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[wooly]

Hi,

About 2 weeks ago my girlfriend came to visit me from Canada for the first time.. The immigration officers in their infinate wisdom decided to send her back.. refused her entry to the uk.

I managed to book a ticket on the same plane and accompany her back. We both stayed at a hotel while we tried to fix the problem with the British embassy.

Having explained the situation to them in detail they issused her with a six months visa to the u.k.


Having been kicked out of the county once and having spent quite a bit of money here and there we are both a bit weary about the immigration officers and their attitude.

We are due to fly out again soon and are wondering if there is anything we should be aware of to avoid a repeat performance of her first visit?



thank you.

[yankeegirl]

Did they give any indication as to why they refused her entry?

[Christophe]

Well, if she's just coming as a visitor and now has a visitor's visa, the main thing that the immigration officer is going to want to be sure about is that she is indeed a visitor - i.e. that she isn't going to work or study and that she isn't going to overstay. Presumably what is worrying them is that her relationship with you means either that she intends to overstay or else that she'll just end up overstaying, even if that is not her specific intention.

Therefore, she needs to have a ticket back to Canada, and evidence of it, sufficient money to support herself while she's here, and evidence of it, and ideally evidence of ties with Canada (job or study that she's going back to, house that she owns or rents that she's going back to, etc).

It would also be unhelpful if her proposed length stay is as long as, or nearly as long as, her visa allows - I know that sounds illogical but there it is.

Having said all of that, with the visa she is unlikely, I think, to experience the problems that she had before.