Comments | brits_americans: airport immigration, continued

happycycling in brits_americans

airport immigration, continued

Feb 12, 2008 13:46

I posted an earlier entry asking about how to increase my chances of being let into the UK for several months, and several people in the comments told me not to mention that I planned to look at universities while there. (I'm pretty sure that I can do this on my passport, so I'm not concerned about acquiring any special visas anymore ( Read more... )

travel, studying in the uk, passports, immigration (to uk)

Comments 21

bloodofareptile February 12 2008, 19:15:38 UTC

I'm pretty sure it's actually illegal to volunteer in the UK without a work visa. I know that makes no sense, but there you go...

happycycling February 12 2008, 19:19:33 UTC

the British Embassy says i can.

bloodofareptile February 12 2008, 19:26:19 UTC

That's really annoying, actually. When I was asking about the fiance/e visa (pre-getting married, obviously) I was told you weren't allowed to work, and that included voluntary work - all you get to do is sit around and twiddle your thumbs! I assumed it would be the same for all non-work visas...

Sorry!

happycycling February 12 2008, 19:29:16 UTC

wow, really? that's annoying.

it's okay - your comment forced me to check so i'd be absolutely certain :)

Thread 11

vampire_sushi February 12 2008, 19:21:14 UTC

boards of canada and happy cycling especially are............ godlike.

i can't take that song off my sleep mix for the life of me! we're inseperable. haha sorry this was not helpful to your original post at all.

happycycling February 12 2008, 19:22:45 UTC

hahaha that's okay! it was a pleasant diversion :D

marymac February 12 2008, 19:24:41 UTC

There are no official border controls for citizens of both nations. And EU, up to a point. If you have your UK visa you probably would be ok, the guys at Dun Laoghaire/Holyhead certainly don't appear to care as long as you have ID, but check with the Irish Embassy.

happycycling February 12 2008, 19:27:54 UTC

ah, that explains/clarifies a lot.
no, i'm not going to have a visa aside from my passport. so i guess i'll be getting re-stamped coming back in?

marymac February 12 2008, 22:57:56 UTC

I have no idea. Do check it, if the Irish authorities decide you're illegal they won't deport you to the UK, they'll deport you to the US.

imluxionverdin February 13 2008, 01:26:33 UTC

My personal opinion about going to the ROI is that you are thinking about it the wrong way. Think of it this way. You are an American Citizen with a US passport, and you wish to visit the ROI for a short stay. What are the rules ( ... )

astartesyriaca February 12 2008, 19:52:47 UTC

I don't know why you couldn't tell them you were visiting universities? I think people sometimes make a much bigger issue about getting in than it really is. You ARE allowed to visit, after all... what you do while you travel is really up to you. I would actually think that visiting universities would be a perfectly valid reason for visiting.

imluxionverdin February 13 2008, 01:33:44 UTC

I think the issue here is that I presume the OP would come in on a tourist visa, something that effectively says, "This person is here for a holiday and will definitely be going back to the US". If however the immigration office knew they were going to look at universities, they would suspect that they would register on a course and apply to change their status to be a student, in other words not leave the country ( ... )

happycycling February 13 2008, 13:12:24 UTC

i'd be entering as a visitor, not a student - i'm not currently enrolled in any educational institution, and i would be visiting universities as a prospective student. am i missing something?

and no, if i'm admitted to a postgraduate program i wouldn't just stay in the UK; i'd be returning to the states to get my student visa. that's how it works, right?

imluxionverdin February 13 2008, 15:31:01 UTC

I think so, yes.