FlyerTalker70

I'm a Canuck who is moving to the UK next month to pursue a 1 year's Master's programme. Most of the time I'll be entering the UK from either MAN or LCY airports (occasionally through LHR). Does it make any sense for me to apply for Registered Traveller? What's involved in applying for it? How similar is it to Global Entry/Nexus for immigration and security?

TIA,

James

glbltvlr

Keep in mind there is (or at least used to be for US citizens) a requirement that you have a history of 4 entries in the previous two years for eligibility to apply for RT. From what I observed, RT allows you to use the kiosks for UK nationals inside of queuing up to see a Border Force agent. Beyond that, there wasn't any difference.

FlyerTalker70

Checking the Border Force website, it seems like I qualify immediately as I'm coming in to the UK on a Tier 4 Student Visa. That being said is there much of a queue in the UK Nationals line vs the foreigner line at LHR or MAN?

-James

flatlander

Yes, it absolutely is worth it.

My (non-EU passport) partner swears by it. Especially at Heathrow the non-EU line can easily be 30 minutes longer than the non-EU line. She hasn't had that wait since she joined the Registered Traveller scheme. MAN is an airport I rarely go through. LCY immigration are never that slow, but you still get a bit of a speed increase using e-gates and you don't need to answer any irritating questions from the border people. It's a huge win at Heathrow.

I don't think they check very carefully that you have entered the UK often enough but you'll soon qualify in any case.

CrazyJ82

If you were traveling through LHR frequently (especially T3 or T5), this would definitely be worth it. Non-EU immigration queues are becoming outrageously long and I'd estimate my RT has saved me a couple hours total over the past year or two. For LCY, I don't think it's likely to make as much of a difference since the non-EU queues there tend to be shorter. I can't speak to MAN. That said: If this is only a one-year stint in the UK and you'll be studying much of that time anyway, how likely really are you to be flying in and out of the country? For my money, RT is most valuable for people who travel frequently for business, either as UK residents or coming in for meetings. For someone who'd use it just a few times a year, save the money for a couple nights out.

lwildernorva

My experience getting approved indicates that they do. It took me two solid months of submitting various items, such as my frequent flyer records showing transits through LHR and hotel and credit card charges demonstrating stays in Northern Ireland to get approval. I thought that approval would come easily because I had a number of roundtrips where I was heading somewhere else through London on BA twice on a return which only got credit for one passage, reducing my number from six to three. I got approval only because on a trip from the US directly to Ireland, I had crossed into Northern Ireland, which qualified me for my fourth trip into the UK. I originally had not submitted that trip as part of my application since my flight transits were into and out of Dublin with no flight through London.

I was fortunate to have traveled into Northern Ireland and stayed a couple of days with access to my hotel and credit card records showing purchases while in NI or I would have been rejected.

RichardInSF

True, they won't count an LHR transit to another country unless you actually go through immigration and then re-enter from landside. I did this once when I initially qualified and it really did make a difference. But it may not be possible for some folks because of tighter connections.

One additional minor advantage of being a RT is that even when you don't use the electronic gates, you don't have to fill out the immigration card.

catcher1

If you have checked luggage, you may not mind the queuing, but I travel only carry-on and RT makes it a breeze. I have been through in five minutes. What a joy after a long flight.

lwildernorva

And conversely, I hadn't originally thought that the trip to Ireland would help my application since, of course, there's no border control going into and out of Northern Ireland. I'm glad it did.

Ldnn1

I'd expect a Canadian student on a 1-year course here may enjoy several short breaks to Europe - in which case RT could prove very useful.

Redwood839

I have a Costa Rican passport and I swear, maybe it was a MAN but the stupid thing never worked. I was always sent to see an officer to the point where I just ended up using the Non-EU lane cause it was faster. Only ONCE worked at BHX.

TomMM

I signed up for Registered Traveller in June and got to use it for the first last week at LHR. Definitely worth it. The immigration queue was backed up into the hallway. There was a queue at the egates but it only took about 20 minutes.

Buster

I signed up a couple of years ago and it has been absolutely worth it to me. The last time I had to go through immigration at T5 it took 1.5 hours in the Fast Track lane.

FlyerTalker70

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the programme. I've found the Nexus frequent traveller program (which allows effortless immigration/security between Canada/US) to be a no-brainer considering the $50 fee every 6 years. Between visiting family and attending conferences overseas, I'm expecting to conservatively re-enter the UK 5 times during my 1 year Master's at York, during which time there's a good chance I'll be forced to enter via LHR (since that's often where the cheapest *A intl fares to the UK are). Based on what I've read here and on FT it seems like the Registered Traveller programme is worth the money.

I've got just one other question: Can I apply for Registered Traveller outside the UK (i.e. in Canada), so that the first time I enter the UK next month I'll get all the formalities of registered traveller worked out?

Safe Travels,

James

TomMM

Not quite how it works. You have to apply and wait for provisional approval. Mine took 7 days. If you get provisional approval you still have to go through the normal immigration line during your next visit. The immigration will then tell you if you are fully approved. Once that happens you can use the gates on your next visit.

I applied from the US.