horrific experience at heathrow - is it worth complaining?

[Jwana]

Hi there

I am an Australian national living & working in the UK under 'right of abode' status. My 15 year old daughter has just arrived here to join me for 6 months. We were told by the UK visa authorities both here & in Australia that there would be no problem for her to enter on a child visitor visa which could be granted on entry as long as she had certain evidence with her - e.g. proof of my residency in the UK, a return ticket, a letter from me concerning her living arrangements as well as from her father in Australia saying that he had no objection to her staying here for that time etc etc.

I made sure that she had all of this paperwork (& more) with her but when she arrived at Heathrow she was formally detained & issued with a detention order. After nearly 2 hours the immigration officer rang me (I was still in the Arrivals hall) & proceeded to grill me about absolutely everything. He rang me 3 times before agreeing to let my daughter be granted a visa. He was extremely rude & used a threatening & bullying tone throughout. He also was telling my daughter that she could be put on the next plane back to Australia. When she tried to show him the copies of the emails + the visa flow-chart we had been sent by the UK visa office he said 'that's not how it works'.

It really was a horrific experience & both my daughter & I were extremely upset.

I would LOVE to lodge a formal complaint...but is it worth it & could this even jeopardise her visa? Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks.

Jwana

[thsths]

It really was a horrific experience & both my daughter & I were extremely upset.

I would LOVE to lodge a formal complaint...but is it worth it & could this even jeopardise her visa? Any advice gratefully received!

I am very sorry to hear this. The "quality" of immigration officers varies quite a bit - I had a few difficult experiences, but also met a very nice guy last time.

Anyway, the central question is probably why it happened. I do not think that it would go this way entirely without a cause. Of course it was not a good reason, and that should be your complaint. Still, if you know what triggered the behaviour, it may be easier to make your case. Can your daughter remember what he asked or what she said?

Concerning a formal complaint, I do not want to give you too much hope. It is possible that it will make a difference and that you get a good answer, but most likely it will just be ignored. You could escalate the case if you are not satisfied, and for example get your MP involved.

Tom

[Jwana]

Hi there - thanks Tom for that advice...I will have to think about how to proceed in terms of lodging a formal complaint.

Just another question - if my daughter & I travel outside the UK on holiday during the next 6 months while she is here, do you think we'll have to go through this whole process each time we come back into the UK? That is, should I take ALL the documents she needed for her visitor visa with us each time and be prepared for yet another grilling?

Many thanks.

Jwana

[thsths]

Just another question - if my daughter & I travel outside the UK on holiday during the next 6 months while she is here, do you think we'll have to go through this whole process each time we come back into the UK? That is, should I take ALL the documents she needed for her visitor visa with us each time and be prepared for yet another grilling?

You should certainly take the documents with you, although the CoA, the marriage certificate and proof of address should be sufficient. Usually it should go a lot smoother, but it depends completely on the officer you meet.

Tom