Do I need DATV to meet family at the Heathrow airport during my layover for a connecting flight? [duplicate]

I am travelling from India and have 7.5 hours of layover at Heathrow airport for my connecting flight to Canada. I am arriving on terminal 4 and connecting flight departs from terminal 2. In the meantime of my layover a few of my friends wants to visit me at the airport so do I need DATV to meet them personally? Or is it possible to meet friends at the airport without any transit visa as I am not going out of the airport premises. Do I have to collect my bags and recheck-in if I have DATV? Is there any other possible way to spend the layover time with my friends at the airport?

uk layovers lhr

Best Answer

DATV means Direct Airside Transit Visa. The only thing it is good for is being allowed to board a flight towards an UK airport when you do not expect to need to pass immigration there.

If your friends are not traveling themselves, they can't come airside to meet you, so your only chance of meeting up is if you pass through immigration to meet them landside. Having a DATV is irrelevant for that.

You have two options:

Pay to apply for a Visitor in Transit visa in advance, which will allow you to enter the UK.
Hope the immigration officer will let you enter the UK under the Transit Without Visa scheme. Since you presumably have a visa for Canada you meet the formal conditions for this, and it is free. (However, beware that if I understand correctly they don't have to grant it, and the immigration officer may take the position that since you can stay airside for your transit, you should. The risk of this is probably small in practice).

There's no reason why you would need to see your baggage during the layover, if you can get the departing airport to tag it through to Canada (which they usually will if your flights are all on one ticket).

Pictures about "Do I need DATV to meet family at the Heathrow airport during my layover for a connecting flight? [duplicate]"

Do I need DATV to meet family at the Heathrow airport during my layover for a connecting flight? [duplicate] - Man in Black Suit Sitting on Chair

Do I need DATV to meet family at the Heathrow airport during my layover for a connecting flight? [duplicate] - Man in Black Suit Jacket Sitting Beside Woman in Black Blazer

Do I need DATV to meet family at the Heathrow airport during my layover for a connecting flight? [duplicate] - Woman in Black Blazer Sitting on White Sofa

Can we meet transit passengers in Heathrow airport?

Only if they have a visa and go landside. There is no reason they can't come out but they would have to go through immigration (ensuring of course they have all the necessary visas) and then back through the main security in time for the next flight.

Do I have to go through security again for connecting flight in Heathrow?

Everyone who boards an aircraft at Heathrow has to be security screened to UK government standards. Even if you've already been through security checks at another airport, we're obliged to screen you again before you fly from Heathrow.

Do you have to go through security twice for connecting flights?

For most domestic layovers, you won't have to go through security again. However, some airports have separate security checkpoints for each terminal, so if you land in one terminal and your next flight is in another, you would have to go through security again.

Is transit visa required for connecting flight in Heathrow?

Re: Is Transit Visa Required at London(Heathrow) Airport? "You usually only need a transit visa if you want to leave the airport as you have a long layover." Nope.

UK VISAS FAQs: UK TRANSIT VISAS

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Sohel Patel, RODNAE Productions, RODNAE Productions, RODNAE Productions