For a lot of travellers, the last thing any of us want to see is a mile long immigration queue when entering a territory. For those entering the United Kingdom, there are three main methods: By Interview with an immigration agent Via an ePassport and eGate (for EU/ECC passport holders) Via IRIS IRIS required users to register for the service, and for pictures of the users … [Read more...]
UK Immigration: Queues still long
I think we all remember (with a shuder) the waiting time that London Heathrow and other UK ports of entry suffered earlier this year. Well it seem that Heathrow entry is slowly heading towards the magical 45 minutes for those who are non-EU residents. Although some have witnessed longer queues than that. And of course the politicians are arguing. as usual. Queues at … [Read more...]
UK Border: Heathrow will be ready for Olympics… Honest!
Officials have been on the PR offensive this morning, promising that entry into London Heathrow will be ready for the increase in demand in the run up and aftermath of the London 2012 Olympics. Marc Owen, Heathrow director of the UK Border Force has stated that "Hundreds of extra fully trained border staff will be brought in". In regards to border security, he also … [Read more...]
UK Border Agency: More Manpower due soon. Honest!
Immigration minister Damian Green has had it rough recently, with the chaos at the UK Border at various ports of entry - and rightly so after not ensuring enough manpower was available to process the visitors into the United Kingdom. As the UK ramps up its border inspections thanks to a lack policy and a will from the Government to do deeper inspections, delays into the UK … [Read more...]
Oh great. Big UK Border Fun as one of the unions goes on strike….
Arriving on the 10th May? Well you're probably going to have more of a wait to get into the country as the Immigration Services Union (who represent 4500 members) are going out on strike over pensions and retirement ages. The 24 hour strike is set to start at 00:01 on 10 May for 24 hours. BAA who operate London Heathrow, Stansted and other some other UK airports … [Read more...]
UK Border chaos spreads to Stansted
In what should be no surprise to anyone, the border wait times have extended to London Stansted. Last night entries into the United Kingdom on a European Economic Area Passport were taking from 90 minutes to two hours. Which for a mainly European port of entry for low cost carriers is again... disgusting. The UK Border Force states: "We flexibly deploy staff to meet … [Read more...]
BAA: Heathrow Queue Targets Missed, Government Minister yet to stand in line for 3 hours
In what it turning into a case of he said/she said, BAA has released its latest waiting times for immigration into the United Kingdom at London Heathrow. Some highlights: Most passengers from outside the EEA (European Economic Area) were NOT seen to within 45 minutes - over 95% of the time! The longest wait time was at T4 on 30th April for a grand total of 3 hours and … [Read more...]
The bad joke that is UK Immigration
In what airport in the world do you stick 3 Europe Immigration Agents and 1 for the Rest of the World visitors - and have a 2 and a half hour process time? Nope - not the C/D Concourse at Washington Dulles (although it's happened more than once), this time - a Terminal of London Heathrow Airport. Terminal 5 to be precise. Welcome to the world of immigration staff on … [Read more...]
An Easter gift from UK Border Agency: Expect delays this weekend
It seems a lack of manpower is behind this weekend's dire warning that there could be gridlock at the UK Borders The UK Border force says it has a "very solid plan" in place and disruption would be kept to a minimum during the Easter weekend and the weekend after. The UK Border Agency is planning to recruit extra staff to help with the holiday demand. Last year, it seems … [Read more...]
Government postures for Public Sector Strike – Whitehall Civil Servants Training for Border Security
It seems Her Majesty's Government has got it through its head (no matter what thinly vield threats it is trying to state through the media) that the UK Public Sector Unions are taking their members out on strike on the 30th November 2011. And this will impact the UK Border as the members of the UK Border Agency are members of the PCS Union who are joining the day of … [Read more...]