Visa drama
Hiya,
I'm new here, though I've been lurking for a few weeks. My name is Jamie and I'm a 23 year old postgraduate starting at University of Sunderland in a few weeks. Here's my problem:
1. I have my visa.
2. I applied for my visa many weeks ago (mid-July).
3. School starts 21 Sept and I can move into housing 19 Sept.
4. When I applied for my visa, I chose my start date as 19 Sept.
5. At some point between completing my visa application (mailing 9lbs of stuff to the NY consulate) I decided to arrive a few days early and stay at a hotel. I had never been to Sunderland before and I wanted a few days to situate myself.
6. I booked a flight and hotel and I'm due to arrive in England 16 Sept.
7. My visa start date is 19 Sept.
I'm a US citizen and I don't believe I'm required to have a visa to enter the UK as a tourist for under 6 months. But where I have a student visa, am I now barred from entering freely (i.e. before the 19th)?
I guess I'm asking how bad it really is to enter through UK customs. A few years ago I did a year abroad in France and the gentleman at customs barely looked at me and didn't say a word-- just stamped my visa and sent me through.
Is this experience similiar in the UK or will I get grilled?
Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading!
EDIT: Thanks everyone for your responses! I've really been obsessing over this, and I'm much more at ease now.