Hello Peeps,

I entered the UK with a tourist visa with the intention of spending my vacation here at Manchester and also shopping. I entered through Gatwick Airport, but at the airport i was extensively questioned for over four hours, made to go through x-ray scanning, finger printing, several interviews, extensive search of my luggage, diaries etc. Nothing related to me having any connection with anybody in the UK was found.

Thereafter i was further detained in a room there at the airport and made to fill and sign deportee/ detainee forms but after about 4 hrs of waiting, the immigration officer walked up to me where i was delayed and handed over my passport to me and told me i could go but i noticed that a coded permit to enter (Code 3) was stamped on my passport.

Can someone tell me why all these and the implication of this on my subsequent entry and visa applications.


KMD

Code 3?

Firstly, what is your nationality or at least what passport did you travel with?

@ OP

They doubted your real intention in the UK hence the reason for the thorough checks and questions.Thank God they didn't find anything implicating on you,stuffs like your CV could land you back in Lagos.

To the best of my knowledge,Code 3 is a type of tourist landing.
Also note that information are kept on whatever you have told the immigration officers on arrival for further references. It isn’t any big deal, as long as you told them the truth because they can always refer back to this information on your subsequent  visits. 
And the most important thing,do not overstay your visa.
Have a nice holiday!

koolmd:

Hello Peeps,

I entered the UK with a tourist visa with the intention of spending my vacation here at Manchester and also shopping. I entered through Gatwick Airport, but at the airport i was extensively questioned for over four hours, made to go through x-ray scanning, finger printing, several interviews, extensive search of my luggage, diaries etc. Nothing related to me having any connection with anybody in the UK was found.

Thereafter i was further detained in a room there at the airport and made to fill and sign deportee/ detainee forms but after about 4 hrs of waiting, the immigration officer walked up to me where i was delayed and handed over my passport to me and told me i could go but i noticed that a coded permit to enter (Code 3) was stamped on my passport.

Can someone tell me why all these and the implication of this on my subsequent entry and visa applications.


KMD

it is no biggie, everyone gets a code when given leave to enter, yours just means you are not allowed to work nor stay more than the duration of the  time you told them you want to stay. As long as you leave UK within the prescribed time, you would not have any problem with reapplying for another visa.


As  per the scrutiny you were subjected to, they are only doing their job and were probably acting on instinct or impulse or perceived information that either you misrepresented some facts, there has been a change of circumstances in your case  or intended to overstay and not return to Naija, hence reason they were looking through your stuffs to find contrabands such your educational record, CV, employee record, contacts made to procure work in the UK, etc, but luckily they didn't find anything on you.

If you held a Nigerian passport then normally you would not be given
a code 3. Your visa is your leave to enter and they should have just stamped
it with an ordinary date stamp if it was your fist arrival on that visa. If not then
they would stamp near it or on any other page.

If indeed you are a visa national and were given a separate code 3 stamp
then that is most irregular.

While such a thorough search/scrutiny is uncalled for under normal circumstances, it's  likely something may have triggered their suspicion. I am sure a lot of Nigerians with similar circumstances as yours enter the UK. Is this your first time entering the UK, is this  brand new passport that has never been used, etc.?  If you come back and provide more information, then may be folks can try to guess at what may have caused this. OTOH, it could have been a bunch morons on duty that day and they were just overreacting.

i was extensively questioned for over four hours, made to go through x-ray scanning, finger printing, several interviews, extensive search of my luggage, diaries etc. Nothing related to me having any connection with anybody in the UK was found.

sounds like something triggered their suspicion though i could be wrong.


your name perhaps?

Guys, its not about coursing and abusing selves now,common guys!!! I told you guys my ordeal and needed a clarification and you're fighting, well please respect your personalities!

I am a Nigerian with Nigerian Passport, the passport is not virgin as i have used it to travel to Paris a year back. Like i said, my motives of travelling was vacation/shopping and i declared i didnt know anybody in the UK which was true.

However, i had a ladies 'weave on' and jewelries somewhere in my luggage which is supposed to be for a friend who is also coming on vacation and will pick up the stuffs to give her folks here in the UK.

I guess this was where the whole story became messy as they thaught i knew people here. However, i have since checked into my hotel room and thinking of appearing at the home office at the airport when am returning to Nigeria and also write a letter to the British High Commission in Lagos for this unneccesary hostility as i need to proof my bonafides and tell them to remove my data from data bases of terrorists and also be able to re-apply for visa without denial.

Thanks

@poster

sorry to hear that BUT i honestly think its getting out of hand with those at GATWICK AIRPORT especially. the other day my dad was coming from germany a country he has lived in since earlye 1970s but never bothered getting his german passport due to them not allowing dual nationality and also lived in uk for over 10yrs as an EU national. since sept2010 he has been to germany twice as he is tryng to get his german p.

basically immigration started questioning him at gatwick from 11am till after 5pm or so. asking him all sorts of questions and asking where his wife is and why didnt they travel together. etc. my dad got pissed off and said does the woman expect him to carrry his wife on his head everywhere he goes. to vut the long story short they collected his passport and asked him to come with his wife the following week to get it. bearing in mind this is a man of above 60yrs old oooo. imagine.

i believe its a new thing or rascist something at gatwick u dont see dat in manchester or heathrow.

Dude, god saved you this thread was cleaned out Oponu oshi, you alledgedly hold a British Passport and suddenly an halterneck top worn with skinny jeans to go clubbing is ghetto dressing What would you do if that was a miniskirt instead or a minidress that was made from half a yard of cloth, hyperventilate and combust and do us all a favour and drop dead Shior

Davedavy:

@ OP

They doubted your real intention in the UK hence the reason for the thorough checks and questions.Thank God they didn't find anything implicating on you,stuffs like your CV could land you back in Lagos.

To the best of my knowledge,Code 3 is a type of tourist landing.
Also note that information are kept on whatever you have told the immigration officers on arrival for further references. It isn’t any big deal, as long as you told them the truth because they can always refer back to this information on your subsequent visits.
And the most important thing,do not overstay your visa.
Have a nice holiday!

Code 3 is used on students on short course, prospective students as well as people passing through the Country who have not reached their final destination such as the Channel Islands, Ireland, etc, to prevent people from taking up employment in the UK and to tightly restrict one's stay to a specific duration of time no more than 6 months, so they usually would put something like e.g. code 3 valid for one month.

Busy_body:


Code 3 is used on students on short course, prospective students as well as people passing through the Country who have not reached their final destination such as the Channel Islands, Ireland, etc, to prevent people from taking up employment in the UK and to tightly restrict one's stay to a specific duration of time no more than 6 months, so they usually would put something like e.g. code 3 valid for one month.

Generally true,but it would not ordinarily be used for a Nigerian visitor as they are visa nationals and so he would have had a visa prior to entry. That is why I said if indeed he was given a code 3 that is irregular.

Code 3 could also be used on a tourist/visitor, say like an American who raises doubts in the mind of the Immigration officer but there is not enough eveidence to refuse entry outright.

^^^ I was only using the "as well" comment in my post to buttress Davydave's comment.


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