passport control at eurotunnel

hellofreebies

wondering if anyone got any advice for my friend..

her jamaican mum and father in law wishes to visit the uk and meet their two grandchildren for the first time some time in the year, when she applied for a visa for the uk she was refused, she tried getting a visa to visit france and it was accepted, at first the idea was that that family would all visit paris to spend time together which would be fine, but it was suggested by her neighbour that it may be possible for the mum and dad in law to get the eurotunnel into the uk without any passport control, is this true? i went on eurotunnel in 2002 and cannot remember going through anykind of immigration into the uk or france..anyone can confirm?

thanxs in advance

Entertainer

I know when I came back into the U.K last year there was passport control, quite rigorous really, scanning the passports and all that.

pboae

It's hit and miss. There is passport control, often all you have to do is vaguely wave your passport, and if they can see it is UK they don't even look inside it. Other times you get the whole works. It wouldn't be worth the risk.

BernadetteN

pboae wrote: »

It's hit and miss. There is passport control, often all you have to do is vaguely wave your passport, and if they can see it is UK they don't even look inside it. Other times you get the whole works. It wouldn't be worth the risk.

I don't know where you last travelled through but I can assure you that EVERY SINGLE PASSPORT IS CHECKED with the database into the UK by UK Immigration at Eurotunnel Coquelles, with only a few exceptions (which I'm not going to list but there are EXCEPTIONS).

All passports have undergone more rigorous verifications since 9/11, British and EU passports included.

Jamaicans need visas for the UK for ALL ENTRIES whatever the purpose of stay. It's unfortunate for those majority law abiding Jamaicans who wish to come on holiday but just ask the Met Police or consult UK asylum and illegal entry statistics and you can make some pretty educated guesses as to why visas are mandatory.

vikingaero

I only live 30 minutes from the Terminal and we use the Eurotunnel service about once a month. I've found that in general each side will check your passports more rigorously when you enter their respective country. That is I've always been checked on entering France by French Immigration and on entering England by English Immigration. Conversely I've found that when leaving France sometimes there's no-one at the booths especially at late night, although I suspect that they're still watching us in their offices somehow.

I've found that because of my race, I am Chinese, I am quite rightly checked more often than Caucasians. Therefore if you are black Jamaican then it is highly likely that you will be profiled and checked. So the risk could be higher that your parents will be denied entry. If they do enter without hindrance and are checked when they leave then they may face questioning, an interview or their passport being stamped to deny further entry, which will mess up any future visa applications.

BernadetteN

vikingaero wrote: »

found that because of my race, I am Chinese, I am quite rightly checked more often than Caucasians. Therefore if you are black Jamaican then it is highly likely that you will be profiled and checked. So the risk could be higher that your parents will be denied entry. If they do enter without hindrance and are checked when they leave then they may face questioning, an interview or their passport being stamped to deny further entry, which will mess up any future visa applications.

There's no profiling when it comes to UK straightforward passport checks at Coquelles Eurotunnel. If you wish to travel, you undergo a passport check.

Without doubt profiling is used by the Foreign Office / UK Visas when deciding which nationalities must have mandatory entry clearance (visas) for the UK.

The above poster is also correct though because there is huge abuse of UK and EU documents using forged passports. I am assuming that the above poster is British of Chinese origin? Therefore when the above poster travels on his British passport he/she may get an extra glance and the Immigration Officer may ask him/her something to check they are not Chinese from China pretending to be British. Or if the above poster is Chinese from China, then there is also abuse of Chinese passports by imposters too.

UK Immigration has always been on the French side for embarkation to the UK and French Immigration has always been on the UK side for embarkation to France when travelling with Eurotunnel. The same system now also operates on Eurostar at Brussels and Paris, and also in Boulogne, Dunkerque and Calais for ferries.

So if a Jamaican arrives at Coquelles Eurotunnel and presents a Jamaican passport, they will be normally be refused entry to the UK. Perhaps it's worth reconsidering a re-application for a visit visa, especially if there are any different circumstances from the time of the refusal. Visa Officers are only human and don't always make the right decisions.

nickmack

hellofreebies wrote: »

her jamaican mum and father in law wishes to visit the uk and meet their two grandchildren for the first time some time in the year, when she applied for a visa for the uk she was refused, she tried getting a visa to visit france and it was accepted, at first the idea was that that family would all visit paris to spend time together which would be fine, but it was suggested by her neighbour that it may be possible for the mum and dad in law to get the eurotunnel into the uk without any passport control, is this true? i went on eurotunnel in 2002 and cannot remember going through anykind of immigration into the uk or france..anyone can confirm?

It's an unfortunate situation but there must be a reason why they were refused a visa for the the UK. Because they don't have a visa they may not legally enter the country.

What you're asking is if it's possible to illegally smuggle these people into the country. Passport checks on Eurotunnel are fairly comprehensive so the answer is no. This shouldn't really even be discussed on the forum.

BernadetteN

nickmack wrote: »

It's an unfortunate situation but there must be a reason why they were refused a visa for the the UK. Because they don't have a visa they may not legally enter the country.

What you're asking is if it's possible to illegally smuggle these people into the country. Passport checks on Eurotunnel are fairly comprehensive so the answer is no. This shouldn't really even be discussed on the forum.

Actually I didn't even think about the smuggling aspect!

Well now first there's the armed French Police (Gendarmes actually), then there's often the armed Riot Police CRS there too. There are some HUGE German Shepherd dogs too owned by the French authorities that can sniff a body out of a boot. And if you get past them, the next check is from UK Immigration which have some lovely Spaniel dogs with the best noses a dog can have. There are the visual checks of boots done by humans And a recent addition is the Body X Ray machine and other implements. Next come UK Customs who may also wish to have a look for some "booty" of a different kind but often get the bonus of a human body too. So 4 different government agencies, several detection machinery and methods. I really don't think it's worth the risk or teh consequences - French Judicial System could trial and imprison someone for this within days, not months like in the UK.

Voyager2002

The OP has evidently forgotten that there used to be a camp at Sangatte, full of asylum seekers desperate to find a way to get into Britain. Sangatte is right by the French entrance to the tunnel. No, a Jamaican passport-holder without a UK visa would find it about as easy to get through Eurotunnel as an ordinary citizen of the old Soviet Union would have found it to sneak through the Berlin wall!

My best advice to the OP: console yourself with the thought that France has better food and weather than England, and prices are a good deal lower. So enjoy your family reunion there, and every time you spend a euro reflect that the money would have spent in the UK had the government been a little more intelligent.

You might also have seen recent reports about the large number of "wrongful" visa refusals by British officials: your friend's family are certainly not alone. If the stated reason for the refusal was based on an obvious misunderstanding or factual error then you can write directly to the official responsible to set the record straight. (My wife, Chinese, did this after her sister was refused a visa. The official actually apologised and offered to issue a visa for her whenever she wanted.)

However, if the refusal arose because the applicant did not provide some of the documentation needed, or simply did not fill in the form correctly, it is worth applying again.

pboae

BernadetteN wrote: »

I don't know where you last travelled through but I can assure you that EVERY SINGLE PASSPORT IS CHECKED with the database into the UK by UK Immigration at Eurotunnel Coquelles, with only a few exceptions (which I'm not going to list but there are EXCEPTIONS).

I've been over twice this year, in Feb I went with my sister and her kids, (who are clearly mixed race) and no-one checked our passports, we held them up, but were just waved through. I was very surprised at that, as we were expecting it to be queried, as they have their father's surname. But as they never looked inside the passport, it didn't come up.

I remember it particularly because we got pulled over later so they could do additional checks on my dog's paperwork. We were joking about his being the only passport that got checked, and how it would be harder to smuggle a dog through than a person.

We have also been stopped so they could do extra checks on the car (taking swabs of the steering wheel and things like that), but there were no extra checks of documents then.

We've done that trip several times over the last few months, and I have frequently been surprised how lax the procedures are.

vikingaero

BernadetteN wrote: »

There's no profiling when it comes to UK straightforward passport checks at Coquelles Eurotunnel. If you wish to travel, you undergo a passport check.

The above poster is also correct though because there is huge abuse of UK and EU documents using forged passports. I am assuming that the above poster is British of Chinese origin? Therefore when the above poster travels on his British passport he/she may get an extra glance and the Immigration Officer may ask him/her something to check they are not Chinese from China pretending to be British. Or if the above poster is Chinese from China, then there is also abuse of Chinese passports by imposters too.

Hi Bernadette,

When I was talking about profiling I was talking about the Police, Customs and Immigration Officers peering into your car (local profiling) as you approach the English Passport Check Booth. Just behind these booths are a screened area where they may stop you for more intensive searches and questioning.

Just for info I'm British of Chinese origin.