UK did not welcome me

[Xin Yu]

I was in a business trip to Amsterdam and my returning plan had two legs: Amsterdam to London (BMI) and London to San Francisco (United Airlines).

To my surprise, I was stopped at the gate. BMI told me that I needed a transit visa to UK because I held a Chinese passport. They explained the matter to me: it happend that some people (including some Chinese) used the opportunity of transitioning to sneak into England in the past, so every airline was given a list of countries and anybody who held a passport of those countries would need a visa in order to transit via London. If BMI let me pass then it would be fined 2,000 pounds for that.

Isn't this silly? If some people could sneak into England from an international airport, then the problem is at the airport and custom. Why put orders to airlines? They have nothing to do with this.

[BlackCat]

Nope, It's quite logical. The borderline isn't at customs but actually somewhere in the air, but since it is a little impractical to make a check up there, it is done before the travel starts.

The airlines are only allowed to transport people that has a legal right to enter the target airport.

[Provost Harrison]

You can probably thank Herr Blunkett for that. Seig Heil!

[Dauphin]

The need for a transit visa is usually discretionarily waivered if you fulfil basic criteria, like having a valid visa for the country you are travelling onto and have the relevant travel documents.

The transit visa is additionally there to stop the next country in the line sending illegals back to you.

[Pekka]

I didn't know you needed visas for international airports, while changing planes? wtf?

[Urban Ranger]

AFAIK, before you pass through immigration in an international airport, you are not technically inside that country.

[Pekka]

UR, exactly what I thought. Besides, you might be taking a fast redirecting flight if some airliners fooks up the schedules or if there are delays, so you can't get a visa during the 5 minutes you have to get to another port and plane, so the next landing you make to a country you'd need a visa normally if it changed the route because of delays, there are chances you won't get there because you don't have a visa, so you can't continue? No no... doesn't seem like something that would happen..

[DaShi]

Re: UK did not welcome me

Originally posted by Xin Yu
I was in a business trip to Amsterdam and my returning plan had two legs: Amsterdam to London (BMI) and London to San Francisco (United Airlines).

To my surprise, I was stopped at the gate. BMI told me that I needed a transit visa to UK because I held a Chinese passport. They explained the matter to me: it happend that some people (including some Chinese) used the opportunity of transitioning to sneak into England in the past, so every airline was given a list of countries and anybody who held a passport of those countries would need a visa in order to transit via London. If BMI let me pass then it would be fined 2,000 pounds for that.

Isn't this silly? If some people could sneak into England from an international airport, then the problem is at the airport and custom. Why put orders to airlines? They have nothing to do with this.

My Irish neighbor's Chinese wife has to go through the same thing when she stops in Britain on the way to Ireland. It's bloody annoying, I hear.

[Xin Yu]

Black Cat: People parachuting from a jet plane is not very common. Other than that the only way passengers can get into the country is by going through the custom. Unless the officers there are corrupted, there is really no need to ask for a visa for a transit only passenger. The airline should only need to check for a valid visa for the final destination.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Xin Yu
People parachuting from a jet plane is not very common.

Esp. for a passenger liner.