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One of them is not reading them - Joseph Brodsky - (Added by: ) UK Landing Card Moderators:, Jump to page: Now viewing page 1 25 messages per page:: - Message format Posted 2010-01-11 1:58 PM (#29956) Subject: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 2117 Location: South Oxfordshire, UK & St. Petersburg, Russia My wife's parents are coming over at the end of the month and we just realised we have a slight problem because they don't speak, read or write a single work do English and they are somehow going to need to fill in the UK Landing Card on their own. The only thing we can think of doing is for us to fill out copies for them which we can email over and get them to use it as a template when it comes to them filling out the real ones on the plane. They're intending to fly by BA (nearly £300 cheaper than Rossiya for some reason ) so I doubt any of the staff will be able to speak Russian which means they'll be on their own with filling out the card. Can someone possibly confirm if the picture below is of the UK Landing Card which is currently in use?
Posted 2010-01-11 2:08 PM (#29958 - in reply to #29956) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Veteran Posts: 168 Location: Wishfully in Engels (Saratov) This was the one in use in late December when my GF arrived. I always complete it for her and all she has to do is copy like for like - even though her English is OK, she like to be confident it's correct. For some reasons, it doesn't seem right unless it's in her handwriting although I can't imagine there being a rule for that (do they do handwriting analysis - sure they will one day one day ) ). Posted 2010-01-11 2:13 PM (#29959 - in reply to #29956) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 5207 Location: South Leicestershire Don't forget an entry letter Gary.
Saves so much hassle Posted 2010-01-11 4:28 PM (#29977 - in reply to #29959) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 2117 Location: South Oxfordshire, UK & St. Petersburg, Russia Thanks for the confirmation.we'll fill some in then and send them over so they can just copy them out letter-for-letter.
We'd already planned on giving them a letter for immigration control to save any hassles so hopefully that should be everything covered We've gone with Rossiya (Pulkovo ) flights now anyway because I screwed up my calculations and they were actually only £30 more expensive than BA (not £300 ) and I think for that few quid extra her parents will feel much more comfortable in an environment where the staff actually speak Russian so it was worth doing IMO. We will also avoid any worry of the possible BA strike action at the end of February / beginning of March which is when they'll be going back, plus they can get some help from the staff with the Landing Card if they do get in to any difficulty. Posted 2010-01-11 4:49 PM (#29982 - in reply to #29956) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 1237 of course everything should be just fine.
Uk Arrival Card
But Heathrow Border Agency were absolute tossers when Tania arrived in December, even with a nice shiny '59 reg passport with a spouse visa inside it. She was dragged into a side room and quizzed about being pregnant and god only knows what else. They couldnt find my address on their database and called me on my phone to ask more questions.
I'm waiting in the arrival hall acting as if I was the one that was pregnant!!!!! (wondering what the delay was!!! Cant begin to think what would have happened - if I hadnt had my fone with me!!! UKBorder and Phil Woolas - Boo Hiss!!!!!!!! Posted 2010-01-11 5:14 PM (#29985 - in reply to #29956) Subject: RE: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 2608 Location: When at home either Sakhalin Island or Scotland. GaryM - 2010-01-11 11:58 PM My wife's parents are coming over at the end of the month and we just realised we have a slight problem because they don't speak, read or write a single work do English and they are somehow going to need to fill in the UK Landing Card on their own.
The only thing we can think of doing is for us to fill out copies for them which we can email over and get them to use it as a template when it comes to them filling out the real ones on the plane. They're intending to fly by BA (nearly £300 cheaper than Rossiya for some reason ) so I doubt any of the staff will be able to speak Russian which means they'll be on their own with filling out the card. Can someone possibly confirm if the picture below is of the UK Landing Card which is currently in use? Gary, you might want to check out this post It may help you in-laws. Further I have filled out quite a few cards for Alla and she has just signed them and there never has been a problem with the landing card.
Posted 2010-01-11 5:31 PM (#29987 - in reply to #29985) Subject: RE: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 2117 Location: South Oxfordshire, UK & St. Petersburg, Russia Good man Raffi I remember that post now.should really be a sticky so it can be found more easily. However, we will still need to send in prefilled templates because even if they have a Russian translation of what each box should contain they will still need to write some of the answers in English which they woudn't be able to do even if they know what the question is asking for. We'll send a printout of yours as well though so at least they know what each of the boxes is for Posted 2010-01-11 5:46 PM (#29989 - in reply to #29959) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 2117 Location: South Oxfordshire, UK & St. Petersburg, Russia. Davem - 2010-01-11 11:40 PM Entry letter?
I assume this is not the same as the invitation letter sent with the visa application? Might be useful at some point to know what should be in it.
Dave, It's basically just a letter that can be given to the immigration officer at UK border control when they arrive at the airport. It's only really needed if the person visiting you can't speak any English because it means the immigration officer won't be able to ask questions like they normally do (i.e.
What is your purpose of the visit, how long are you staying, where are you staying etc. The letter should just give a basic run-down of who the person is, who they are visiting (you ) and why, with the address they will be staying at and a contact telephone number (preferably mobile so they can ring you if they feel they need to ). This should satisfy any general questions the immigration officer might have asked. There is still a small chance that they could be taken into a room with an interpreter but I wouldn't expect them to do that unless they have strong suspicions that something isn't right. If your visitor speaks a reasonable amount of English (even if it's not perfect ) then there is no need (and no reason ) to provide an entry letter Posted 2010-01-12 12:04 AM (#30023 - in reply to #29956) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Veteran Posts: 199 Location: Liverpool Svetlana was asked a few questions when she came in December but nothing too difficult and whilst her english is not brilliant she managed to answer them satisfactorily. In fact, I was surprised how quickly she cleared immigration and customs at Heathrow! Her flight arrived at 18:15 (on time!
) and she appeared in the arrivals hall just 35 minutes later. Is this a record? I won't bother with the letter when she comes again in February but thanks for clearing things up for me Gary. Edited by davem 2010-01-12 12:06 AM Posted 2010-01-12 6:56 AM (#30024 - in reply to #29956) Subject: RE: UK Landing Card Elite Veteran Posts: 675. GaryM - 2010-01-11 1:58 PM My wife's parents are coming over at the end of the month and we just realised we have a slight problem because they don't speak, read or write a single work do English and they are somehow going to need to fill in the UK Landing Card on their own. The only thing we can think of doing is for us to fill out copies for them which we can email over and get them to use it as a template when it comes to them filling out the real ones on the plane.
They're intending to fly by BA (nearly £300 cheaper than Rossiya for some reason ) so I doubt any of the staff will be able to speak Russian which means they'll be on their own with filling out the card. I can't say about BA, but BMI always have a member of cabin crew who can speak Russian on board. Posted 2012-01-21 7:10 PM (#49023 - in reply to #29956) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card New User Posts: 1 Hi Gary, Could you please send me a sample UK entry letter. Posted 2012-01-22 1:54 AM (#49025 - in reply to #49023) Subject: Re: UK Landing Card Expert Posts: 2608 Location: When at home either Sakhalin Island or Scotland.
Wikipedia gives the reason. The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument make provision for requiring passengers disembarking or embarking in the United Kingdom, or any class of such passengers, to produce to an immigration officer, if so required, landing or embarkation cards in such form as the Secretary of State may direct, and for requiring the owners or agents of ships and aircraft to supply such cards to those passengers. Hence the reason at the moment is that it's the law, though the form of providing the information could be modified by statutory instrument at any time. The US did something similar with their I-94 forms a few years ago and made them all electronic. However, you still have to fill in a customs form when entering the US so it makes little difference unless you have Global Entry or use the mobile passport application. You can read the whole act and the specific section to do with landing cards.
The purpose of them was explained in a freedom of information: Landing cards fulfil the following functions:. to provide statistical information for use both inside and outside the department;. to provide a record of the arrival in the UK of persons subject to control; and.
To enable the immigration officer to record what a passenger has said to him/her on his arrival, the circumstances which led to the granting of leave to enter and any information which may be useful to caseworkers if the passenger subsequently applies for an extension of stay. Almost every country in the world requires a landing card. (Some also require exit cards.) One answer as to why might be 'because it's the law' but an 'ask why 5 times' spirit could ask 'Why is it the law?' You seem also to be asking 'why hasn't it been replaced with something electronic?' Every country asks slightly different things. Some are questions that are important to protect the agriculture and economy of the country:. have you been on a farm recently?
Are you planning to visit a farm?. are you coming here for business, tourism, or study?. what is the value of the goods you are bringing into the country? Some are questions that can be used for statistical purposes:. what is your profession?. are you planning to (list of tourist activities)? These are not things that can just be looked up in some giant online database of people and cross referenced against the plane's passenger list.
If they don't ask you, they won't know. And they want to know.
I suppose you could try asking passengers to install an app and take a survey electronically, but airports especially are full of folks who left their phone behind because it won't work in the destination country, or who used up all their battery during the flight, or other issues that would no doubt require a paper backup anyway. Cards are easy to keep stacks of on planes and at counters in the airport, easy enough to fill out, and officers can add notations to them quite simply. In Canada the way they made it electronic is to write software that scans the cards, not to replace the cards with something electronic. A tip if you feel pressured filling your card out - take a spare and take it home with you. Before your next trip you can fill out that vast majority of it in advance.
Landing Card Sample
When they hand you the blank one, that's for the trip after that - take out your prepared one and just fill in the last bits. I do this for US trips where I have to preclear in Canada - they don't give you the card until you're about to join the lineup so I like having one at home I can fill out in advance. It can depend where the flight is from, or even vary by passenger. Landing in Tahiti, those with EU passports didn't have to fill out landing cards (but they did have to do a mandatory survey that asked different questions), those without EU passports had to do the landing card and the survey. Also, there are over 300 countries in the world, so even if none of the 28 (for now) EU countries ever required landing cards, the sentence would still be correct at 'almost every country'. – Jul 4 '16 at 16:47.
We are a German/Turkish couple residing in the UK in line with the EEA Regulations; we hold a Registration Certificate and Residence Card accordingly (see attached copies). On Monday, the 24th of September 2012, we arrived back to London from our summer holiday.
We presented our passports and residence documents to your officer, who in turn asked us for a landing card due to YYY’s non-EEA passport. We pointed out to her that YYY holds a residence card and thus no landing card is required. Your officer confirmed that she has seen the residence card but insisted that a landing card would still be required. We tried to point out that the Border Force Operations Manual states differently (Border force operations manual Primary checkpoint EEA Nationals and their family members 4.3 Landing cards for non-EEA family members) and suggested she might consult with her CIO. But your officer wanted to hear nothing of it and lectured us instead that if an officer asked for a landing card one has to be filled in.
She further said that her rights to ask for this were laid down in the Immigration Rules, that she needed the landing card to “cover her back”, and that she won’t back down due to an incident a few years ago where she missed to ask for a landing card. As we were tired and didn’t want to further delay crossing the border, YYY filled in the landing card and your officer let us through.
We kindly ask you to. point out the correct procedure to the officer in question,. remind the officer that she can be fallible and should take customer opinions seriously and ideally consult with her CIO when asked to do so, and. review your training material to make sure the relevant information is relayed to all officers. Further, please retrieve the erroneously requested landing card from your archives and either send it to us for destruction or make sure that the card gets destroyed.
Also, please provide us with a short letter to confirm that no landing card is required, so that we can show this to other immigration officers, who might request one in the future. Thank you very much for your help and best Regards, Reply from on 22 October 2012. Dear Mr XXX & Mrs YYY Thank you for your email dated 25 September 2012 regarding your experience at London Heathrow Airport terminal 4 on 24 September 2012.
It has been passed to me as the officer responsible for handling your complaint. Before I respond to your specific concerns I would like to assure you all complaints about Border Force staff are treated seriously and are used as an opportunity to learn and improve services.
If you believe your complaint has not been dealt with in the right way you may write to us at the address above and a complaints manager will check the process used to look into your complaint, to ensure it was both appropriate and followed correctly. You must do this within one month of the date of this letter. In line with our usual procedures, which are set out in detail at, I have asked the operational manager to assess the circumstances relating to the matter you have complained about. With this work now complete, I have based my response on their findings. I am able to uphold some aspects of your complaint and I hope my reply helps you understand the reasons why. As you are no doubt aware all applications for entry to the UK are considered in accordance with criteria set out in the Immigration Rules. The Border Force officer will assess the individual’s overall intentions and credibility before reaching a decision as to whether the individual has met the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
In cases where a residence permit has been issued the officer must be satisfied the conditions continue to be met. All arriving passengers must expect to be questioned to this end. Landing cards for non-EEA family members of an EEA national are not required. The Immigration Directorate Instructions (Chapter 7, Section 3, Paragraph 5.2.1) state that such persons should not, except for their first entry in this capacity, be required to complete a UK landing card.
This aspect of your complaint is upheld. May I reassure you the landing card completed by the Border Force officer at the controls will be destroyed. The investigation has identified the Border Force officer involved.
She has been reminded of the correct procedure when dealing with non-EEA family members of a EEA national holding a landing card. I should explain all Border Force officers undergo intensive training prior to taking up their positions. They do a difficult job in often stressful conditions and are obliged to meet stringent targets with regard to passenger clearance times. It is unfortunate you feel you and your wife were treated with less than the consideration and courtesy we expect all our officers to show to members of the public. I also regret you perceived the officers actions at the time as unacceptable.
I am grateful to you for taking the time to raise your concerns with us and sincerely hope any future contact with Border Force will provide you with the opportunity to form a more positive view of the level of service we provide. The Border Force complaints team are keen to continually review and improve our services.
To help us do so, we would be grateful if you could complete a short online survey. Please access the survey using the following link: Yours sincerely Complaints Officer. Stefan-TR wrote:Landing cards for non-EEA family members of an EEA national are not required. The Immigration Directorate Instructions (Chapter 7, Section 3, Paragraph 5.2.1) state that such persons should not, except for their first entry in this capacity, be required to complete a UK landing card.
This aspect of your complaint is upheld. May I reassure you the landing card completed by the Border Force officer at the controls will be destroyed. /quote So, my Wife arrives in the UK with me for the first time next Month, a non EU Member, married to an EU Member (me) living in London. Does she need to fill in a Landing card or not? I've been told no on here, but am i reading that right, that she does need too, for the first time? She holds an EEA Family Permit, appling for RC after she arrives.
Your passport or identity card will be checked. You must:. have your passport or identity card ready - remove it from a holder or wallet if you use one. remove your sunglasses if you’re wearing them.
move through passport control together if you’re in a family Arriving by bus or coach You have to leave the bus when you arrive at border control. Make sure you:. are ready to get off the bus when you arrive. have your travel documents ready Read the.
You’re from an EEA country and Switzerland You can use the channel to get your passport or identity card checked - this is usually faster than the other channels. You can use automatic ePassport gates at some airports if your passport has a ‘chip’ on it and you’re over 18.
These gates use facial recognition technology to check your identity against the photo in your passport. You’re from a non- EEA country Your carrier will give you a landing card - fill this in before you arrive at border control. Your passport, landing card (and visa if you have one) will be checked. You’ll usually be asked why you’re coming to the UK. Keep documents that show the reason for your visit in your hand luggage, so you can show them if asked, for example your travel itinerary, work permit or university letter. Registered Travellers If you’ve joined the, you can use the:. UK/ EEA channels.
automatic ePassport gates if your passport has a ‘chip’ You will not need a landing card. Travelling with a UK biometric visa You’ll have a biometric visa if your fingerprints were taken when you applied. Your fingerprints will be checked at border control - they’ll be checked against the ones stored on your visa document. If you’re refused entry You’ll be told in writing:.
why you’ve been refused entry to the UK. if you can appeal against the decision. when you will be removed from the UK You’ll usually have to leave the UK immediately.
You may be allowed into the UK temporarily (usually for up to a week) but your passport will be taken from you and you must report to immigration officers at set times.