Dear Folks,

I need a travel Advice/Help.

Myself and my wife together planning to flying from Zurich to Chennai(India) via London Heathrow Airport on British Airways, however, the catch is my first leg flight from Zurich to London arriving at London City Airport(LCY) and i have my connection flight to Chennai is departing from London Heathrow Terminal (LHR).

We both are Indian by Nationality and reside in Switzerland and I hold Type B-permit.

Do we need to have transit visa for UK in this case as the airports are different?

If yes, what would be the total cost/expensive for the same. How to Apply for the same and what is the Time involved. whether can I apply online without visiting UK embassy.

Also, what would be the cost involved to get travel from LCY airport to LHR Airport?

I would be very thankful for the replies and prompt suggestions that would make me to evaluate and book the tickets.

Best Regards!

Venkatesh

Does it have to go via London? Looking on ebookers.ch there are several flights that go to/from the same airport in other countries. Frankfurt, UAE, Oman, etc.

As far as cost to get between the 2 airports, I haven't checked the validity of this website, but it seems about right (although I do question the time between the 2 airports via taxi. 45 minutes may work in middle of night, I doubt it would be that short any other time, but call a taxi company and ask about expected time if you go with auto travel).

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/London-He...ty-Airport-LCY

Only Swiss appear to do Zurich to City. Given that their flights from Zurich to Heathrow are cheaper, why not do that?

By the way, how did the trip 11th May to 11th June this year work out - that did go via LHR? https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...-required.html

Certainly you need a transit visa, you are leaving UK air side and can go wherever you want after that, so changing airports always requires a transit visa unless it is organised in secure transport from one UK airs side to another UK air side.

I found this information:
https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/i...where_else/yes

So basically you need a transit Visa.
But there is this information on that page that stated you might not need a transit Visa. Read below:

Transiting without a visa
You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:

- You arrive and depart by air
- have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before
midnight on the day after you arrive
- have the right documents for your destination (eg a visa for that country)

One of the following must also apply:

- You’re travelling to (or on part of a reasonable journey to) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country

- You’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and it’s less than 6 months since you last entered that country with a valid entry visa

- You have a residence permit issued by Australia or New Zealand

- You have a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland

- You have a residence permit issued by Canada issued after 28 June 2002

- You have a uniform format category D visa for entry to a country in the EEA or Switzerland

- You have an Irish biometric visa (marked ‘BC’ or ‘BC BIVS’ in the ‘Remarks’ section) and an onward flight ticket to the Republic of Ireland

- You’re travelling from the Republic of Ireland and it’s less than 3 months since you were last given permission, on the basis of holding a valid Irish biometric visa, to land or be in Ireland

- You have a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998

- You have a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink stamp version will not be accepted)

- You have an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension

- You have a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA (attached to a sealed brown envelope)

- You won’t be able to transit without a visa if a Border Force officer decides
you don’t qualify under the immigration rules. You can apply for a transit visa before you travel if you’re unsure whether you qualify for transiting without a visa.

Guess the answers to that same question still apply.

Of course you need a visa. You are leaving the airport. No one will have any control whatsoever where you're going after you leave LHR. If you want to avoid getting a visa, you need to stay in LHR's transit zone.

Also, LHR-LCY is a 1.5-2 hour taxi drive during peak hours (i.e. roughly all day except for maybe early afternoon and after 8pm). The airports are on complete opposite sides of the city. This will probably cost you 80-100£, unless of course you arrive at 2am.

Yes you need a transit visa. And you can find more details here:

https://www.gov.uk/transit-visa/visitor-in-transit-visa

No, kaciak above is correct and you're eligible for visa-free transit even between airports if you have a biometric European residence permit.

Be aware that the airline staff tend to be unaware of this rule and will try their worst to deny boarding the plane to UK to you. Have a printout of the TWOV scheme description ready, talk to their supervisors, raise hell if necessary.

Source: am non-EU, have a number of friends of the same nationality who have used this transit scheme successfully many times (usually between LGW and LHR). It's a pretty miserable experience every time because of what I said above but it works.

The OP is Indian......


Irrespective of any rule or ruling it is at the sole decision of the immigration officer to allow somebody to enter the UK and if he thinks you might not actually be going to the next airport, then he will not allow you entry.


Once you have passed from air-side through customs, you can go ANYWHERE you like with little or no control.....

This guy really doesn't know how to shut up after being proven ignorant so many times.

I know someone who has done this without a transit visa. Immigration in London was not a problem, since they know very well the rules, but airport staff did not let him board. After 30mins of arguing, phone calls and talking to supervisors, they let him board after signing a form that he will take responsibility if they turn him back in London.

Wow Bugger, you so smart !!!


You've found a way to enter UK visa free, but a tix to LCY, buy another departing from LHR and Bob's your uncle, you're home and dry in the UK.



Fantastic thinking, wonder why nobody else thought of this !!


With a bit more forward thinking, get the second ticket as refundable and you even get you're money back

Yes, funny you should say that because it's also true if you have a visa. The decision always lies with the immigration officer anyway.

No shit, Sherlock.
The job of the immigration officer is to work within the rules their country has designed and exercise their judgment to prevent illegal immigration.
In this case the UK rules explicitly allow entering the UK for transit purposes without a visa if you fulfill some simple requirements such as in this case (1) having a transit itinerary that makes sense (2) holding a residence permit from a EU/EEA/CH state.

Yes, the UK border guard can get suspicious of something else and refuse you entry. But surprise, they can also get suspicious and refuse you entry if you have a visa but still raise suspicion!

OP is Indian and eligible to try transiting in such a way (https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/i...where_else/yes). They have an itinerary that makes sense and have a Swiss residence permit. They should be fine.

In my experience (and boy does my nationality invite questions on the UK border even with a visa, especially the past few years ) showing them a Swiss residence permit instantly quells any questions they might have, to the point that one time the guy at the border asked me to show the Swiss permit first next time so they could just let me through and not waste time on detailed questioning. You're just not deemed a risk to illegally stay in the UK if you have a shitty passport but legally live in Switzerland already.

You can denied entry even if you have valid visa.
That is almost happen to me in South Africa lol.
My passport/country raised some questions from border control.
However, even if south africa does not have anything to do with EU/EEA .. the CH residence permit proved to be strong enough to change his mind lol.

I dont really serious problem with border control. They mostly know the rules. But its the airlines employee that you must convinced. They do not know all these rules. What they know is Country X passport requires visa to enter country Y. They dont care about the small prints..

But, to be honest, just play it safe. Apply for a transit visa