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T3 to T5 airside bus without boarding pass

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Old May 14, 2019, 2:56 pm
  #1  
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T3 to T5 airside bus without boarding pass

Hi,

I will be arriving from BCN with lands at T3 but need to meet a colleague at the Sofitel. I believe the quickest way to do this would be to take the airside Flight Connections bus to T5 and pass through Immigration there.

I've taken the bus many times for connections and don't recall them checking boarding passes, but this time I really won't have one and wanted to make sure it won't be a problem!
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Old May 14, 2019, 2:57 pm
  #2  
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You will be fine. I've done this a few times without issue.
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Old May 14, 2019, 3:04 pm
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Yes. they don't check boarding passes unless you look totally lost and need assistance. The only issue here would be if you had luggage to recover at T3, since that won't be transferred to T5, but if HBO or through checked to somewhere beyond LHR then I see no issue. I often use T5 Flight Connections to get to T2 if I'm in a Bath Road hotel overnight, it's easier to get to the Bath Road TfL buses from T2.
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Old May 14, 2019, 3:17 pm
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Thank you!
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Old May 15, 2019, 1:34 am
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Just one warning: If you are a third-country national you may get some extra questions from UK immigration.
Why someone, who landed on Air India from Delhi, just turns up at UK Immigration at T5?
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Old May 15, 2019, 4:44 am
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Originally Posted by warakorn
Just one warning: If you are a third-country national you may get some extra questions from UK immigration.
Why someone, who landed on Air India from Delhi, just turns up at UK Immigration at T5?
Why?
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Old May 15, 2019, 4:49 am
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There shouldn't be an issue with Non Visa Nationals (or indeed Visa Nationals). The Border Force officers rotate around the LHR estate all the time, and sometimes would need to stop and think which terminal they are working at. In terms of their questioning of people, it makes no difference to entry criteria, the criteria actually doesn't give the officers much discretion and the Chief Immigration Officer handles more difficult case. If an officer asks it would only be out of idle curiosity. East of getting to a hotel would seem entirely sensible to me.
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Old May 15, 2019, 4:49 am
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1. In case UK Immigration rejects entry, then Air India would be on the hook transporting you back. There is no Air India at T5. It will complicate the removal process.

2. Exiting via a different terminal might cause suspicion that the bag is collected by someone else.

3. Immigration agent may assume that the third-country national is trying to find a weak spot in the immigration checkpoints.

4. For Immigration Agent it is clear that the third country national is travelling HBO. If the traveller wants to stay 2 weeks in the UK for holiday - it's a very weird thing to travel so light.
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Old May 15, 2019, 4:51 am
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Except that the truth is always the simplest and most effective explanation.
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Old May 15, 2019, 4:55 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by warakorn
1. In case UK Immigration rejects entry, then Air India would be on the hook transporting you back. There is no Air India at T5. It will complicate the removal process.

2. Exiting via a different terminal might cause suspicion that the bag is collected by someone else.

3. Immigration agent may assume that the third-country national is trying to find a weak spot in the immigration checkpoints.

4. For Immigration Agent it is clear that the third country national is travelling HBO. If the traveller wants to stay 2 weeks in the UK for holiday - it's a very weird thing to travel so light.
Have you got any experience of this or is this just speculation on your part?
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Old May 15, 2019, 6:31 am
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Originally Posted by warakorn
Just one warning: If you are a third-country national you may get some extra questions from UK immigration.
Why someone, who landed on Air India from Delhi, just turns up at UK Immigration at T5?
Did Delhi move to Spain recently?
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Old May 15, 2019, 6:45 am
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Originally Posted by warakorn
4. For Immigration Agent it is clear that the third country national is travelling HBO. If the traveller wants to stay 2 weeks in the UK for holiday - it's a very weird thing to travel so light.
Ding ding ding! We now have proof that half of FT is very weird!
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Old May 15, 2019, 7:07 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by KARFA
Have you got any experience of this or is this just speculation on your part?
A member of my university many years ago fell asleep after collecting his bag before going through customs. He was coming back on a TATL red eye and hadn't slept on the flight. He woke up a couple of hours later and decided to leave. He allegedly had the third degree from customs because he hadn't gone through with the rest of the passengers on his Jamaica flight. They assumed it was to try and "import" something undetected.
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Old May 15, 2019, 7:14 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Jimmie76
A member of my university many years ago fell asleep after collecting his bag before going through customs. He was coming back on a TATL red eye and hadn't slept on the flight. He woke up a couple of hours later and decided to leave. He allegedly had the third degree from customs because he hadn't gone through with the rest of the passengers on his Jamaica flight. They assumed it was to try and "import" something undetected.
I think the odds of being stopped by customs are very small in the UK so that seems a little unusual. I am surprised he was just left to sleep in the baggage hall and someone didn’t wake him.
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Old May 15, 2019, 8:47 am
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A border officer did tell me once that they are aware of the flights coming in, and would be surprised / suspicious of a non confirming answer. But I think that it is more how you answer rather than what you answer, and a logical explanation would be fine.
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