SATOUSA

Hi:

I don't know if this is the right forum for the question, so please forgive me if it isn't.

I am a South African citizen living in the US as a permanent resident (GC
holder). In November, I booked flights to South Africa via London-Heathrow.
At that time, no visas were required for South African citizens.

Very recently, the requirements changed - as of March 3, South African citizens now need a UK visa to transit or visit the UK. However, there appears to be an exception for if you recently visited the UK and received a stamp - see language from website below:

From 3 March 2009, South African nationals seeking to visit or transit the United Kingdomwill require a visa to enter or transit the UK unless they qualify for a temporary exemption.


· To qualify under this exemption you must have travelled to the UK recently and have evidence of your visit in your current passport (i.e. a UK entry stamp). This means you will not need a visa if you want to

• Transit,

• Visit for less than six months, and

• Do not want to work in the UK.

if you have evidence of UK entry in your current valid passport.

http://www.vfs-uk-za.com/newrules/

My situation is, I am flying to SA through London on Feb. 21, with an 8-hour layover, before the new law takes effect. My guess is that I will get a stamp upon my entry then.

However, my return date is March 7, after the new law takes effect. If I read the website correctly, it looks like I may qualify for the exemption based on the stamp I would have received on the way to SA. I also have a stamp from a visit to the UK in March 2008 and a prior one from 2003 in my current passport.

Do you think this will be OK? I realize that no one can give an absolute answer, but does it sound like I am interpreting the exemption correctly? This is so stressful - if I knew they were going to change the law, I would have booked direct flights to/from the US.

Thank you so much for your insights.

The_English_Bride

After reading about the new requirements, there was a link to a page to find out about the different types of Visa's and whether or not you need one. I entered your information: You are a national of SA, the purpose of your visit is “transit”, and you are travelling from the US as a legal resident of the US, and this was the result. Not sure if this has been updated based upon the new rules coming into effect in March, though, but here is the link to the results:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ukvqr?r...=United+States

Reading the requirements, it does seem that either way you would be okay because, as you said, you will arrive and get a stamp in your passport before the new rules come into effect. If it were me, I would try and contact them to be sure.

SATOUSA

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have tried to contact them, but it is almost impossible to speak to an actual person. The recorded voice at the British High Commission confirmed that a SA citizen with a prior stamp in the current passport will be allowed under the temporary exemption. I also confirmed this with a travel agent in SA.

So I think I'm OK. I just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something.