Hello Guys,

I have been looking in the forum for information on transit through london. I contacted various agencies including WorldBridgeService ,British Counel Geneva, BA Airways office Zurich. No one gave a clear answer to my question whether i would need a transit visa passing through Heathrow.

I hold an Indian passport and have Residence permit B, I am planning to travel to india through Heathrow. I wont leave airport termial.
Do i need a transit visa?

If anyone in same situation has travelled recently please share your experience.
Thanks in Advance.

Depends. Did you mean Direct Airside Transit Visa or Transit Visa.
No for the former, and yes for the latter.

Are you changing terminals? Apparently you are not, so No. Otherwise you will need a transit visa.

People with a valid residence permit for the Schengen region are exempt from the Direct Airside transit visa.

You will find most of the information here http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoap...nf20transit#Q3

A valid common format category D visa for entry to an EEA state – see our 'EEA and Swiss nationals' leaflet for a list of EEA states.
A valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA state under Council Regulation (EC) number 1030/2002.

So, that should work for you. It did for me. Hope this helps.

I'm a non EU citizen, with permit B and i travelled last year to Mumbai with no transit visa required for the UK, this applies for india and Australia (this is where i have travelled too via the UK)

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. I had raised the same point to the british immigration agency and here is the reply that i got.

"WorldBridge Service handles visa information and visa application acceptance processes for those seeking entrance to the United Kingdom. We only provide information on UK entry requirements.
Please contact the authority that has submitted your residence permit to find out of what type your permit is. If it meets the requirements for the DATV exemption you may transit without a visa."

Seems like they are not sure whether non-EU Swiss Residence Permit B falls under the above quoted category or not.

Here is another link

http://europa.eu/legislation_summari.../l33043_en.htm

My understanding is that with a valid Swiss residence permit is sufficient.
Perhaps you could try asking the Swiss General Consulate in Mumbai, or London. Maybe they will have an answer to your question.

Based on what the Worldbridge office people had told me when I was in a similar situation - as long as you hold an indian passport, and no visa for UK/US/Canada(Australia?), you need a visa. Period.

Although a lot of other folks told me I don't need one. But then in the end I did cancel my BA tickets - the possibility of not being allowed to board at the last minute didn't sound like fun

An Indian friend of mine, who also holds a non-EU
B permit, recently travelled from Zürich to Delhi. He
went via Paris instead of London; apparently the UK
requires a visa but France doesn't.

As long as you do not connect to a UK destination you do not enter UK territory and hence there are no visa checks...

When you are not leaving the airport terminal, then obviously there is no need of Visa. This is not only applicable for UK, but for anywhere in this world. I had flew from USA to India via Singapore / Seoul / Hong Kong and never took Visa for the intermediate terminals. Now also flying often from Zurich to India via Dubai/ Frankfurt and never took visa for Dubai or Germany.

As I said, as long as you don't leave the airport and just getting down from one flight and boarding into another one, there is no need of Visa and this is applicable anywhere. But, if you wish to spend some time outside the airport, then obviously you need a visa, which you can get (or sometime rejected) at the immigration desk at the exit.

__________________
Myth is a Myth until you dare to understand it

In a "non-paranoid" world that would be true, but then the UK is different.

Direct airside transit visa (DATV) nationals
DATV nationals are visa nationals who must have a visa to pass through the UK on their way to another country, even if they are not entering the UK or changing airports. Unless they qualify for exemption from the DATV requirement, they cannot transit without visa (TWOV). (You can get more information about DATV exemptions below.)

Their idea of mitigating Terminal 5's famous luggage chaos , and ofcourse BA doesn't want soooo many people fly with them. They are doing their part for Global Warming

Look harder.

Help! Do I need transit visa for Heathrow?(Indian with Swiss residence permit)

And surely the UK Home Office Border Agency is the best source of information? They made it idiot proof. Just enter your details and they will tell you if you need a visa.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/doineedvisa/

The UK immigration authorities disagree with you:

Do I need a UK visa?

YES
You will normally need a visa to pass through the United Kingdom in transit.


You told us:


You are A national of India

Purpose of your visit Transit

Your status Normally and legally living in Switzerland

An exempt for this is following. If you hold one of the following then you are exempted from tansit visa.

-A valid common format category D visa for entry to an EEA state – see our 'EEA and Swiss nationals' leaflet for a list of EEA states.
-A valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA state under Council Regulation (EC) number 1030/2002.

and million dollar question is does a non-EU Swiss residence permit B falls under the above category?
This no body is clarifying starting from worldbridgeservice , UK immigration office Geneva , BA airways.

I was wondering how come no indian with same condition has travelled in the past...If anyone has travelled recently that would be the answer to all the question.

The fact that you have a valid USA visa is enough for you to immigrate through UK.
UK is surely different from Singapore / Seoul / Hong Kong /Dubai /frankfurt...

Hi Remo
Yes, me and my wife did travel through the UK and you can check about what my wife had to say in the other thread (Listed first in the "Similar Threads" below").
Let us know if you need more information.

Cheers,
Kalyan

well said

Treat to my ears !!
Thanks for the update. Just wanted to make sure before booking my tickets.

This leaflet explains that Swiss nationals have the same rights as EEA members.

Switzerland is not a member of the EEA.

My colleagues tend to go via Dubai or other routes - probably to avoid the DATV. Hopefully, someone will come along soon and give a definitive answer.

Remo,
Please don't take this as negative. But if you go through the whole thread what we have said was after a lot of frantic phone calls we were let through and we would not ever fly with BA again.

There was only one gentleman who said we can transit through the UK with the CC type B permit and no else had any clue here in Zurich. What if that gentleman has left and now no one knows the rules? There have been cases when people have been turned away citing the lack of transit visa.

If I were you I would take the pain of going to the airport and enquiring with the BA ticketing staff if it is OK to transit with your B permit. They can check and confirm with the officials then and there. With that you also have an assurance from BA that they will let you fly.

Another thing to note here is, in Heathrow no one is going to check your permit when you are transiting through Terminal 5. So if BA lets you board in Zurich you are OK!

Thanks...
I already took the decision to travel hazel free through other routes unless BA comes to me selling their tickets with 50% discount and free transit Visa..:-)