I am from China and now study as exchange student in Switzerland.
I will take the flight from Geneva to Edingburgh and then from Edingburgh to Reykjavík. That means I need to transit in the UK.
I hold the passport of China and I got the type L residence permit with a bull and five stars on it from Switzerland.
I checked the website of British government, and it showed that
`'you can transit without a visa if you have a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland.`'
But I've heard cases in which passengers were denied boarding because they didn't have a visa for the UK. And in some other cases, passengers were not allowed to pass through the border in the UK and sent back. Is that true? or What should I do to avoid this from happening?
And if I need to go to the British Embassy in Bern for further information, do I need to make an appointment or something like that or just go and ask directly?
'Common format residence permit' means the one you described: with the bull and five stars. In case you have doubts.
So that should be enough for not more than 48 hours in scotland. And as an additional argument in your favour /should there be any questions at the passport control/ you have your onward ticket to Reykjavik. Don't you?
You cant ask the embassy - they have outsourced this to a "call center"
Once you call them (cost something up front - paid with credit card) they then told me, sorry we CANT answer a question in connection with a "real case" ..... yes - thats what they said.
So you are pretty much left with the info on the website:
Yes I do have an onward ticket to Reykjavik, but it's of the different company from the one I take to Edingburgh. So, I need to go through the border, take my luggage and check them in again. Actually I believe I can do this theoretically according to the information from their website but I am not sure whether the officers will do things according to the regulations.. That's what I'm worrying about.
Thank you for answering!
Actually I do the same thing as you. I wrote an email to them, paid the 5.48 pound, and the reply was like "We don't know exactly whether you can pass through. It's your responsiblity to make sure that you satisfy the requirements and we can only give you information." and after receiving the reply I was even more worried because of how they do things... ..
btw, I am a little confused by the last two sentences of you.. Can you explain it to me... Thanks!
You’ll need a visa to pass through the UK in transit (unless you’re exempt)
You should apply for a Direct Airside Transit visa if you arrive in the UK on a flight and leave again without passing through immigration control.
Exemptions
You don’t need a visa if you have one of the following:
a visa for Canada, New Zealand, Australia or the USA (this can be used for travel to any country) a residence permit issued by Australia or New Zealand a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland a resident permit issued by Canada after 28 June 2002 a uniform format category D visa for entry into a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland an Irish biometric visa (marked ‘BC’ or ‘BC BIVS’ in the ‘Remarks’ section) a Schengen Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) group tourism visa where the holder is travelling to the Schengen country that issued the visa a flight ticket from the Schengen area, if you can prove that you entered the Schengen area in the previous 30 days on the basis of a valid Schengen ADS visa a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink stamp version will not be accepted) a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998 an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA (attached to a sealed brown envelope) All visas and residence permits must be valid.
E-visas or e-residence permits are not acceptable unless your airline is able to verify it with the issuing country. Contact your airline for more information.
I don't think that a Direct Airside Transit visa would work in Edinburgh, because all passengers on incoming international flights have to go through the UK border.
Edinburgh doesn't offer international connections like, for example, Heathrow does - you can just walk out of the departure lounge then past baggage claim and onto a bus without any immigration checks.
In addition, the OP is changing airlines, so has to recheck bags.
If you select, Will you pass through UK border control? Yes. Nearly the same information will be shown, but specially also the "a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland" part.
Thank you for your class about Greek Mythology That's funny that I come to Europe for study and don't even know how the name came
Thanks for your information!
I think the problem is : I think I can transit without a visa, but maybe the officers in the airport don't think so and maybe they don't know clearly about their regulations about this... I'm wondering what can I do if this happens..
Thanks for checking for me !
I also get the same result. I'm worried about the difference between theory and real case because I searched this before and some succeeded to pass through using the residence permit but some failed..
The airline staff at check in and/or at the departure gate are the ones who would prevent you from flying from Switzerland to the UK if they think that you do not have sufficient documents.
Print out the information from the website, highlight the part about a residence permit for Switzerland, then either call the airline you are flying with or go to the airport to ask them in person.
The ones that failed may had not a common format residence permit but just a Schengen visa. They may had an expired permit. Something else was not in order.
Who knows. There is always a certain risk you will be denied admission. For example i can travel to the US as a tourist w/o a visa when I get an ESTA approval. But the US government still says:
But the very same is also true when one has a visa. In the end a customs or border protection officer will decided on the particular circumstances, evidences and situation and may deny entry when not all conditions for a legal entry and stay set by the law are fulfilled. In the US, Switzerland, UK, and also China.
To be 100% sure what will happen you have only one options. Just travel and see what actually happens. To get a 99% assurance you may apply for a UK transfer visa and get it denied as a holder of a valid Swiss residence permit in the "common format" does not need one.
Yes there is always risk. The only thing I can do is to go and see. I'm worried because if anything happens, it will ruin our plan.. Anyway, thank you very much for helping me!!!
I expect that you will be questioned at the border, yes. If you can show that you have an onward ticket, your Swiss residence permit, and have made every effort to ensure that your residence permit does allow you to transit without a transit visa, then I also expect that they would not have an issue.
Unfortunately there is only one way to be certain though, and that is to try it. Seems stupid to me that the Visa advice line refuses to give advice on specific cases (how many people phone them up without a specific case in mind?) but there doesn't seem to be much way around it.