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London Airport Transit Visa ...

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  • 25-02-2020 7:50pm
    #1
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭


    Quick question.

    My wife is from the Philippines and she will be travelling home soon.

    She will be getting a connecting flight from London, and we just discovered that London Airport might require something called "Transit Visa".

    My wife has Stamp 4EUFAM visa, will she require to obtain this transit visa to board her connecting flight ??

    On the personal note, this is the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life that someone need to apply for a visa to catch a flight ....


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    #2
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,187 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    have you checked if she does need a visa here https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y it seems to suggest she doesn't


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    #3
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    Yes I was looking at it and I'm finding it confusing...

    Direct Airside Transit visa "You might need a Direct Airside Transit visa (DATV) if you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland and you will be changing flights in the UK on your way to another country"

    They are saying that you don't need it if you have EEA family permit

    Is GNIB stamp 4 EUFAM a family permit ??


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    #4
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,187 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/philippines/transit/republic_of_ireland
    You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:

    you arrive and depart by air

    have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after you arrive

    have the right documents for your destination (for example a visa for that country)

    You must also have an Irish biometric visa (marked ‘BC’ or ‘BC BIVS’ in the ‘Remarks’ section) and an onward flight ticket to the Republic of Ireland.

    E-visas or e-residence permits are not acceptable for transiting through immigration control without a visa.

    All visas and residence permits must be valid.

    You won’t be able to transit without a visa if a Border Force officer decides you don’t qualify under the immigration rules.

    not sure what if a stamp 4 qualifies as a biometric visa


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    #5
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    Well she will be traveling with our kids. Both of them have Irish passport so she will be technically accompanied by EU family member with gives her right to travel to any EU country 😆

    "Stamp4 EUFam: This is the easiest to explain. As part of EU treaty rights non EU family members holding the Stamp 4 EUFam can travel to any EU country as long as the EU Family member is accompanying them. "

    Are kids consider as "EU family member" ???


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    #6
    lollsangel
    Registered Users Posts: 473 ✭✭lollsangel


    It depends ob the humour of the immigration officer. Its safer to get the transit visa


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    #7
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    Yeah it cost 100+ euro and we need to travel to Dublin to get biometric scan ... All that because she will be waiting 2h in London Airport for connecting flight...

    I will be trying to call the Irish embassy in UK to get some clarification.


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    #8
    GerardKeating
    Registered Users Posts: 7,542 ✭✭✭GerardKeating


    Daniel1986 wrote: »
    Yeah it cost 100+ euro and we need to travel to Dublin to get biometric scan ... All that because she will waiting 2h on London Airport for connecting flight...

    I will be trying to call the Irish embassy in UK to get some clarification.

    My wife is also from the Philipines, and she (and many of her friends here) always avoid travelling via London. Amsterdam used to be the favourite, now UAE seems to be the favourite.


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    #9
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    Yes this is the last time she will be going through London... Absolutely ridiculous situation.


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    #10
    seagull
    Registered Users Posts: 2,340 ✭✭✭seagull


    The problem with flying via UK is that the flights to Ireland are on the domestic side, so you need to clear immigration in the UK, which is typically not a pleasant experience. We avoid travelling via London on long haul flights.


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    #11
    un5byh7sqpd2x0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭un5byh7sqpd2x0


    Which London Airport? Stansted doesn’t have a transit area, you must go landside and back again in which case you’ll need more than a transit visa one suspects


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    #12
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    She is landing in LONDON, GB (HEATHROW), TERMINAL 2 and she will be flying away from LONDON, GB (HEATHROW), TERMINAL 2 to SINGAPORE, SG (CHANGI).

    So she will never leave the Terminal 2.


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    #13
    Victor
    Registered Users Posts: 78,282 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    Daniel1986 wrote: »
    I will be trying to call the Irish embassy in UK to get some clarification.
    I suspect they won't know much. The UK embassy in Dublin may be much more useful.


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    #14
    un5byh7sqpd2x0
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭un5byh7sqpd2x0


    Daniel1986 wrote: »
    She is landing in LONDON, GB (HEATHROW), TERMINAL 2 and she will be flying away from LONDON, GB (HEATHROW), TERMINAL 2 to SINGAPORE, SG (CHANGI).

    So she will never leave the Terminal 2.

    She will though, landing in Domestic/CTA T2 and departing International T2


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    #15
    MarkY91
    Registered Users Posts: 7,067 ✭✭✭MarkY91


    Heathrow allowed my Filipina girlfriend to pass through back into Dublin but not after a huge scalding by the officials. She was lucky not to be sent back to Philippines. She now books flights home with no Heathrow stops whatsoever


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    #16
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    After hours if research I believe she doesn't need one.

    As stated before as long she is traveling with the family member she doesn't need any visa. She will be traveling with our kids that hold Irish passports.

    And under Directive 2004/38/EC we can read that:

    "Family member" means:
    (a) the spouse;

    (b) the partner with whom the Union citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the
    basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State
    treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the
    conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State;

    (c) the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants and those of the
    spouse or partner as defined in point (b);


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    #17
    seagull
    Registered Users Posts: 2,340 ✭✭✭seagull


    Daniel1986 wrote: »
    Well she will be traveling with our kids. Both of them have Irish passport so she will be technically accompanied by EU family member with gives her right to travel to any EU country ��

    "Stamp4 EUFam: This is the easiest to explain. As part of EU treaty rights non EU family members holding the Stamp 4 EUFam can travel to any EU country as long as the EU Family member is accompanying them. "

    Are kids consider as "EU family member" ???

    In order to travel on EU treaty rights (EUFam), the person needs to be travelling together with the person through who they qualify for EU treaty rights. If she qualifies on the basis of marriage, then you would need to be part of the travel party.


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    #18
    Daniel1986
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭Daniel1986


    seagull wrote: »
    In order to travel on EU treaty rights (EUFam), the person needs to be travelling together with the person through who they qualify for EU treaty rights. If she qualifies on the basis of marriage, then you would need to be part of the travel party.

    No it's simply states that she need to be accompanied by the EU family member and based on Directive 2004/38/EC her/mine kids qualify as such.


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    #19
    GerardKeating
    Registered Users Posts: 7,542 ✭✭✭GerardKeating


    seagull wrote: »
    In order to travel on EU treaty rights (EUFam), the person needs to be travelling together with the person through who they qualify for EU treaty rights. If she qualifies on the basis of marriage, then you would need to be part of the travel party.
    Daniel1986 wrote: »
    No it's simply states that she need to be accompanied by the EU family member and based on Directive 2004/38/EC her/mine kids qualify as such.

    UK not the best for following the EU rules when they were members....


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    #20
    Marcusm
    Registered Users Posts: 10,217 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    Daniel1986 wrote: »
    She is landing in LONDON, GB (HEATHROW), TERMINAL 2 and she will be flying away from LONDON, GB (HEATHROW), TERMINAL 2 to SINGAPORE, SG (CHANGI).

    So she will never leave the Terminal 2.

    Flying that direction she will almost certainly never meet a UK border agent. In the opposite direction she will effectively be landed in the UK as they apply a similar level of scrutiny to those transiting to CTA as they do to U.K. arrivals. I’m not even sure that a transit visa is the right category for her return (assuming she intends to).


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