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This article is published as a Public Service.

Beware of trying to enter Broken Britain. The UK Border Agency sent this memo to British consulates worldwide:

“Important requirements if you want to study in the UK from 31 March 2009, or visit as a tourist or on business from 1st July 2009:

Important changes to visa requirements will affect:
Taiwanese passport holders South African passport holders

Jamaican passport holders Bolivian passport holders

Venezuelan passport holders Lesotho and Swaziland passport

Most migrants come to the United Kingdom legally, make a positive contribution to our society, and leave when their time is due. There are migrants, however, that have entered the country illegally, broken our laws or failed to leave when their visa or permission to stay has run out.

Our enforcement priority is to tackle the most harmful illegal migrants: those who pose a threat to national security and those responsible for serious or violent crime or people trafficking.

Over the past year we have widened our enforcement operations to focus on illegal workers and foreign national prisoners. We successfully deported more than 4,000 foreign national prisoners in 2007.”

Heavy stuff.

However, to those holders of the above-mentioned passports this can create major problems and involve a huge expense if you wish to:

a) use Heathrow airport as a transit hub to change planes to another destination

b) land at Heathrow airport from, for example, Cape Town, and then travel by bus/train/taxi to Gatwick to connect to a European destination

The UK Border Agency makes no distinction between a so-called illegal worker, foreign national prisoner or simple tourist. Fact.

Let’s take the example of someone who has landed in Heathrow during June 2009, connected to Gatwick, flown to Marseille and is returning to Cape Town via Gatwick/Heathrow in mid-July (ie after the deadline).

A ‘Transit Visa’ is necessary. This entails visiting the UK Visa Agency office in Marseilles armed with pictures, Euros (plenty), a 30 page form all completed (colour of underpants mandatory), copies of bank statements to denote you have the funds to connect on a 60 minute bus journey, a signed document stating you will “NOT SIGHTSEE or SHOP WHILE IN TRANSIT” – and make an on-line appointment to see an immigration officer.

Once you have waited three and a half hours after your appointment time has come and gone, you are interviewed, and then handed back a letter and a sealed envelope. “Go to the Post Office, post it to Paris and wait!”

26 Euros later your envelope (including your Passport and precious Schengen visa) is in the hands of La Poste and you wait, and wait. Our example is travelling to Paris in a weeks time to collect the visa.

Ironically, this weekend the English newspapers are full of brochures and supplements marketing Britain to the British – alongside corrupt politicians, disaffected citizens, a Speakerless House of Parliament (they fired him for being useless) and thousands of centimetres on how good the British Lions are.

They need to market Britain to the British – no self-respecting visitor needs go near Heathrow ever again.

[Big Ben - visit it in a picture, not in person. Anyway, it'll probably not be working soon]

 

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