Do I Need A Visa
 

Okay you guys, i know this has been asked countless times but ...., i am scared.
lol

Okay so i am travelling with my baby, a one year old (canadian citizen) to Accra Ghana (my home town) and we are transiting via the UK.

Basically the trip looks like this

Toronto- LHR
GTW-GHANA

We have to change airports. Overnight too. Cause i land in Heathrow at 10:45am and Boarding in Gatwick begins at 5AM (flight leaves at 7AM). so realisticly that is under 10 hours or whatever.

I AM A CANADIAN PERMANENT RESIDENT. ISSUED January 2005.

Do i need a visa to transit? Has anyone had experiences?

Does Immigration treat you funny when they see you are a minority woman with a baby. Mind you, my husband will be joining us later on. Work wont let him leave this early.

Yall, please help. I am sooooooooooooooo freaking out.

Are you for real???

and how can we know if visa is required if you don't tell us your citizenship?

If your passport is Ghana (or any other west African country), yes you will very likely need a visa in my experience. But it would be best to ask your question to the British Embassy in Canada.

diapickle, lets stick to the situation at hand...and thanks for pointing out that i didnt give my nationality info.

I have a Ghanian Passport and have a Canadian Permanent Resident Card.

PS. Its not my fault that the word on the streets is that UK Immigration can be racist.

Leaving that aside, does anyone know if i will need a visa or not.

I called the UK embassy, both in Canada and London (spent over 100 dollars by the way...arrgghhh!) and they say i DO NOT REQUIRE A VISA because i hold a permanent resident card. But i stil want to hear from folks with experience.

Thanks a lot.

MUAH!

I have mixed experience with Cameroonians who have French residence ID's. Some places it works, some it doesn't. If you can get a copy of some official British paperwork that shows your Canadian ID is allowed, then bring that with you.

Thank you stimpy. MWAH!

You won't need a transit visa as long as you show them your Canadian PR card. Maximum transit stay is 48 hours.

Next time before you panic and start making overseas calls, try google first. A search of "British visa" on google yielded this site as the first result: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk
The first link on that site reads "Do I need a UK visa?"

Now if you couldn't figure this out on the internet, how did you manage to find Flyertalk? :rolleyes:

Suspect you were cheated... "arrgghhh!" - neither place would have an embassy.
Canada would have a High Commission....
London would have .....

Sorry... slap on wrist for me... must "stick to the situation at hand".

(Couldn't resist.... don't get offended. But the devil is in the detail with some of this stuff, so do take care. Good luck!)

Oh, by the way, Gatwick's code is LGW.

(GTW is Zlin Holesov Airport, in the Czech Republic).

I agree with diapickle about using google and ukvisas. Stick to the official sites. Ukvisas is run by the UK Home Office (the department responsible for immigration).

This page shows that as a Ghanian you would normally require a transit visa (Direct Airside Transit Visa).

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Fr...=1020786334922

This shows that you are exempt: (look under "Am I Exempt from the DATV Requirement")

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Fr...25559336313#Q2

Now in your case, you are changing airports. So you would need a visa as visitor in transit (rather than airside transit visa).

If you look further down under "Do I qualify for transit without visa", it says that you do:

"If you are a visa national or a DATV national who is exempt, you can transit without visa if .....arrive and leave by air within 24 hours and have no intention of staying in the UK (you can travel by rail or road between two airports); and have a confirmed onward booking that will leave within 24 hours of your arrival in the UK"

It seems you are OK! But do read it carefully to ensure you're happy with my interpretation.

Now... I suggest you print this stuff out and take it with you. It might be useful at check-in at Toronto. Check-in staff do not always know the rules, and might deny boarding if they think you're not entitled to enter the UK.

Frankly, I would forget the "word on the street" about UK immigration - or at least not let it prejudice your approach to them. I've seen them behave rudely to a white businessman, meanwhile all my non-white contacts have never had a problem. London seems to be awash with Ghanaian trainee accountants at the moment, so clearly some make it through! In my experience, most people that complain about UK immigration either have a bad attitude on arrival or can't face the fact their true reason for entering the UK was not as on the paperwork and they got found out.

Anyway, Terminal 3 (if that's where you are arriving) is an awful place and a national embarressment in my opinion.

Here's the info you're looking for (accessible at http://www.delta.com/planning_reserv...on/index.jsp):

Bolding mine. I don't really know what that means in your case. I suppose a visa would be advisable if you still have time, but there's a chance it wouldn't be necessary.

A visa doesn't guarantee entry to the UK. Visa or no visa, entry to the UK is always at the discretion of the Immigration Authorities. My guess is that getting a visa is not going to make a difference in this case.

Slightly OT, but possibly relevant (and might give some reassurance to the OP): Some years ago a friend came to visit me from Canada. Like the OP she was a citizen of an African country with permanent residence in Canada. Like the OP she was travelling with her baby who had a Canadian passport. On arrival she handed over the two passports together, baby's on top. Whereas on previous visits she had usually had a bit of a grilling before being let into the country, this time she was let through with hardly any questions asked... and she said she was convinced it was the baby's Canadian passport that made all the difference.

I deal on a daily basis with TWOV and DATV issues for Ghanaian pax transiting the UK. Bottom line is that with a transfer of airport involved, most airlines will not even accept you on the first leg without either a visa or local ALO clearance.

Also, I'm curious which airline departs Gatwick for Ghana at 7am? I'm extremely familiar with this market and I'm unaware of anyone who flies an early AM departure. Ghana International Airlines flies at 1055am from Gatwick - and if you are flying on that flight, please contact me via private message and I can advise specifically about your particular case.

Thank you all for your kind...some rude...some "realistic" advice. I really appreciate it.

I know yall are trying to help a sister out (smile).

B-747 please check your PM...cheers!

^ . I wouldn't call it racism. I get hassled by UK immigration because I am young and Australian and therefore going to overstay my visa :rolleyes: . I have my "Right of Abode" now though :D . The OP may expect some extra questions, but I would think after seeing your exit ticket and your Canadian residency they would not be overly worried that you are planning on overstaying. You should probably heed your own advice and listen to folks with experience not "word on the street" ;)