Fying in/out of UK?
 

I'm inquiring on behalf of my daughter ( and curious self ) whom I'll meet in London on the England/Scotland leg of her journey. She will be arriving from Rome yet has not decided as to the next location after a UK tour. The landing is in London and a flight out will be about two weeks later from Glasgow to an undetermined location ( possibly Dublin or Amsterdam). The questions are: can she gain access to a London airport from Italy with a one way ticket and decide another day as to a purchased flight from Glasgow? Would there be any arrival hassle holding a one way ticket ( not a multi-destination ticket)?
If there is a problem, what would a possible solution?


I ask 'cause she does not have a compter available for nearly a week.

With all the budget airlines in Europe, lots of people fly on one-way tickets. No problem.

Minar...The reason a "panic button" was pushed in chatting with my daughter is that an agent said a person flying into England from Canada will need a return ticket for entry due to illegal alien concerns. The plan originally was to land in London with a one way ticket, decide as-we-go on a self-drive exploration and then purchase a one way return ticket from Glasgow at some later date to be determined. Seems we will have to show a prepuchased return ticket when we land in London. It's in the confusion that we seek clarification from experienced flyers.
Thanks for your "no problem" response.

In the era of electronic tickets how does UK immigration even know is someone has a return ticket, even if they cared?

Is the travel agent knowledgeable or simply parroting what he/she read in some guidebook or on the internet?

It is a valid concern, and I suggest asking the Brit. Consulate near you. Just as the US offiicals make it idiotically difficult for some non-US citizens to enter the US if they can't fill in a complete address of where they will be staying the first night. Saying "I don't have the address, I'm being picked up, but I have the cell phone number in case we miss each other" won't fly, you'll admire the furniture in a small backroom while agents make life miserable for you.
So - if the British immigration agent thinks you might want to outstay your welcome without proof of onward or return travel leaving the country, why risk it? Call the consulate, that's my advice.

As long as your daughter can show that she has plans to leave the UK then there should be few problems - but it would be best to decide where she's going and book before she arrives in the UK.

In any case presumably at some point she'll have a ticket back home from somewhere in Europe which should cover the case.

Don't bother with consulates or embassies unless you like paying large sums of money in phone bills as they can't give definite advice on what a UK immigration officer will decide to do with your daughter as like the US all such decisions are made at the point of entry

It's an interesting point...the answer is a definite maybe. Upon landing in the UK, the immigration officer decides whether to permit entrance. Assuming she is carrying a US passport, she is entitled, at the discretion of the immigration officer, to be given leave to enter the UK for six months. But they do ask about future travel plans and are always interested if she has enough funds to sustain her for her trip and they want to make sure she will leave at the end of the six months or not to try to get a job. Thje possession of a return ticket is usually good enough to satisfy the immigration officer she will be leaving when she says she will, the lack of one for a student might (and I say might) raise some concerns. OTOH it might not.

Usually students are questioned more closely than obviously vacationing adult travelers. Often the agent is concerned that the student may be planning to get an illegal job, stay and become a burden on the social service system. Being able to say exactly where you are going to stay, how long you are staying and showing an onward ticket prevents this issue from arising.

Thanks for all the advice thus far.
xyz123...she (latter 20's) has a Canadian passport. Hopefully she may be able to gain entry as would an US citizen.
alanRow...instead of "rolling the dice" she could (?) buy an inexpensive ticket off the Isles to Amsterdam or somewhere even if she doesn't choose to go there. Simply count your $$$ loss from the trashed, cancelled or rerouted ticket. Would Dublin be an acceptable "leaving" ticket?
Daliat.lama...consulate...tried that...got too many call forwards to another desk..still no certain answer
J62...even electronically...do you need an internet booking printout paper copy for proof?

"xyz123...she (latter 20's) has a Canadian passport. Hopefully she may be able to gain entry as would an US citizen."

Absolutely not.

Rich-country travellers without an ongoing flight raise just the same red flags as Bangladeshis. Because our immigration officials want to avoid allegation of racial bias, they'll often be more rigorous with young Americans, Canadians, Ozzies and NZers than with anyone else

Once a non-EEA (EU plus a couple of other European countries) foreigner's here they're a potential financial liability to UK taxpayers: the nationality most prone to illegal overstay is Australian, and - unlike the case in Canada - all foreigners have legal entitlement to emergency assistance.

Your daughter's in exactly the same situation as a UK citizen arriving at a Canadian border. No Canadian immigration official will allow a British potential scrounger in: why do you or your daughtter think she'll get better treatment than you offer us?

There's no hard and fast rule about this. Non-EEA foreigners without ongoing reservations out of the UK/Ireland common travel area are more likely to be refused admission than anyone else. It's even possible a carrier will refuse to let them embark on a UK-bound plane, train or ship since the carrier gets fined if they're refused admission.

A confirmed onward reservation to Holland or France doesn't guarantee admission: but it makes it much less likely warning signals will go off on arrival.

hi canuckk,

i'm a bit confused. is you DD returning to Canada at some point? will she have her return ticket with her? IMHO so long as she has a ticket covering her eventual return to Canada, it is highly unlikely that immigration will be interested in her.

if that is NOT the case, then it would be as well for her to be able to give your details, her proposed itinerary, proof that she has a job/university place in Cananda, etc.

She would be a lot better off deciding between Dublin and Amsterdam and buying the ticket before she arrives in the UK, for all the reasons that flanneruk enumerates.

There have been a lot of posts on here and other forums, esp those frequented by young people, asking how they can stay on in the UK, which is certainly understandable. But the UK has high unemployment and does not need semiskilled or unskilled workers. So they can be quite tough at Immigration.

To be safe, she really does need to have an ongoing ticket (and a real one she intends to use is best). Not only for UK immigration. If she doesn't decide where to go until after arriving in the UK - walk up/last minute fares (even on 'budget' carriers) can cost a fortune.

I agree - get a ticket for onward travel. The people I've found most helpful with questions are the immigration people at the airport, sorry I know that means an international call.

The Border agency website gives some other things that may be accepted as 'proof' your daughter intendes to leave. Things like a letter from an employer or college saying when she is expected back.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...ors/documents/

<<< Hopefully she may be able to gain entry as would an US citizen. >>>

What makes you think a US citizen gets into the UK "easily". Many do, but many don't especially ones who haven't the foggiest what they are going to do, where they are going to go and when they intend leaving the US.

Assuming that you have a God Given Right to enter a country is probably the best way to ensure that you find you don't.

Don't be lackadaisical, don't assume anything especially with the current Con'Dem'd government and their "get tough" policy on non-EU immigrants

And as I said - WHERE IS HER TICKET HOME TO CANADA. Without one UK immigration is going to look very badly on her as the assumption will be that she IS going to overstay

I thought you said your daughter was flying in from Rome?

And what if she was leaving the UK by boat (ferry) or train? Does she have to have a pre-purchased ticket for those?

As a single US female, I've found the UK immigration officers to be more through when I arrive at Heathrow than for families or older folks. Having many UK stamps in my passport, I'm asked why I travel there every year, who I stay with and when will I leave. Having a return ticket or a job or school back in the US helps.

I really think she needs to plan where she will go after Glasgow because the lack of itinerary after Glasgow is a huge red flag to seem that she may overstay.

Again, thank you everyone for your input.

My flight into London and returning to Canada with a prepurchased ticket via Glasgow seems fine. My daughter plans to join us in London with a flight from Rome. Her next destination after the shared leg of her once-in-a-lifetime/save-up-for-years-journey wasn't as yet decided (France? Ireland? India?,or even back to Canada). A possible solution, at the moment, then, would be to along with a Rome to London ticket buy a Glasgow to Dublin ticket before leaving Italy. If she decides to go elsewhere then she could trash, transfer or buy a new ticket additional ticket while visiting England/Scotland.
A very infrequent and inexperienced fying traveller now asks the question:
Does the Rome-London/Glasgow-Dublin ticket option seem okay for respected entry in London?

Apologies, in advance, if anyone should take offense by the inquiry. And, thank you, in advnce, for assisting with clarity.

"<i>Does the Rome-London/Glasgow-Dublin ticket option seem okay for respected entry in London? </i>"

Sure -- but IF she does fly to Dublin-- she'll face the same issues w/ Irish immigration. She'll need proof she is leaving on some date certain.

How long will she have been in Schengen by the time she meets you in the UK? That could also cause her difficulties if she decides to return to Schengen

To clarify: the previous poster's statement: The signatory countries of the Schengen agreement (look it up) allow for a 90-day stay in any 180 day period, so it's 90 days in - 90 days out. The UK is not a Schengen signatory.

Contrary to the myths you read a lot, you cannot stay for 90 days in a Schengen country, then leave for a few days to a non-Schengen country, and come back into any of the Schengen countries - not before 90 days are up.

Does your (talking to OP) daughter know that?