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I'm Brazilian and I'll be in Germany from October 26th till November 23rd visiting a German friend. We will go to London on November 15th till 17th, we intend to keep our money together, it means his credit card! But I know I may be asked to prove that I have money to spend these days there, in that case can my German friend join me in the queue of non-EU citizens?

I've been to Germany last year and on my way back I had to stay 11 hours in London (Heathrow) and I got a visa of 6 months because of that, just to wait at the airport, having got a visa already in the past can make me go through immigration in London more easily?

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  • The short answer is, it's totally OK to stick together (whichever line you choose).
    – Fattie
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 12:46
  • This might be worth a separate question (and @gayotfow mightmknow), but is the fact that you are reliant on your friends credit card actually something you can rely on for proof of funds? What happens if you and your friend fall out, or if something detrimental happens to your friend? Is this taken into account by UKVI?
    – user29788
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 16:24
  • @Moo lol, a totally separate question. How the landing interview proceeds is out of scope on this one. :)
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 17:04
  • @GayotFow a question worth asking tho?
    – user29788
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 17:05
  • @Moo possibly, depending upon how it's put. But in jeopardy of being 'opinion-based' also. Landing interviews are rarely deterministic.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 17:10

2 Answers 2

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You are a Brazilian national travelling with an EU national. You will travel from Germany to an entry port in the UK. Brazilian nationals to not need an entry clearance.

can my German friend join me in the queue of non-EU citizens?

Yes, of course. He can join you in the queue and when your turn comes he or she can accompany you to the primary control point for your landing interview. This is not an overly big deal.

A more interesting question is can you join the EU queue with your friend? This is situation dependent. The Border Force has a policy that families should not be separated if there is any way to avoid it. This allows non-EU spouses and children to use the EU queue with the primary. In your case, you are in a casual relationship (I assume) and not a real family unit. So somebody MIGHT bark at you if you tried joining the EU queue. However, nothing prevents your trying, and if they are not busy, you might succeed. If not, they will send you to the back of the non-EU queue (and your friend can accompany you). This is also not an overly big deal, the controlling factor is whether they are busy or not.

Personal experience: in the days long, long ago when I was non-EU and needed visas and leave-to-enter and what-not, I preferred the EU queue because it was much quicker. If I spotted that the EU primary control point was idle I would just approach it and present my passport. What are they going to do? Scramble the paras? Call out the SBS? About 80% of the time it works. About 20% of the time there is a rigid IO who sent me back to the other queue. It's a great tip for frequent travellers.

having got a visa already in the past can make me go through immigration in London more easily?

They love to see peripatetic history in a passport. They totally eat it up. However if it looks like you are coming too often there will be problems. In your case, it's fine. Nothing in your narrative raises any flags IMHO.

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  • Yeah, as we are friends I didnt even bother to think about joining him on the EU queue, and as he can join me in my queue that will be more than great then! And it's just my second trip to Europe, it's been 1 year and 4 months since I'm back to Brazil and spent that time at the airport in London, so I think will be fine! Thanks for the answers.
    – Filipi
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 4:38
  • "What are they going to do? Scramble the paras? Call out the SBS?" - the only thing that might be imaginable is that some border officers are not trained to process extra-EU passports. This is unlikely (probably, training generally includes processing both domestic and foreign passports in most countries, and these days, much of the job seems to be looking at the traveler's face and the photo in the passport, and placing the passport on top of their automated system that does the rest), but at least it seems remotely plausible whereas the opposite (border officers being trained only for ...
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 7:17
  • ... foreign passports, not for domestic ones) sounds so unlikely that it probably isn't the case anywhere in the world.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 7:17
  • @O.R.Mapper, British IO's are trained for all border events. Additionally they have supplementary police training and enhanced intelligence training. They also get training from the US DEA and DHS. They can also function (and frequently do function) as ECO's at the Croydon office.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 13:44
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I would go on different queues. no big deal to be separate for 10 mins and meet again near the baggage collection.

About the visa if last time you left on time you shouldn't have issue to get in this time.

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  • My problem isn't being separated for the few minutes, of course. The thing is that we want to keep the money we will spend there all together, and it would mean his credit card! So if we go separated and the officer ask me to prove how much money I have I won't be able
    – Filipi
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 15:20
  • The one with the non EU passport should keep the visa then. As the EU passport holder doesn't need to prove anything.
    – Sela Yair
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 15:45

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