Fellow Nairalanders - for all first time travellers and even season travellers amongst us, the attached doc is an online report showing some guidance used by immigration officers at UK port of entries to assess suitability of admitting or denying entry to travellers. Even as regular traveller, i have found this a useful insight often times i've stood at the other side of that desk at heathrow and gatwick wondering what rules guides one's assessment of admittance by the man/woman behind the desk.

To the best of my knowledge, the document is not classified confidential. Your thoughts on any parts of the report are welcome.

Here are few excerpts below that might be of interest:


Upon arrival at UK ports, all non-EEA passengers are subject to examination by an IO, to ensure
that they comply with immigration rules and procedures. Some are granted leave to enter after a
brief interview at the control desk (e.g. about their personal circumstances and reasons for seeking
entry to the UK); others are delayed for further questioning and then granted or refused leave to
enter

IOs respond to a number of trigger factors when conducting the initial entry process, which alert
them to passengers who may require further questioning. These factors include: documents
that are forged, tampered with or have been obtained through deception; the nature of
passengers’ travel histories and whether there is any evidence of previous immigration
breaches or refusals; the fit between their stated intentions about their stay and their responses
to the officer’s initial questions; the plausibility of a sponsor; and the passengers’ financial and
domestic circumstances. Consequently, IOs were often concerned about the strength of
passengers’ personal ties back home, their financial situation, the general state of their home
country’s economy, and the fit between their personal circumstances and what an officer might
see as feasible or ‘normal’ for passengers in their situation. Officers might also take into
account how passengers behaved at the desk; their dress, appearance and general
demeanour were also seen as possible ‘clues’ to their plausibility and, therefore, the need for
questioning.[/i]

[i]Immigration Officers work in a highly pressured and complex environment, and their decisions
about whether or not to hold a passenger for further questioning draw on a range of
information, intelligence and personal judgments. Within this complex process, one important
factor identified by IOs is economic credibility, which relates both the situation in the
passenger’s home country and the circumstances of the individual passenger. IOs explore this
alongside other key factors such as passengers’ travel history and the plausibility of their
reasons for visiting the UK. In contrast, IOs did not identify ethnicity as being relevant in their
decision process[/color]


7 Controlled cards are collected when conditions are placed on certain passengers, such as students holding visas and work
permit holders. The controlled cards are retained so that the passengers’ compliance with these conditions can be
monitored. Non-controlled landing cards are collected from most passengers entering the country on a routine visit (such as
business visitors or tourists).[color=#000099]

[b]Lines of questioning and IO repertoires
All non-EEA passengers are generally asked some basic questions about their plans, such as the
length and purpose of their stay, and where they have travelled from. These questions provide the
basic information on which an IO can start to make a determination about the passenger.
Although answers to the initial questions will form the foundation for later enquiries, supplementary
lines of questioning do not follow any set script. Some IOs described having their own repertoire of
questions to help them target their enquiries effectively and to identify which categories of
immigration rules apply so that they can explore relevant areas of credibility. For instance, one IO
described how he will always ask ‘business’ passengers further questions about the nature of their
work. Another described how he will always ask people entering the UK on a student visa for more
detailed information about their proposed course of study.
Other IOs did not rely on set repertoires for certain categories of passengers but described their
preferred mode of questioning. For example, some officers made sure they asked open questions
initially, to give passengers space to prove their credibility. These officers would ask questions like:
“How do you know the person you are visiting?”, ”Tell me what you do in your home country.” “Tell
me about your family …” They argued that these types of questions gave the passenger the
opportunity to provide full answers and convince the IO. On the other hand these open questions
could also “trip up” passengers with something to hide or those who were lying.
Not only did IOs vary in their use of repertoires or modes of questioning, they also varied in the
approach they adopt with passengers at the desk. For example, some preferred an informal style to
help passengers feel relaxed and open, others favoured a more formal approach.[/b][/color]

Landing a passenger
Although final decisions to land passengers were not the main focus of this research study, IOs
identified a number of situations where they were confident that granting entry was warranted and
they found little need to ask any further questions; for example, holidaymakers and those visiting
friends or family, who had return tickets, were staying for a specified length of time (say one or two
weeks), had sufficient funds and were able to state with confidence why they were visiting the UK,
were considered very low risk.
Passengers who are landed will have their passport stamped with one of seven different codes. Of
particular interest to this report are Codes 5N and 3. Code 5Ns are the type of endorsement given
to most visitors entering the UK; this stamp restricts the amount of time the passport holder can
remain in the country to six months and prohibits employment and recourse to public funds. In
contrast, a Code 3 is a qualified leave to enter, which grants a limited amount of time for entry (less
than 6 months) and IOs will often make a note on the back of the landing card to indicate why a
Code 5N was not granted. Code 3s have particular importance in cases where officers are not
entirely satisfied about a passenger’s credibility but where there are insufficient grounds to refuse
entry.[color=#000099]

Not to bore you with too much excerpts, i'll leave the rest of the reading to you if it catches your fancy.

Oops, just found out that the doc can't be attached as it goes beyond the 200k limit. I've tried compressing (winzip, winrar) but with no luck, best size i got was about 280k (doc original size is 387k - a pdf). If anyone has a public link to upload this to, i'll gladly oblige. Sorry i've had this doc with me for a while and not sure of the original location where i got it. However i can email if required - let me know.

.

Tanx man
I have a Uk visit visa valid for six months and would be travelling soon.
Kindly send the stuffs to talk2walex4life@yahoo.com
Thanking you in anticipation of your effort and support.

.

aforbaje:

@paribus
nice stuff brother. please keep up the good work. av learnt alot from your documented experience on this forum. i hope to be in the UK sept ending-early Oct for my PG too.

@ All
please find the link below where you can access the pdf file paribus is talking about.
cheers and good luck

www.blink.org.uk/docs/rdsolr0107.pdf

@aforbaje
Spot on - thanks for the link.

you can always upload your files on

www.yousendit.com

www.rapidshare.de

hmn

One factor you should all be aware of is that certain countries are visa mandatory for the UK.
e.g Nigeria, whilst other countries like South Africa do not require visas to come to the UK
for a visit.

To some extent Immigration Officers treat those with visas differently. Those with visas are at an
advantage as the assumption is that all the checks necessary have already been done by the ECO.
Those without visas are often (not always) scrutinised more intently.

I'm sure the majority of students here granted UK student visas were hardly asked any questions by
immigration on arrival. That is because all necessary checks would already have been done.

manoy:

Thanx paribus and the rest,What and what do I need to bring along as I will be travelling on monday to huddersfield through Gatwick.i have a valid uk student visa.
Should I still come with my sponsors statement of account or my documents as in my qualifications only.
Please tell me all I need to bring

I think it's ideal to have all documents (and where not possible, photocopies) used in securing the entry clearance. And preferably in your hand luggage to show to an immigration officer (if requested) before you are cleared to go to baggage claims.  In my case, i had all docs at hand but i wasn't asked for any, just some short questions about - name of school, term  time address, and if i (or my spouse) intend to work while here. Bear in mind the  last question might be phrased as a trick question i.e if asked if you would like to work part time to sustain yourself, promptly say no - that you have enough funds to cover your tution and living expenses and won't need to work. Regardless, your entry permit would still allow you to work the regular 20hrs if you so wish. Wish you a safe trip and best regards.

Thanx Paribus et al. I am presently in Nigeria with a good job (By any standard) in manufacturing with a Nigerian subsidiary of a major british multinational. I recently applied for the HSMP and it was approved. I am preparing to apply for entry clearance in the coming week. My underling reason for relocating is the need to upgrade my career marketability by further studies. [b]Any advice?[/b]what is it like working in the UK? Would it be advisable to uproot at this particular time?

Ant useful info welome

tj4ever:

Thanx Paribus et al. I am presently in Nigeria with a good job (By any standard) in manufacturing with a Nigerian subsidiary of a major british multinational. I recently applied for the HSMP and it was approved. I am preparing to apply for entry clearance in the coming week. My underling reason for relocating is the need to upgrade my career marketability by further studies. [b]Any advice?[/b]what is it like working in the UK? Would it be advisable to uproot at this particular time?

Ant useful info welome

My brother u stand a chance of having ur HSMP approved i also studied marketing too but from my information on HSMP they normally look at careers that are lacking in the uk thats why majority of approved HSMP are IT professionals but this is only an observation you should be giving with God all things are possible all tha best.
ciao

tj4ever:

Thanx Paribus et al. I am presently in Nigeria with a good job (By any standard) in manufacturing with a Nigerian subsidiary of a major british multinational. I recently applied for the HSMP and it was approved. I am preparing to apply for entry clearance in the coming week. My underling reason for relocating is the need to upgrade my career marketability by further studies. Any advice?what is it like working in the UK? Would it be advisable to uproot at this particular time? Ant useful info welome

With more info on your area of specialisation, specialisation and skills, you could get more advise on what opportunities are available here. Lets know when you get the HSMP and the job interview tips can follow.

I have a degree in industrial engineering and have had 14 years experience in projects, reliability engineering and production management. I am a production manger in a food manufacturing firm in naija, a blue chip coy.My HSMP has been approved and I am just waiting to seek entry clearance . My major concern is the availabilty of production management jobs in the UK.

tj4ever:

I have a degree in industrial engineering and have had 14 years experience in projects, reliability engineering and production management. I am a production manger in a food manufacturing firm in naija, a blue chip coy.My HSMP has been approved and I am just waiting to seek entry clearance . My major concern is the availabilty of production management jobs in the UK.

I am not in your field, but worked in an international company in Nigeria before moving to the UK. That did make a lot of difference in my getting a very good job here as it was easier for the employers in UK to understand the standard of the company and the kind of experience I gained while working in Nigeria.

UK is a very production oriented country, particularly in food and beverages so I believe that there will be jobs in your sector. Try to see what kind of opportunities are available for jobs in this site http://www.totaljobs.com/ . Also, your type of jobs may not necessarily be in London as Plants will be located outside the London area.

This is a list of british food companies and you can explore their websites to view jobs. http://www.britishcompanies.co.uk/food.htm

A piece of advice is that you should try not to apply for jobs while you are in Nigeria, because you may not get responses. It is not impossible that you might get contacted for a phone interview if you apply from Nigeria, but the process will not be concluded unless you are in the UK (particularly for top level positions).