Which Passport Control Queue?

ImmigrationMonster · Post by **ImmigrationMonster** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:00 pm

Looking about this forum, I know this is a pretty minor hassle/query, but I'm gonna ask it anyway...

My wife (Icelandic passport) and I (South African passport) are returning from SA to Iceland, via London. Now the question I want to ask is, which queue do we use at Passport Control? One of us has an EEA passport and the other a Non-EEA passport... So can we both go in the same queue or do we have to wait for each other to go through their respective queues? Heathrow's Non-EEA queue can be quite a wait...

mads · Post by **mads** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:04 pm

mm...not sure. When my husband (british) and I (SA passport) came through london, we had to go through seperately. Saying that, in SA they allowed us (and our little one on British passport) to go through on sa passport control? Perhaps someone else can give more clarification..

mads · Post by **mads** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:04 pm

mm...not sure. When my husband (british) and I (SA passport) came through london, we had to go through seperately. Saying that, in SA they allowed us (and our little one on British passport) to go through on sa passport control? Perhaps someone else can give more clarification..

HenrySpencer · Post by **HenrySpencer** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:30 pm

are you sure that you will have to go through immigration in heathrow seen as you are only connecting flights? i would say that if you try join the eu line in heathrow they will not be too happy, prob let you through but if someone sees the little green book before hand they might approach you. i would rather keep my eu wife with me in the non eu que. i used to be in the same boat but she just went through the eu line and i non eu. just one of those things. south africa dont really bother, any que any passport, they just want to get as many people through as quick as possible, africa time.

ImmigrationMonster · Post by **ImmigrationMonster** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:16 pm

are you sure that you will have to go through immigration in heathrow seen as you are only connecting flights?

Yep I'm pretty sure. We have to check in for our Icelandic flight in London, can't do it from SA... So we have to go through immigration

It just seems to make sense to have a married couple in one queue, for the reason that any questions the Immigration Officer asks could pertain to both of us... Seems silly to have to go to seperate queues...

stedman · Post by **stedman** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:32 pm

I travelled a couple of times with my (British) husband before getting my UK citizenship and loads of times before we got married, and we always were in different queues at Heathrow or Gatwick.

On a positive note, the non EEA queue isn't always longer - once I was the only one on that "queue" and everyone else was in the superlong EEA queue, cursing. But I guess flying from South Africa there will be a lot of people with South Africans passports on the flight..

It's a shame you could not arrange for your baggage to go through to Iceland - would've saved you so much time connecting.

Christophe · Post by **Christophe** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:11 am

I have seen non-EEA people go through the UK/EEA queue with (a person who I assume was) their spouse, and have their passport stamped. Probably it depends on the whim of the passport control officer and how agreeable he or she is feeling at the time.

As someone said above, the EEA queue is not actually always slower - these days in particular it is sometimes either not much different or even quicker (more rigid checks on EEA passports (and more countries in the EU) plus UK visas now conferring leave to enter have reduced the differences in the length of queueing required). However, whereas the EEA wait is generally tolerable, it is true that the other queue can, on occasions, be very slow indeed.

The rate-limiting step in getting out of the airport is often the arrival of one's luggage, however.

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:12 am

You will have to go through the non-EU queue because immigration officers in the EU queue do not have the necessary equipment (and sometimes training) to handle non-EU passengers. At the same time immigration officers usually prefer couples travelling together to go through immigration control together.

christina · Post by **christina** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:17 am

My partner (UK) and I (not) always go through the non-EU queue together.

Docterror · Post by **Docterror** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:06 am

Christophe wrote:I have seen non-EEA people go through the UK/EEA queue with (a person who I assume was) their spouse, and have their passport stamped.

Chances are you must have seen that happen before the EEA Immigration Regulations 2006 was implemented since when the passports of non-EEA family members may not be stamped at arrival.

Since non-EEA family members are also not required to fill in Landing cards as they are admitted under EU regulations, chances are that they should be able to use the EEA queue as well. Such exceptions do seem to apply only to non-EEA family members of EEA nationals and not to the non-EEA spouses and other family members of British nationals. It will still be worth asking around to some authorities as to which queue to join as they must be used to such questions by now.

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:27 am

The main problem is that junior immigration officers are often stationed in the EU/EEA queue because all they have to do is verify the authenticity of passports and make sure the person presenting the passport is the rightful owner of the passport. They are not equipped with the necessary stamps or computer equipment to assess the admissibility of non-EU/EEA citizens for entry to the UK and to confer leave to enter because there is no need to do this with EU/EEA citizens.

I often travel with my girlfriend who is a Spanish citizen and I used to be soley a South African citizen before I obtained British citizenship. When arriving at Heathrow, for example, I would go to the non-EU/EEA queue and she would go to the EU/EEA queue. Even with ILR, I would often be asked if I was travelling with someone, and when I said yes, they often asked me to call my girlfriend from the EU/EEA queue to come present herself together with me at the non-EU/EEA queue. Sometimes of course my girlfriend would speed through the EU/EEA queue before I had a chance to get through the non-EU/EEA queue in which case I've even been asked by the immigration officer to point her out where she was waiting for me behind the counters.

I think in general though if you are subject to any sort of immigration control you really have to go through the non-EU/EEA queue.

Christophe · Post by **Christophe** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:41 am

Docterror wrote:Chances are you must have seen that happen before the EEA Immigration Regulations 2006 was implemented since when the passports of non-EEA family members may not be stamped at arrival.

No, I last saw it just after new year. I suspect too, from what I heard, that the people were only on a short visit. The spouse (in that case) was British. (I observed all of this because these people had two young children and a lot of paraphernalia, and I had to step around the people and their belongings!)

Docterror · Post by **Docterror** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:53 am

Dawie wrote:I think in general though if you are subject to any sort of immigration control you really have to go through the non-EU/EEA queue

By the converse of which, if you are not subjected to immigration control one should be able use the EEA queue, which the non-EEA family members of the EEA nationals are.

Christophe wrote:The spouse (in that case) was British

Which explains why the passport was stamped. Non-EEA family members of British citizens are admitted under UK immigration and hence are subject to immigration control... but that does not explain why they were able to use the EEA/UK queue.

Christophe · Post by **Christophe** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:19 am

Docterror wrote:... but that does not explain why they were able to use the EEA/UK queue.

Probably, I imagine, a combination of a busy airport; passengers with young, fractious children and an enormous amount of luggage, and so to turn them back would cause more disruption than woud seem worth it; plus a passport control person who wanted to be agreeable and who could see the bigger picture of life.

Docterror · Post by **Docterror** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:34 am

plus a passport control person who wanted to be agreeable and who could see the bigger picture of life.

Are you accusing an Immigration Officer of having the common sense to see the bigger picture and on top of that of also being agreeable? That's blasphemous!

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:38 am

I've always been under the impression that being sour-faced and hostile was part of the job description when becoming an immigration officer. People with friendly dispositions and common-sense need not apply!

Christophe · Post by **Christophe** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:38 am

Tee hee. Sometimes life can throw out pleasant surprises...

mads · Post by **mads** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:00 pm

I am yet to meet a immigration officer that could crack a smile!!!
i am sure it must be part of the job description when applying:

"Please do not apply if you think you might be friendly and smile at passengers whilst checking passports" Only the most sour, unfriendly and rude may apply"

stedman · Post by **stedman** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:12 pm

mads wrote:I am yet to meet a immigration officer that could crack a smile!!!
i am sure it must be part of the job description when applying:

"Please do not apply if you think you might be friendly and smile at passengers whilst checking passports" Only the most sour, unfriendly and rude may apply"

I've definitely been arriving at some parallel immigration queue universe then

Before I got my UK citizenship the immigration person I met upon arrival almost always started to chat! Actually, this only happened when it was a man - the women just look bored, but for some reason I rarely had women.

yankeegirl · Post by **yankeegirl** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:27 pm

Just for clarification in case I'm not reading this right... a spouse of an EU (not British) citizen can go through the EU line with their EU spouse? When we came back from New York earlier this month, I filled in the landing card and went to non-EU line; hubby went through EU line.

I am yet to meet a immigration officer that could crack a smile!!!

I'm with ya there. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from. When hubby (Irish)and I(American) flew into NY, I'M the one that got a ton of questions and attitude; hubby got a warm welcome and let through lol. The Customs guy wanted to know where I'd been, who I'd been with, What I had been doing etc. Then he asked if I didn't live in the US why was I coming back

Part of me wanted to smack the attitude right out of him, but thought better of it as I didn't want to land on the no-fly list

Docterror · Post by **Docterror** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:31 pm

stedman wrote:I've definitely been arriving at some parallel immigration queue universe then Before I got my UK citizenship the immigration person I met upon arrival almost always started to chat! Actually, this only happened when it was a man - the women just look bored, but for some reason I rarely had women.

I should start recommending taking you along to any non-EEA friends of mine for every travel they make from now on.

yankeegirl wrote:I filled in the landing card and went to non-EU line

Did you have a Residence card endorsed in your passport that said that you were a family member of an EEA national?

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:37 pm

You should see the Immigration Control People at Sheremetevo Airport in Moscow, grim, hairy, sternfaced and that's just the female ones.

They take ur passport and checking, look at you, look at the 80's computer terminal, look at you. You smile, no response, look at ur passport again, look at you, decide not to 'fine' you, stamp ur passport like ur being sent to prison, and throw it back at you. On exit it's the same, except u must pray ur 'dokumenty' is in order, particulaly the 'Registration Stamp' u must get from ur place of stay with three days or be fined....

Flying in EU is a doddle, the German guy last time took the piss cos my hair is longer than on my passport pic, and wished me a good time! That's when u see one, Frankfurt to Vienna there was no-one - like getting of a bus......

stedman · Post by **stedman** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:42 pm

Docterror wrote: I should start recommending taking you along for every travel to any non-EEA friends of mine from now on.

I think it's only because my landing card says "medical doctor" as my profession. With A&E waiting times being what they are and GP appointments taking ages to arrange these days, all sorts of people (immigration, banks, hairdresser, postman) slip in a little quick health oriented question... tedious, but true.

vin123 · Post by **vin123** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:46 pm

Now a days I find the all queues fast moving (some efficiency in Heathrow ?).
So I don't think you will save much time anyway finding a solution - they will simply redirect you to the right one if you are in the wrong place

yankeegirl · Post by **yankeegirl** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:49 pm

Yeah, Doctorrer I've got the Family Permit in my passport.

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Which Passport Control Queue?

Which Passport Control Queue?