Transit visas

Hi fellow v-flyers,

A bit of a shot in the dark but does anyone have any experience of transit visas. A colleague and I are looking at some extremely last minute plans that involve a transit of about 8 hours through LHR. He holds a Ghanaian passport, I hold a British passport and we have absolutely no intentions of leaving the airport.

It is my understanding that he requires a transit visa even for an airside transit, is this so and is it strictly enforced?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Best bet is to look on the UK Border Agency Border Force (it's name changed recently) for definitive advice on a transit visa

Some nationalities do still need transit visas even if not leaving the airport so it is best to check the UKBA website as failure to have one could lead to his detention and being sent back on the first available flight.

If one is required then yes it will be enforced and border staff have heard every story under the sun and have very little room for any sort of discretion.

Many thanks for the speedy reply tonty. I have checked the UKBA and they have said it was required. I asked about enforcement because, rather surprisingly, you can check numbers and types of applications submitted in a month (in Ghana only) and only 3 transit visas were requested which seems a bit low...

Many thanks for the speedy reply tonty. I have checked the UKBA and they have said it was required. I asked about enforcement because, rather surprisingly, you can check numbers and types of applications submitted in a month (in Ghana only) and only 3 transit visas were requested which seems a bit low...

That's probably because it's more or less the same procedure to get a transit visa as it is to get a visitor's visa. A former intern of mine left to do his Masters at UCLA and didn't manage to get his transit visa on time but he still got on the VS flight to LAX from LOS but he had to spend the night in the terminal which wasn't very comfy. You might need to talk to the British High Commission in Accra and see if it's ok since he has no intention of leaving T3. Probably also need to discuss it with the local VS office so he doesn't get refused boarding for not having a transit visa