wrong stamp

sally1 · Post by **sally1** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:18 pm

i have ILR - i have just been away abroad - on my return the immigration officer wrongly stamped my passport with a date stamp with employment prohibited and no recourse to public funds.

i did not realise this till i was at home.

is this a problem? as i have ILR does this matter? how does one resolve this?

thanks

Blessings · Post by **Blessings** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:43 pm

I suggest you go back to the airport where it was stamped and talk to the immigration officers there. One of tem should be able to cancel the stamp and append his signature.

These things do happen and it could have been easily resolved if you had noticed it immediaely after stamping.

It is also a lesson for all to always check their passport immedaitely it is stamped.

davidm · Post by **davidm** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:14 pm

I don't think it is a major problem- I had a few stamps on my passport with "Employment and Recourse to public funds prohibited". One even says "leave to remain for six months"- all this after ILR

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:37 pm

davidm wrote:I don't think it is a major problem- I had a few stamps on my passport with "Employment and Recourse to public funds prohibited". One even says "leave to remain for six months"- all this after ILR

Seems to me that it depends what you want to do. It would be a major problem if you were about to apply for naturalisation, for instance - because IND's records (and the passport) would show that you weren't free of time limit at a time when it was crucial that you were.

I'm with "Blessings" here - I think OP should contact the CIO at the airport she arrived at, if she hasn't already.

The fact is that it is possible for someone with ILR to be stamped in as a visitor entirely correctly, if the IO doesn't think they're truly returning to UK as a resident. My own (inexpert) view is that, if it was a mistake on the part of the IO, Sally should get it sorted out...

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 11:32 am

The stamp in your passport is irrelevant, what IS relevant is what information they entered into their database when you entered the UK.

The actual device that they use to stamp your passport is made up of 2 components. The main part of the stamp inks the entry point, immigration officer number and date of entry. The secondary part of the stamp is activated for visitors and has the "No recourse to public funds" and "employment prohibited" wording stamped above the other stamp. It's perfectly possible for this part of the stamping device to be accidently activated when they stamp your passport without them even realising it.

In any case, if you have ILR and they purposely admit you as a time-limited visitor, they would have to tell you. If they don't actually tell you that they've admitted you as a visitor, then you can safely assume that they've made a simple stamping mistake and that the actual entry in their database reflects the fact that you entered the UK as the holder of ILR and NOT as a visitor.

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:55 pm

Dawie wrote:......If they don't actually tell you that they've admitted you as a visitor, then you can safely assume that they've made a simple stamping mistake and that the actual entry in their database reflects the fact that you entered the UK as the holder of ILR and NOT as a visitor.

And, should one wish to change jobs, the future employer can doubtless assume the same thing?

davidm · Post by **davidm** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:16 pm

ppron747 wrote:Seems to me that it depends what you want to do. It would be a major problem if you were about to apply for naturalisation, for instance - because IND's records (and the passport) would show that you weren't free of time limit at a time when it was crucial that you were.

I'm with "Blessings" here - I think OP should contact the CIO at the airport she arrived at, if she hasn't already.

The fact is that it is possible for someone with ILR to be stamped in as a visitor entirely correctly, if the IO doesn't think they're truly returning to UK as a resident. My own (inexpert) view is that, if it was a mistake on the part of the IO, Sally should get it sorted out...

I have at least half a dozen stamps where the IO has accidently pressed the "employment prohibited.. etc"- did not have any problem in getting naturalised.
And when I look at my passports before ILR, some of them say "Employment prohibited.." rather than the usual 3 (3) b stamp.

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:20 pm

And, should one wish to change jobs, the future employer can doubtless assume the same thing?

Who cares what the employer thinks? It doesn't change the fact that you have ILR, as the big reddish visa sticker in your passport says.

Besides, I have yet to find an employer who has any idea what an immigration stamp means.

olisun · Post by **olisun** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:21 pm

Besides, I have yet to find an employer who has any idea what an immigration stamp means.

I second that

bbdivo · Post by **bbdivo** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 5:20 pm

Dawie wrote:
And, should one wish to change jobs, the future employer can doubtless assume the same thing?
Who cares what the employer thinks? It doesn't change the fact that you have ILR, as the big reddish visa sticker in your passport says.

Besides, I have yet to find an employer who has any idea what an immigration stamp means.

My employer knows what the stamps mean. If you feel comfortable having the incorrect stamp in your passport then that is up to you. I personally would try and get it corrected.

I think you would care when your prospective employer tells you "sorry I can't offer you the job 'cause the latest stamp in your passport says you can't work"

Rogerio · Post by **Rogerio** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:43 pm

When travelling with a friend into the UK via Dover, the immigration officer stamped his passport with a Tourist Stamp (he was on a 2 yr student visa, one of the old ones). He did not notice the error, and we drove off towards London.

Then, a week later, we went for a short holiday in Italy, and upon return, he was interviewed by the I.O. at Heathrow, as normal procedure. He said he was a student (which he was), living in the UK. The stamp (wongly put there at Dover) said he was a tourist.... It was a huge nightmare to prove he was a student, and that the Dover I.O. had made a mistake. It took us (him, more precisely) about 3 hours of waiting, talking, explaining, explaining again and stressing out.

After a lot of explaining and stress, he was able to get the IO at Heathrow to revoke the Dover IO stamp, and re-instate him as a student.

I remember clearly the IO at Heathrow saying that the Tourist stamp had superseded the Student Visa, as it was more recent, and it was imperative to correct this on the passport. He could not have been clearer.

If I were in Sally's shoes, I would get this corrected straight away. Even if the Home Office system contains the right information.

Remember that ILR is not citizenship. You still have to satisfy the IO that you're an ILR holder. And if your passport says otherwise, the onus is on you to prove it. Not on the Home Office...

Better safe than sorry. At least, that's what I would personally do.

My 2p.

Rogerio.

sally1 · Post by **sally1** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:28 pm

what i did see was the immigration officer write "R" in the first box on my landing card and ILR...

so i hope this means resident & indefinate leave to remain

??

Rogerio · Post by **Rogerio** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:43 pm

I would not assume anything.

Mafia · Post by **Mafia** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:31 pm

With due respect to some of the contributors to this thread, I beg to differ with some of the comments made.

I have indefinite leave to remain in the UK (with the new style ILR vignette in my passport) and just like Sally1 had the unfortunate incident of an IO stamping my passport with “no recourse to public funds and employment prohibited” in November 2005. I didn’t discover this error until I returned home.

I didn’t make any trips abroad until March 2006. Upon my return to the UK a few weeks later, I presented my passport to the IO as usual and was re-admitted as ILR holder without any problematic questions or raised eyebrows. This appears to be consistent with the experience shared by a number of other contributors.

Although I agree with the suggestion that we should check our stamp as a matter of good practice before leaving the immigration area, please consider the following to form a balanced judgement:

a) Whilst it is entirely possible for the IO to revoke your previous immigration status and admit you as a visitor, I would have thought they would have actively cancelled your previous status stamp or vignette especially since you have ILR. Note that Rogerio’s friend has only limited leave to remain in the UK where the status is easier to revoke.

b) I accept the argument that the most recent stamp in your passport may be indicative of your current immigration status. However I would also have thought what is even more relevant is the information they have on the Home Office system with regards to your immigration status. Put it another way, if someone has a fake ILR status stamp or vignette in their passport, what is their likelihood of being readmitted at the point of entry?

You may have considered making a special trip to the airport to get the matter corrected. However in doing so, you may be flagging up a potentially non-existent issue as this is clearly a genuine mistake. If you wish to put your mind to rest, which is quite understandable, why don’t you book a cheap day trip (perhaps taking advantage of the numerous budget airline offers) to a European destination? On your return to the UK, you will get a new stamp which will hopefully show you as a returning ILR holder and therefore supersedes the old problematic stamp. If you do encounter problem with the IO, which IMHO is unlikely, you can deal with the problem there and then. You get the problem sorted either way and perhaps have a holiday too!

sally1 · Post by **sally1** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:01 pm

just took a trip out of uk and on return the immigration officer stamped my passport with just the date stamp...which is what i think should have been done also the last time...there we go...

bani · Post by **bani** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:14 pm

i've always just gotten the date stamp. even when i had a visitor visa a long time ago - i suppose this was because the "no work. no recourse to public funds" was already on the visa sticker.

sally1 · Post by **sally1** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:19 pm

but i have ILR...

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