UK Immigration & Custom Delays

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Viewing 15 posts - 46 through 60 (of 354 total)

  • MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Slight thread drift concenring your above post. Why dont the US allow Brits to join their Green Card lottery. It seems you either have to be Irish or a persucuted minority to apply for membership.

    The fact that our Governements usually bark to every US command does not seem to be enough for us to be considered as suitable citizens to be allowed entry for more than 6 months of the year.


    RichHI1
    Participant

    Not sure for certain. I have heard that a) the Uk is not seen as an impoverished counry full of huddled masses and b( the UK already has a very high migration rate.
    I have had this discussion regarding preferential treatment on immigration with many US friends who find the policy favouring those whose countries despise the US as a bit odd. I think for all countries immigration is used as a way of helping third world problems so allowing so many famine victims or victims of evil dictatorships is seen as morally good whereas helping honest families from ordinary backgrounds in middle class UK or US is not seen as socially valuable.
    On the other foot I am told for US citizens gaining a work permit or residency permit in UK is made equally hard with many stories of ex pats whose employers transferred them to UK for periods and their wives (professional people with qualifications) were refused work permits. I think the truth is that the UK abandoned the “special Relationship” and turned its back on the commonwealth when the ruling elite saw their best future in the common market and the US foriegn policy has similarly shifted focus.
    I think my views on these matters are well known and I would prefer the UK to be part of NAFTA than the EU but I do not expect many to agree. Certainly the empty words of the current government on the importance of the US relationship could be matched with some action. It was obvious that both Thatcher and Blair brought some life to the UK US relationship but the current administration seem to be focussed on the EU and the commerical reality on the US is focussing attention on BRIC.
    I do not think the UK follows all US requests and I think the US was made to follow France and the UK into LIbya. The Europhiles like to attack anything that is not EU and I guess I could be equally guilty in the opposite direction. The truth as ever lies probably in a middle ground.
    Reverting to topic, though it can be horrendously slow, I find the US CBP professional, courteous and diligent. I am unable to apply any of these adjectives to the UKBA. Whether that is solely the fault of civil servants or equally balanced by poor leadership, incompetence and lack of interest by politicians of all parties, is a question for the indiviudals to make. Certainly the image the UKBA presents to foreigners entering UK can do little to inspire business confidence.


    CXDiamond
    Participant

    I have taken up the earlier very wise suggestion of writing to Mrs May.

    For too long the situation at UK borders has deteriorated in terms of waiting time and being greeted by surly staff when eventually seen. I mind having my time wasted proving that I am allowed to enter the country of my birth, if they can’t see UK and EU citizens within a couple of minutes of arrival then they either need to increase number so of staff until they can – funded by efficiency savings elsewhere or else do the sensible thing of joining Schengen and allowing us the many benefits it would bring. To the objectors, please show me the resulting crime statistics of being in the Schengen area from Germany, Holland and other northern European countries, you will find you can’t so cease your unfounded objections as you sound rather childish and silly.

    With regard to others I would introduce a priority system, I think priority should be granted to Commonwealth citizens above others. We could then have a third tier for other countries who did not need special scrutiny and then a fourth tier for countries where special care was needed about who we are letting in. At the top of the tier four list would be anyone holding a US passport and these people should be fingerprinted, photographed and have to provide a DNA sample prior to an exhaustive interview about their intentions and purpose of their visit and then they should be detained while their story is verified.

    Of course, joining Schengen would give a very clear message to the US. I would love to see the ROI decide to join, that would make our government sit up and take notice. No one stops to think about the number of people who enter the ROI illegally and who then stroll across the land border and they are in the UK!


    RichHI1
    Participant

    CXDiamond to use your own words “Childish and Silly”.
    Why are the Scandinavians, notably the Danes trying to bring back Border controls?
    If you like Schengen treaty so much then would it not make sense for you to move to a signatory country?


    CXDiamond
    Participant

    RichHI1 I agree, a lot of your posts do sound childish and silly.

    Perhaps you could enlighten us all with evidence rather than rhetoric about the Danes and border controls.

    I’m quite happy being based in the UK thank you and quite able to make decisions of my own about where I live without you questioning it but thank you for your interest.


    RichHI1
    Participant

    CXDiamond this is drifting way off point and adding little value.
    To clarify I am not suggesting you choose to move country I just wonder if people find the Schengen arrangements so convenient why they do not choose to avail themselves of it.
    Understandably there are many more factors to where one lives than which political treaties are signed.

    I look forward with interest to hearing of any reply you receive from Theresa May in respect of the original post point and any announcements of reorganization or increased investment levels in UKBA. Maybe they will see privatization as a more efficient way forward as we already have Private companies running our prison service.


    Capetonian
    Participant

    To the objectors, please show me the resulting crime statistics of being in the Schengen area from Germany, Holland and other northern European countries, you will find you can’t so cease your unfounded objections as you sound rather childish and silly.

    CXDiamond if anything it’s you who is presenting a disingenuous argument. I’ll draw the line at calling it ‘chidlish and silly’ as hopefully we don’t need to descent to that level when disagreeing.

    You are right, we can’t find the statistics showing increased crime due to Schengen membership, and that is because the authorities do not release true and meaningful statistics, and then as we all know, statistics can be manipulated to prove or disprove anything, so they are to all intents and purposes meaningless.

    Anyone out there on the ground knows that since the open borders that Schengen has created, there is an increase in the number of uncontrolled and undocumented people travelling around and leaving no trail of their movements. Increased crime has resulted. I know this from personal observations and talking to people and authorities in countries in the Schengen zone. Like everything else associated to the massive confidence trick that is the EU, this too is a major problem.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I think Schengen will only increase the UKBA problems which will have a knock on effect for further problems for passengers flying into the states from the UK.

    One of the major differences that I see between the UK and US border control in terms of procedure is the “air of authority” of the whole system.

    On entering the states, the immigration halls proudly display pictures of their President (this is not about whether you like him or not) the flag is always present, a large Welcome to the United States notice. Officials, not raggy looking students, are on hand and the uniforms and badges of office along with the side arms provide the arriving passenger with a degree of notice and respect of where they are.

    Lets turn to London. The thought of a flag flying anywhere near our airports would be considered policitically incorrect (if there is a Union Jack flying I cant remember seeing it), BAA hire students on part time contracts to act as line pushers and helpers, you could be in the middle of tesco’s, sainsburys or the foyer of the theatre.

    You then are faced machines that seem to either not work or have more staff looking at them than manning the desks, then we read in the papers that there are times when the agency is too busy to send people out to check passports.

    Looking at the home office web site whether there are any jobs available for this area (I was considering at one time as an option for my post 50 years), there are none.

    Until BAA and the Governement start taking the airport’s seriously and use the money they are thieving of passengers for the benefit of the airports, which include the security and immigration sections, then the q’s will continue and the UK airports will fall further behind in terms the efficient passenger flow.

    But worry not, the likes of Harrods, Dixons, Boots and all the other shops will seE their profits soar, becasue thats where the money appears to be in airports, retail shopping!


    CXDiamond
    Participant

    I simply speak as I find. If there is no evidence about crime in the Schengen area then that is probably because there isn’t any as a result of it. I can’t believe that all the governements have entered a conspiracy to keep this matter quiet but that is what is being suggested here. It is the paranoia of little England that holds this country back and those who want to believe in crime without statistics are the major culprits behind that paranoia.

    Checks going in to Germany are far more thorough than coming in to the UK, the border police are smart, polite and efficient. See if you can apply any of those terms to the UK border control personnel. As above, MartynSinclair is right, border control is not taken seriously in the UK and in the Schengen area we might have more chance of keeping people out who should not be here than depending on the deadbeats at LHR to do it.


    Capetonian
    Participant

    CXDiamond
    I simply speak as I find. If there is no evidence about crime in the Schengen area then that is probably because there isn’t any as a result of it.

    Oh dear! Brainwashed. I believe what I see and if I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist!

    You are, I suspect deliberately, missing the point about the disaster that Schengen is. There are no checks going into Germany if you are entering from Schengen, by air or by land. You do know that? The problem arises where people from, for example, North Africa get into the Schengen area through badly patrolled Greek and Italian borders.

    Of course it’s not a problem because people like you can’t see the problem therefore it doesn’t exist.

    That said, UKBA is a total farce and a disgrace, and not fit for purpose. If the Schengen area protected its external borders properly, then the UK’s accession to Schengen would be a positive move.


    RichHI1
    Participant

    I see two issues, The Schengen treaty is a policy, a political move towards a single state and the UKBA which is an implementation, an administration and execution of Border security.
    To the former, I my personal belief is it reduces security and does not impede cross border crime. Schengen is not what this thread is about though. The to anf froing about the EU and the Treaties will not affect the quality of border control in the UK as it is about policy not implementation.
    The UKBA administration and execution of immigration and border enforcement is, for a variety of reasons, some political, some economic, some executional and managerial, failing.
    For those who support the Schengen Treaty for all, I would suggest that were the UK to adopt Schengen (God help us) the net effect would be a lowering of border integrity in the whole area due to the poor level of operation in the UK.
    Arguing about Schengen in this thread is like arguing about whether the ship should be called “Titanic” or “Titanesque” as the band plays “abide with me”.


    LPPSKrisflyer
    Participant

    I’m not so sure our own sea borders are any better than those of elsewhere in Europe, we have a very long coast line and there have been significant cuts in the funding of the protection of this over the years.

    Admittedly we are not in proximity to north Africa in the way that Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are and they do have impossibly long coastlines. Airport immigration in those countries along with most other countries in the Schengen area is thorough and usually very polite. A far cry from almost all experiences of arriving in the UK.

    What would probably be most helpful would be a Schengen wide responsibility for managing the coastal borders as the more controlled areas meaning land borders and airports are already better than the UK.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    “The UKBA administration and execution of immigration and border enforcement is, for a variety of reasons, some political, some economic, some executional and managerial, failing”.

    In other words Rich, its CR*P!


    RichHI1
    Participant

    Yep


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    thought that what those 25 words meant…………………!

Viewing 15 posts - 46 through 60 (of 354 total)
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