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I am supposed to be traveling to the UK tomorrow, but my visa is an accompanied visa by my mom. My mom is already in the UK (she had to leave early).

Will I be allowed in the airport to enter if my parent (that I'm accompanied by) is already in the UK (arrived before me and probably will be waiting at the airport)?

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    Would you be able to produce the ticket(s) that showed your intent to travel together?
    – Gayot Fow
    Mar 1, 2016 at 20:35
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    Would you please be so kind as to post a debrief here when your travel is completed? I'm also very curious to know. Thanks!
    – MrWonderful
    Mar 1, 2016 at 22:56
  • I would be quite surprised if you were allowed to get on the airplane at all.
    – Loren Pechtel
    Mar 2, 2016 at 6:12

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This is a very serious problem.

As the guidance notes, you must actually be travelling with the adult named on your UK entry clearance. It is not sufficient to be joining them, even at the airport. (If this were sufficient, it would say so explicitly.)

So, you will probably be denied boarding your flight, as your mom won't be with you when you check in at the airline counter.

Things get worse if you somehow do get on the flight and arrive at the UK border. Since you don't meet the conditions of the visa, it is possible that you may be refused entry and returned to your point of origin, not to mention have your visa cancelled.

If your mom actually is waiting in the airport, though, it is likely that both of you will be having a very long and uncomfortable chat with immigration officers. And it's possible that at the end of the chat both of you may be leaving the country on the next available flight. It's also possible that you will be granted leave to enter or a temporary admission, but which way it goes is something I can't possibly predict. Much of it will depend on what your mom has to say about why she did not travel to the UK with you as your visa required.

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    @GayotFow Funny, I would be asking you those questions! :)
    – Michael Hampton
    Mar 1, 2016 at 23:01
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    Well.... if the IO puts a comment in the mother's transcript that she misrepresented herself about accompanying the child, the next time she (i.e., the mother) applies for a visit visa, the ECO will see what happened.
    – Gayot Fow
    Mar 1, 2016 at 23:20
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    This answer makes some rather serious claims. I'm not disputing those claims but it would be nice to see some sources.
    – David Richerby
    Mar 2, 2016 at 1:06
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    @DavidRicherby, Paragraph 320, subparagraph 16. Also Paragraph 321 (ii). And finally Paragraph 321A (1).
    – Gayot Fow
    Mar 2, 2016 at 1:22
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    @GayotFow Thanks -- but of what document?
    – David Richerby
    Mar 2, 2016 at 1:35
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Looking at this guidance, it appears that the adult must seek entry to the UK at the same time as the child (page 19):

A child visitor who is a visa national needs to either:

  • hold a valid UK entry clearance for entry as an accompanied child visitor who is travelling in the company of the adult identified on the entry clearance, both seeking entry to the UK at the same time, or

  • hold a valid UK entry clearance for entry to the UK as an unaccompanied child visitor.

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    +1, succinct answer. You cited from the old guidance, if you find the current version (I can't) I hope you'll update.
    – Gayot Fow
    Mar 1, 2016 at 22:53
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    @GayotFow thanks. The chance that I would be able to find more recent guidance is about zero, especially considering that you couldn't. I invite anyone who can to edit the question or post it as a comment; failing that, this will have to do for now.
    – phoog
    Mar 2, 2016 at 4:13
  • I will continue looking, it may have fallen through the cracks in the last round of modernization. And thanks for your invitation :)
    – Gayot Fow
    Mar 2, 2016 at 4:59
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This happened to me and my brothers. We didn't realise we had to be accompanied by our dad, and when we arrived at the UK border in Stansted airport, they wouldn't let us in. We had to call my dad who was already in the UK waiting for us at the airport to come so they could verify his passport and identify. But after all that, the visa got stamped and they let us in anyway.

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