Originally Posted by
qh219
The London stopover is intentional - wanted to visit a few friends there. Otherwise I agree there are much better options flying west. And the separate tickets are a result of award bookings :/
One thing you must remember is that to go to London to see friends you must cross the UK border.
If border officials form the view that your intentions for the stopover (eg visiting friends in London) are not consistent with the basis for entry (transit) then, they can refuse entry. So you have to be very careful what you tell them and make sure all your tickets and paperwork are consistent with your version of why you need > 24h to transit in UK and that you do not have anything on you that suggests anything other than someone transiting to China. If you arrive LHR early am and are leaving on a flight to China, on a separate ticket, the next day when there are flights the same day you could have taken, then that could possibly be a red flag. It may be that you had to pick that flight combination because of award availability or cost but you should have a prepared answer.
You should look at the Transit Visa guidance for border force officials on granting entry to the UK, but below is most relevant section: (I bolded those most relevant to your case)
TWOV: requirements
You must be satisfied that the individual meets all the requirements of paragraphs TWOV 2 (a) to (f).
The following factors will help you assess if an individual is a genuine TWOV passenger:•
•the applicant must have arrived and will be departing by air•
•the applicant must have a confirmed booking on a flight departing the UK before 11:59pm hours on the day after they arrived•
•reasonable transit route:o
ois it reasonable for an individual to be travelling from the country of departure to their destination through the UKo
othe Home Office does not specify what routes are acceptable for this purpose, however, there should be a clear reason for why they are travelling through the UK, such as it forming part of a journey from east to westo
oyou must make sure that the route is not being used in order to gain short term entry to the UK without needing a visao
oan example of an unreasonable transit route would be an individual travelling from Australia to New Zealand and is seeking to transit through the UK•
•the credibility of the application as a whole:o othe main purpose of the journeyo
othe applicant’s circumstances, including travel history•
•is there evidence to suggest that an applicant intends to access public funds or medical treatment or intends to work or study in the UK, for example, an admission, intelligence, supporting documents•
•intention and ability to leave the UK before 11:59pm hours on the day after the day they arrived:o odetails and availability of connecting flightso oconfirmed onward bookings in applicant’s name•
•assurance of entry to their country of destination and any other countries they are transiting on their way there:o
oentry or visa requirements for applicant's nationality to destination – refer to Travel Information Manual or embassy websiteso oif needed, does the applicant have a valid visa or entry clearance for the country they are travelling to or documentary evidence of acceptability in that countryo
oif a person intends to transit through the UK on their return, does the applicant’s travel document guarantee return to their country of residence?