UK tourist visa refused 3 times. Need to get there for flight home
Around 3 years ago I applied for a temporary working visa for the UK, but it got rejected because I lied to the police once and had some old DUI charges. So I never went to the UK.
I recently arrived in Gatwick on a flight from Amsterdam while on my journey backpacking around Europe. I though surely for those offences a tourist visa would be OK, but no. After keeping me all night, they decided to send me back to Amsterdam. They told me the main reason was that I didn't have any documents with me concerning my transit out of the UK (all of it is on the internet).
When in Amsterdam I collected the massive pile of flight information which I had already booked weeks earlier – my flight home to Australia is from London.
Then I tried to catch the Eurostar from Belgium with the documents they'd asked for. The way I was treated was so disgusting that I still can't believe it. I was asked if I was a "Shanty" (whatever that is). When I told an officer that I'd planned to stay in Brixton to see my friend, he asked me, "Is he black?" When I said, "No – she's not," he said, "There's a lot of black people there." This may give you an idea into the kind of "people" I was dealing with.
After hours of intense questioning where he'd try to catch me out on any tiny little thing I said, and actively try to trick me, and say, "This stamp was wrong," or, "That stamp doesn't exist" and me having to grab the passport and show it to him, they said no, because now they thought I'd work illegally. They knew I wasn't going to, and they knew I knew. It was just about them winning and me doing as I was told. Even if they were wrong.
He told me there was nothing stopping me going to Dublin. So, with only a few days left on my Schengen visa, I did. And they, like every other country I've been to in my 4 years of backpacking, let me in. And today I flew to Glasgow, and soon I will take the train to London.
My problem is, I have a flight booked from London to Iceland, then a return flight to London, where I have 5 days before my flight back to Aus., and they will again probably stop me. My question is this: if I enter the UK from the EU and am rejected again, what will they do with me if my visa is not valid anymore for the country I arrived from? If they'll send me home, that's fine, and to be honest, I'd love to see the UK pay for that after all the money and stress they've caused me. My other question is – if I book a connecting flight to Dublin – will I still have to pass immigration? Or can I stay in the security area?
Best Answer
I'm sorry, but you've screwed yourself well and proper here. Not only have you been refused entry three times in a row, which means that any future visa applications will be treated with extreme prejudice, but you've now illegally entered the United Kingdom as well.
To expand on that last bit, just because there are no border controls between Ireland and the UK doesn't mean that your Irish visa gives you any right to be the UK. Per section 2.6, you should have applied for a visa, or at the very least presented yourself to an immigration officer at the border:
...the following do require leave to enter the United Kingdom on arrival from the Irish Republic:
Persons who have at any time been refused leave to enter the United Kingdom and have not since been given leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom.
Persons from the above categories who enter the United Kingdom from the Irish Republic without leave do so in breach of Article 3 of the Immigration (Control of Entry through Republic of Ireland) Order 1972 (as amended) and are illegal entrants.
However, not all hope is necessarily lost.
First, the United Kingdom is one of a few countries without exit immigration, so now that you're in the country, illegally or not, there's nothing stopping you from leaving to Australia... or Iceland.
Second, major airports like Heathrow allow visa-free transit. Since both your flights from Iceland and to Australia are international flights, you can complete the transfer without ever passing through immigration, if and only if all of the following conditions are met:
- You're arriving to and departing from the same airport
- You can check your bags through to Australia (unlikely), or you have no checked baggage, so you don't have to pass through Immigration to fetch and recheck it
I can't find anything that says you can't spend 5 days airside, but obviously you'll want to change one of your flights to minimize this if at all possible.
But if you can't meet those conditions, then I'd advise you to forget Iceland, lay low in London, and head home to Australia. Immigration detention is not fun, and it's entirely possible that they wouldn't even let you on the plane in Iceland, in which case you'd be even more screwed.
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How long after a UK visa refusal Can I reapply?
You can make a fresh application addressing the grounds of refusal with the submission of new evidence and fee. There is no time limit for making a fresh application. So, you can reapply any time after your UK visa refusal.What happens if your UK visa is refused?
If your application is refusedYou'll get a letter or an email explaining why your application was refused. Your passport will be returned, if it was kept as part of your application. Your refusal letter will explain if you have the right to either an: administrative review.What are the chances of getting a UK visa after refusal?
The current refusal rate for UK visa applications hovers around 15% mark, with some categories experiencing an even higher rate of refusals. The most notable example is a now-closed Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route, where the refusal rate was around an astonishing 50%.Can I apply for UK visit visa after refusal?
Can I apply for UK visit visa after refusal? You can apply for a UK visit visa after you have been refused, although you will need to address any reasons for refusal by way of additional information, explanation and evidence.Why Your UK Visit Visa Refused | Reasons and Common Mistakes for UK Visit Visa Refusal |Tourist Visa
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Answer 2
Here's what ended up happening-
I flew into Glasgow from Dublin with no problems, once there I caught a bus down to London. Also with no issues. I spent a while there, saw the sights and caught up with old friends. Just like I stated I would.
Then after much contemplation decided to take the leap and continue with my return trip to Iceland, consequences be dammed!
As some people on here have stated, leaving the UK was no problem, I got a puzzled look when the immigration person saw my rejection stamps but other than that it was all ok.
Went to Iceland, had the most amazing leg of any journey in that wonderful place… then it was time to try return to London. I had booked a transfer from London to Dublin for the return, hoping I could evade the immigration “system” but there are certain connecting airlines that have to clear immigration before continuing to there connecting flight. There is actually a massive sign listing who needs to clear immigration and who doesn't. Of course all the Irish connections did, so they got me again.
Even though I had done everything I had told them I was here to do i.e. tourist things, I'm sure they weren't too happy with the fact that i had disobeyed them. I won't go into all the details but basically they put me in a detention centre for a week untill my flight home was due (the one I had booked months earlier).
It was quite an experience, I got the rare opportunity to meet real asylum seekers and hear about the true ordeals people face and the heartless system of our well-off nations. I shared rooms with people being sent home to certain death, it was a really eye opening experience. And I'm glad it happened the way it did.
I hope this helped anyone in a similar situation.
Answer 3
The first thing a traveller in trouble should do is contacting their embassy/consulate. As you are in Glasgow now, the next Consulate is in Edinburgh:
Mitchell House
5 Mitchell Street
Edinburgh EH6 7BD
Tel: +44 131 538 0582
Unfortunately it is an Honorary Consul (meaning that he isn't really paid for his job and has very limited rights, so do not expect much). Perhaps it is better that you call directly the Embassy in London:
Strand
London WC2B 4LA.
Tel: 020 7379 4334
Explain your situation (and DO NOT LIE !!!!). Hopefully they can sort out the trouble you are in.
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