What does this passport stamp mean?

[lukeanddeanna]

My plans were to come to the UK to visit my fiance. I flew into London and went through immigration there.

I BARELY got through. In the end I did but not without a little note taking on why I was here and so forth and a couple of stamps in my passport. I received the regular stamp that I usually got but also I got this stamp.

Can anyone help me out by telling me what this means?

"Leave to enter for/until [the word "until" was underlined] 6 months No work or recourse to public funds"

What is the whole leave to enter for/UNTIL 6 months mean?

[UKBAbble]

Leave to enter can be granted for a number of months or until a certain date (with work permits for example).

[bani]

It's just a grammatical thing, they can choose "for" or "until" to refer to duration (for) or expiry date (until) of your visa. Personally, I would've chosen "for 6 months" instead of "until 6 months", the second sounds awkward (Too bad they are not required to take English proficiency tests).

Practically, it means that for the next 6 months, you can stay in the UK or leave and enter the UK again.

[UKBAbble]

It's just a grammatical thing, they can choose "for" or "until" to refer to duration (for) or expiry date (until) of your visa. Personally, I would've chosen "for 6 months" instead of "until 6 months", the second sounds awkward (Too bad they are not required to take English proficiency tests).

I thought he was referring to the ink stamp that had not had the offending word crossed out.

[SillyB00]

it means you can apply for further leave until 6 months once in the UK to get an extention.

[Frontier Mole]

It is an indicator that it has been explained that you are allowed to stay for up to six months in any 12 month period. Was that the case? In other words if you leave and enter again there is a watch out for you to ensure you are not exceeding this point.

I guess you are from a visa waiver country?

[lukeanddeanna]

It is an indicator that it has been explained that you are allowed to stay for up to six months in any 12 month period. Was that the case? In other words if you leave and enter again there is a watch out for you to ensure you are not exceeding this point.

I guess you are from a visa waiver country?

Yes, I am from the US and came here to the UK on a visa waiver program. It was mentioned while going through immigration in London that I can only stay 6 months in a 12 month period otherwise it would be like "I'm living here".

This is only my second visit to the UK. My first visit to the UK was January 11th 2008 to the 28th of April 2008.

My second visit was on September 3rd 2008 which is when I got this stamp. I was only staying for a month.

Our plan was to return at the end of October 2008 to the UK and I would stay for the full maximum 6 months.

Is it too much of a risk to try and return to the UK in October after receiving this stamp?

[Mr Rusty]

You say that the word 'until' was underlined. I guess it is more likely a slip of the pen, and the intention was to delete that word, so your leave to enter is "for six months". The officer could have chosen to give you less than six months, in which case the endorsement could be either, for example "for 3 months", or "until" a certain date (such as the date of your return ticket).
The IO will have recorded details of what was said, and these may be referred to if/when you seek entry on a future occasion.
If you have already spent 4.1/2 months of this year in the UK and are coming back again in a few weeks for a further 6 months, you will have an uphill job to persuade the IO that you are just a visitor here and are still living/working/studying/whatever in the USA.

[Frontier Mole]

There was no slip of the pen, it is IO code for what I stated. The OP confirmed what happened. There are a number of other little indicators put on stamps to alert the next officer. I imagine the IO who placed the mark was old school or old school trained.

[lukeanddeanna]

There was no slip of the pen, it is IO code for what I stated. The OP confirmed what happened. There are a number of other little indicators put on stamps to alert the next officer. I imagine the IO who placed the mark was old school or old school trained.

So what would this [the stamp] say to the next immigration officer?

[UKBAbble]

It is an indicator that it has been explained that you are allowed to stay for up to six months in any 12 month period. Was that the case? In other words if you leave and enter again there is a watch out for you to ensure you are not exceeding this point.

There is nothing in the immigration rules to say you can only stay 6 months in a 12 month period. Refusal for that reason itself would not be justified.

[UKBAbble]

There was no slip of the pen, it is IO code for what I stated. The OP confirmed what happened. There are a number of other little indicators put on stamps to alert the next officer. I imagine the IO who placed the mark was old school or old school trained.

It is not and was never, as far as I can remember a signal. Underlining the IO number and the 'W' in the landing stamp are the only 2 signals allowed.

[Mr Rusty]

There was no slip of the pen, it is IO code for what I stated. The OP confirmed what happened. There are a number of other little indicators put on stamps to alert the next officer. I imagine the IO who placed the mark was old school or old school trained.

It is not and was never, as far as I can remember a signal. Underlining the IO number and the 'W' in the landing stamp are the only 2 signals allowed.

Correct

[UKBAbble]

Oh and there is another one - putting the number of months in numerals in brackets in the period e.g six (6) months.

[lukeanddeanna]

There was no slip of the pen, it is IO code for what I stated. The OP confirmed what happened. There are a number of other little indicators put on stamps to alert the next officer. I imagine the IO who placed the mark was old school or old school trained.

It is not and was never, as far as I can remember a signal. Underlining the IO number and the 'W' in the landing stamp are the only 2 signals allowed.

Correct

What do you mean by signals. I'm sorry but I am not understanding all of this. And as one reply said, "There is nothing said against staying only 6 months in a 12 month period". I was told opposite by the immigration officer.

I was told that I cannot spend more than 6 months in a 12 month period. Also, that if I were denied I could not return for up to 10 years. This is exact words of the immigration officer.

I do not want to do anything wrong as I am going to be doing a Fiance Visa form and any denied entries or visas will count against me.

Can anyone simplify what everyone is saying and is it too risky for me to fly back at the end of October for 6 months in the UK?

[bani]

I was told that I cannot spend more than 6 months in a 12 month period. Also, that if I were denied I could not return for up to 10 years. This is exact words of the immigration officer.

I do not want to do anything wrong as I am going to be doing a Fiance Visa form and any denied entries or visas will count against me.

Can anyone simplify what everyone is saying and is it too risky for me to fly back at the end of October for 6 months in the UK?

Yes it is risky. Your 12 month period started when you first arrived, Jan 2008. You've already been here for 3 1/2 months since then. You're only allowed 2 1/2 more months until Jan 2009. So if you are coming back in October, make sure to leave in December.

This has been the rule for all tourist visas (6 months out of every 12). If you exceed it, you will be refused entry next time and you could jeopardise your fiance visa.

[Mr Rusty]

Luke,

From seeing your picture of the endorsement, I stand by my previous comment that the line along the bottom of "until" is a too hastily-made deletion, not an underlining.

Forget all this nonsense about "signals", it's a red herring. There are "signals" put in passports as UKBabble has indicated, but your passport hasn't been signalled in this way. However, the IO had sufficient doubts about your future intentions to make a note of what you and he said at the time, and it can be called up for reference on a future occasion - if needed.

As UKBabble also said, there is no absolute rule about a maximum 6 months in any 12, but it is a point of reference used by IOs and ECOs in assessing whether someone posing as a visitor is actually taking up residence in this country rather than their own.

If you come back in a month's time seeking entry as a visitor for 6 months, having already spent 3.1/2 months here from mid-january to the end of April, and a further month just now, the IO is bound to look very closely at all your personal circumstances, because unless you're independently wealthy and used to spending your time doing nothing, it's scarcely credible that you can, or intend to, support yourself here without working or recourse to public funds, and those are the grounds on which you might be refused entry, not any "6 months in 12 Rule".

Trying to conceal your intentions when seeking entry is a risky course, and if you're caught in a lie you will be banned for 10 years.

If you are coming with a fiance visa intending to get married and stay here, that's a completely different matter, and anything that the IO said to you last time will be of no consequence. You're not an immigration offender, you haven't broken any rules.

[UKBAbble]

Luke,

From seeing your picture of the endorsement, I stand by my previous comment that the line along the bottom of "until" is a too hastily-made deletion, not an underlining.

Yes you're absolutely right.

[INSIDER]

The poster has been given, what we in the trade call, a coded landing

Code: Select all

 as opposed to a straightforward code 5N. What this does is alert the next IO who comes across the poster that there were some doubts about his intended visit, but these were not sufficient to lead to an outright refusal. The IO will/should then treat the poster with more than cursory interest. So Luke, if on your next "visit" to the UK you intend to spend 6 months you'd better have a damn good reason for doing so.

BTW, the "until" was intended to be deleted and not underlined.

[paulp]

Are there groups of IOs who use different signals? Frontier mole mentionned "old school" trained?

[UKBAbble]

Are there groups of IOs who use different signals? Frontier mole mentionned "old school" trained?

Not really, although some are confused by the W signal which should only mean someone is warned they are being admitted without a mandatory visa. Some IOs think they can use it when they have told the passneger they must not come back for 6 moths after their Code5N runs out.

[Frontier Mole]

Having looked at the stamp I agree with Mr Rusty & UKAbble.