station, go into hiding. All they want to hear is "just visiting". "So, if we had said she was just visiting, there would be no problem and we could have got through?" I asked the pretty, young Asian immigration orificer who had been dealing with our case. "Yes... but now you can't and you have to leave the country. I'm really sorry, I can see you're a nice couple and this has been a mistake, but unfortunately now it's already been processed and your passport's been stamped". She had tried her best to help us but that was just the problem, she was a component of what I like to term the checkbox (or database) culture. Everything has to fit into a checkbox and be processed, there is no longer any room in the UK for discretion or prudence. [quote]

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