What to expect at UK border control?

Dear Mr Bassie,

I will shortly be travelling to the United Kingdom for the first time. Please tell me what I should expect when I arrive at the border.

Any advice would be appreciated.

– J.F.

Dear J.F.,

Passports or identity cards will be checked on arrival at a United Kingdom port or airport to make sure people are allowed to enter the country. The passport or identity card should be valid for the whole of the stay. Persons may also need a visa to go into or travel through the United Kingdom, depending on their nationality.

Please note that there will be no change to the rights and status of European Union (EU) citizens currently living in the United Kingdom until June 30, 2021, or December 31, 2020, if the United Kingdom leaves the EU without a deal. Persons and their families can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the United Kingdom.

What persons can take into the United Kingdom will depend on where they are travelling from. Persons must declare to customs:

■ Anything over the duty-free allowance;

■ Banned or restricted goods in the United Kingdom, for example, meat and dairy products from most non-EU countries;

■ Goods that are for sale;

■ More than €10,000 (or its equivalent) in cash if persons are coming from outside of the EU.

Please be aware that persons and their baggage will be searched for anything that must be declared.

Before leaving for the United Kingdom, persons should check what documents they will need to enter the country. If they are from an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, they can enter the United Kingdom with either a valid passport or a national identity card issued by an EEA country. Persons who are not from an EEA country must have a valid passport to enter the United Kingdom. The passport should be valid for the whole of the stay. Persons may also need a visa, depending on which country they are from.

At the border control, persons’ passports or identity cards will be checked. Persons must have their passports or identity cards ready and should remove it from a holder or wallet. Those persons should also remove their sunglasses if wearing them and move through passport control together if they are in a family.

Persons who are from a nonEEA country no longer must fill in a landing card. Their passports and visas, if they have any, will be checked at border control, and they will usually be asked why they are coming to the United Kingdom.

Persons may be able to use the automatic epassport gates if they are from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. Those persons must also:

■ Be age 12 years or over (if they are between 12 years and 17 years, they must be accompanied by an adult);

■ Have a valid visa or a biometric residence permit;

■ Have a valid passport for the duration of the stay;

■ Have a passport with a ‘chip’ on it.

Those persons should follow the UK-EEA immigration lanes at border control.

Persons must see a border control officer and get a stamp in their passport if they are from a non-EEA country and entering the United Kingdom:

■ On a short-term study visa up to six months;

■ With a Tier 5 Creative or Sporting certificate of sponsorship for up to three months (and would like to enter without a visa);

■ On a permitted paid engagement;

■ To accompany or join their EEA family member.

It is important to note that persons cannot get a stamp if they use the epassport gates. Without a stamp, those persons will not be allowed to carry out the activities they went to the United Kingdom to do.

I hope this helps.