Greenpen

As a middle aged couple we are never stopped by customs and even the immigration officers are mostly polite. When I was a youth I was often stopped so I guess that's what's happening to your son. He may use 'harassed' in a different way; it sounds like the word young people use for anything that stops them doing anything they want!

My middle aged brother in law has a long pony tail and is almost always stopped so I guess there is a certain amount of selection by stereotype going on.

Andriyko

I am not sure when exactly it changed but it has been for some time that a visa already grants leave to enter. Those who do not require a visa will need leave to enter upon arrival.
This may have changed once again (although I have not heard anything about it) but a visa does grant a leave to enter.

Andriyko

I think that UK is unique among most developed countries in that a U.S. or a Schengen visa does not guarantee entry (although most will be admitted), and a UK entry clearance includes a leave to enter.

Esharpest

Having also been through the Indefinite Leave to Remain and citizenship processes, I can vouch for what a pain they are, how much stress and worry they cause, and of course the considerable cost of it all - and this is as a 'non-scary' white, educated American. SteelCityBoy is right; no-one believes me when I tell them that my living room floor was literally covered in stacks of papers when I was preparing to apply for ILR until they see the photos. My favourite part was deciphering old passport stamps to make a spreadsheet of all my travels in and out of the UK for 10 years - not easy when boarding passess have gone awol, the Brits don't stamp you out, and many EU countries don't stamp you in, so in many cases there's no proof of when you left the UK. And it's not over yet - I became naturalised last year but still haven't been able to apply for a UK passport, 'cos you've got to send in your existing passport for up to 8 weeks. It might take less time than that, but they make no guarantees. C'mon, chaps, when am I going to have 8 weeks without any possibility of international travel?

I shan't comment on racism towards immigrants for fear of waking the slumbering mod - although I too could tell plenty of stories along similar lines to those already told. (You always know it's gonna be a good one when your interlocutor starts off his sentence with "Now, I'm not a racist, but..."!)

More to the point of the thread: My experience has been that the decision-making officials simply want a water-tight case. So, although it does feel rather invasive, the more evidence you can muster that everything's above-board, the better. When I was preparing to apply for ILR, I took what I thought was a good stack of documents along to my immigration solicitor, but he just scoffed.

"That's it? Not good enough. I want everything!"
"Everything?!?"
"Everything. Even your parking permits!"

...which led to the afore-mentioned living-room-covered-in-stacks-of-papers situation. The tactic? Drown 'em in evidence and bury 'em in proof! So spend a little time making a gallery of all the photos you can find of the two of you together, print out stacks of e-mails (the further back you can go the better), etc., to prove your relationship is real. Likewise with any evidence she can provide to show that she's not looking for work in the UK.

Good luck!

Yahillwe

At the end of the day the question is, would you really want to subject her to all that humiliation just to visit a country for a few weeks and add to their economy? Me personally I wouldn't go, it isn't worth it. To go through all of that and still risk not being admitted... nahhh, skip and go to an interesting place were she will be happily greeted and wanted.

IAMORGAN

One point re: solo children- some EU countries (Portugal for Eg) require a notarised letter from a parent/guardian if thE child is travelling alone/with friends. This is an exit control, however, and I think it only applies to nationals of that state. Not sure if Greece has a similar law.

sunrisegirl

Have sent you a PM

heckenhocker

My nephew will travel unaccompanied minor later this year. We've briefed him to be ready for questions and explained it's so that the immigration know he is safe and being met.

Having talked to some UM chaperones, and also heard solo-travelling-teenagers at the immigration desk, it usually is questions about where they are travelling from, why the minor was there / why are they coming here (establish where parents are), who is meeting them, and if parent 1 is separate from parent 2 a check that both parents are in the know.

I suspect a 15 yo sees this as hassle, a parent probably sees it as a safety net.

LeisureFirst

Yes thanks for that information. I don't doubt your word for it, and no doubt you have to arrange their flights back so you know about it, but we're still a little in the dark about the reasons. Visa fraud perhaps?

BA6501

(And quoting all other posts concerning this in this thread)

Once, he arrived from BEY and I went to pick him up. Usual questions asked, where are you coming from, who is picking you up, did you ever travel alone before, do you know how to go on from here... But they had to call me up to make sure I was at the airport, and then they had to escort him down to baggage reclaim, through customs where they x-rayed his bags and then the official checked my driving licence.

His friend has a notarised letter though, just to be on the safe side. I know he doesn't need a visa / whatever but I was wondering if my son and his friend would be even more "harassed" if coming in together, both being 15.

LeisureFirst

I presume the OP is talking here about a reasoanbly serious relationship here and not exactly a casual tourism trip, so absolutely it could be worth it. If the application isn't totally straightforward it can be very worrying and frustrating but I'd hardly describe it as humiliating. I have been through it for my partner.

There are professional immigration advisors who have a pretty good idea exactly what documentation you will need to ensure you're successful. If you get good advisors then they are very worthwhile, even though not cheap, but I think that's more usual for a settlement visa.

The amount of documentation required to sponsor a tourist visa is far far less than needed for a family visa of any kind which leads to permanent settlment here. A letter from you, some basic confirmation of your relationship (e.g. photographs) and your ability to support your girlfriend during her stay would normally be enough, together with a copy of your passport and proof of address. I honestly don't know if filipino applicants have a particularly onerous time compared with those from other countries with a similar level of development, but I would give it a go without employing any advisors or suchlike unless your girlfriend has a chequered past. What is the application fee? It sounds like if you're declined you can give it another shot later, perhaps with advisors and after the relationship has developed further.

Yahillwe

BA6501 am not sure if you should call it harassing, there is a lot of child trafficking and run away kids. When my children weren't off age yet, even up until 18 years of age, I would travel with them having a notarized letter from their father allowing them to fly with me. And would give them such a letter when traveling solo. It is just a precaution with all the s....t that goes on.

Part of what modern society I guess.

Yahillwe

A tourist trip.

SteelCityBoy

^ Can completely relate to this - spent many an evening on my knees in our flat going through piles of bills/bank statements/paystubs etc...

Thanks also to everyone for their good wishes - most kind ^

Hyperacusis

Not entirely true. Once certain countries are oversubscribed, a separate, longer line forms for those petitions with priority dates that are older than the "rest of the world" line. See Mexico, Phillippines and Dominican Republic for family based, and India for Employment based petitions.