asaini13

Hello

I am travelling from Calgary, Canada to India and I have 11 hours stay at Heathrow, London. I have indian passport but i am permanent residence in canada plub my gf has canadian passport. I was wondering if i would be able to get visa to go outside the airport to explore london. I want to propose my gf, so was looking for some romantic place and fastest way to get in london

sofarsogood

this is the applicable information for transiting through Heathrow

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/india/transit/yes

you may be able to enter the UK without a visa, but check the conditions

janisj

Before we can help w/ your other question(s) re getting into London and where to propose . . . we need to know your arrival and departure times (It makes a HUGE difference whether your 11 hours is 6AM-5PM vs maybe 8PM-7AM)

ChallengerGrey

Asini - you may be able to enter into London, but you will both be so tired from the 7 hour flight you may want to get a hotel just to get a quick nap, fresh shower and a good meal before another 7 hour flight. That's the most thoughtful gift.

flanneruk

The likelihood is that, with the right documentation on Canadian residency and a confirmed onward reservation, you will be allowed to exit the secure area without a visa - but you must check sofarsogood's recommended website. For both you and your girlfriend.

Only you can judge whether the following suggestion will strike your girlfriend as romantic, or whether after a transatlantic flight she'll resent your dragging her round so much as to turn you down flat. But:

Get the Heathrow Express into town. Precheck on Google Maps the walking route to Hyde Park: the route involves walking through one of the few areas on earth no-one could possibly find romantic - it's not even picturesquely impoverished - but it's perfectly safe and only 7 minutes from the train). Right opposite Lancaster Gate tube station are the Italian Gardens (shown on Google Maps), with a long lake beyond them.

I'd suggest 20 mins from Heathrow is the longest distance it's possible to drag someone and retain even a sliver of possibility she'll still feel romantic (Mrs F would have punched me if I'd tried this). But she's your girlfriend.

MissPrism

When will you be in London? If you're not dreaming of proposing against a backdrop of Westminter Abbey, then you could go somewhere like Richmond. Fresh air and greenery might be refreshing after a long flight.

Rubicund

If you mean that you have 11 hours from the time you land from Canada to the time you take off for India,(assuming flights are on time) you don't have 11 hours. I'd guess that you baggage will be routed straight through, but by the time you get through taxiing to the stand, diembarking, immigration etc you'll have eaten up 90 minutes of your layover. You'll then need to be back at the airport at least a couple of hours before your flight. The journey into London will take 15/30 minutes by train, allowing for buying tickets and finding platforms, waiting for trains etc.

You've therefore eaten up 4/5 hours, giving you a maximum of 6 hours in London. Where you propose is obviously up to you, why not on Tower Bridge?

davidhowe79

You'll have enough time to go, but as said previously, you have to check the conditions regarding the visa. It's such a nice gesture to want to propose to your girlfriend on a "blitz" visit into London but I'm thinking it would have been even better to also stay for a few days here.