FINGERPRINT FUMBLE

I am an RSA citizen with a valid RSA passport. I have a 10-year UK visa, which expires in November 2019. As my daughter and her two sons who are my only relations live in London, I spend approximately six weeks a year with them.

I am 79 years old and do not have identifiable fingerprints, as is fairly common with older people.

When I last entered the UK, at Heathrow in July this year, the Border Authority official struggled to obtain a print from me.

Only after trying nine fingers, did she manage to get a print from the fourth finger of my left hand. As this situation is obviously going to get worse and I need to apply for either a two- or five-year UK visa, what is my position? There did not appear to be any alternative identification method available at Terminal 5. How can I go about obtaining a new UK visa without fingerprints and without having my visa application turned down? — Cherith Meyer

Regretfully, there is no simple solution as modern officialdom assumes that technology must work for everybody.

The gov.uk website notes that people who do not have fingers at all will be allowed entry on the basis of their photographs alone — which is not much help in your case. It does suggest, however, that this should be an option for people who struggle to provide fingerprint data.

As your visa expires next month anyway, you need to begin the formal visa-application process regardless of the fingerprint issue. Make a point of informing the person who takes your biometric data of the problem and ask them what options you have.