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I have a business visa and initially business meetings to be held for 2 weeks. So the client invitation letter had a schedule for only 2 weeks. But later this got extended for 1 month. I forgot to bring the updated client invitation (for 1 month) and my tickets have been booked for 1 month.

Since the duration in the client invitation letter and the duration of the tickets did not match, Immigration officer verbally told me to exit the country within 2 weeks (as per client invitation letter). But nothing has been written on the passport regarding this. So if I stay for 1 month and leave the country, will it be a problem for me to re-enter the country in the future?

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    Are you asking whether or not it's a good idea to disobey a limitation given to you by an immigration official...? Yes, exits are tracked by most routes out of the UK,so if the immigration official made any note on your record about the 2 week limit, and this is spotted during your next application, then yes you may run into difficulties.
    – user29788
    Mar 22, 2018 at 8:12
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    @moo is there any way robin could get this duration changed officially while still in the UK?
    – user16259
    Mar 22, 2018 at 8:29
  • @user16259 Only the visa can be Extended AFAIK, not an individual leave that's been shortened by an IO
    – Crazydre
    Mar 22, 2018 at 22:19
  • @Coke do the verbal instructions constitute "leave" if the passport has been stamped for six months, as I suppose it was? Robin: do you have a six month stamp in your passport?
    – phoog
    Mar 23, 2018 at 1:50
  • @phoog De jure it hasn't been shortened, de facto it has, in that it's recorded (especially if a custom, rectangular stamp was issued) and that if OP stays longer, a strict officer is within their rights to turn it against them on re-entry.
    – Crazydre
    Mar 23, 2018 at 1:52

2 Answers 2

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Dates are tracked since April 2015 using API and TDI information provided by various sources.

As part of legislation introduced through the Immigration Act 2014, carriers and port operators in the aviation, maritime and international rail industries were given the power to carry out embarkation checks. Since 8 April 2015 departure data has been collected on all scheduled commercial services departing the UK from air and sea ports and from international rail stations except those services not within the scope of the exit checks programme.

The analysis in the report focuses on individuals who had both valid leave and were identified as having entered the UK after April 2015, when the exit checks programme was introduced.

If it's not written in your passport and you still have valid leave, it is unlikely to cause a problem in the future. However, I am not sure if first line immigration officers make any notes when you pass through.

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From what I can see in my own UK entry/exit record, border crossings are only recorded when done by air (through API).

I've also been told it's done when exiting by rail or sea to outside the CTA (through TDI), but I don't know for myself - entries are definitely not recorded by rail or sea.

If you absolutely cannot leave within 2 weeks (and then re-enter), catch a ferry to Guernsey or Jersey and take a connecting ferry to France from there, as exits from the CTA won't be recorded at the Jersey ferry terminals.

However, a strict UK officer could well ask you for proof of exit on re-entry if no records are available, so again, I'd not recommend you to stay for longer than 2 weeks.

The best thing to do would be getting an official written confirmation of the extension from your company, then channel hop to France (for example by bus) and then re-enter with the new documentation.

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    "entries are definitely not recorded by rail or sea." eh? You go through immigration in both those cases. re. exits by rail:Since they introduced monitoring, if you travel with Eurostar your passport is swiped by Eurostar staff immediately before French immigration; the sole purpose of this is to monitor exits. Why they can't just use the data from French immigration, I have no idea.
    – Wandering Chemist
    Mar 22, 2018 at 23:01
  • "From what I can see in my own UK entry/exit record" - out of interest, how do you check this? I know you can check US entry/exits online, but I can't find a similar service for UK border crossings.
    – Wandering Chemist
    Mar 22, 2018 at 23:05
  • @WanderingChemist Made an FOI request by regular mail and got a document sent to me by regular mail
    – Crazydre
    Mar 22, 2018 at 23:13
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    Ah, so there's not a service for it, per se. (side note: surely you mean subject access request, not FOI request?). Are you travelling on a UK passport? I can see those not been logged (from an immigration perspective, there's no need), but it seems strange that passports subject to immigration control could pass through immigration without being logged (although I'd guess they'd be stamped?)
    – Wandering Chemist
    Mar 22, 2018 at 23:17
  • @WanderingChemist I use a Swedish ID card, which is always scanned on entry. And yes, non-EU/Schengen passports are stamped unless you hold an Article 10/20 card.
    – Crazydre
    Mar 22, 2018 at 23:17

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