What can a British National be asked in a UK Landing Interview?

Upvote:2

I was on a business trip in the UK which I extended into a two week holiday being joined by my wife and son from South Africa. On arrival the British immigration after being told by my wife why they where there asked my 10 year old son: When did Daddy leave home, and after getting that answer asked him is it school holidays now. It was actually not and my son said so, but my wife noted the immigration officers eyes went to a South African calendar on the wall, presumably checking the dates of school holidays.

On another occasion my brother-in-law, travelling with his whole family, lost the family passports, after check-in but before boarding, at the airport. He left the family to go to the bank carrying his satchel and my sister had the boarding passes in her bag. When they went to board he realized his satchel was missing, and they could not trace it. The airline referred to departing immigration who said they could exit South Africa as they were UK citizens and the airline took a chance. On arrival in the UK, after UK border control listened to the whole story they turned to the youngest and asked a question using local Bristol colloquialisms and slang in that. After he had answered they asked a question which caused the two younger children to have a conversation between themselves and that seemed to convince them that the family were indeed residents of Bristol granting them access to the UK.

Upvote:7

Where are you travelling from? What is in your suitcase? What was the purpose of your trip? These are all questions my English roommate has been asked on entering the UK.

The British passport only ensures they will be allowed in the country. They still have to answer for any illegal things in their bags, and any crimes committed while abroad. Or, for that matter any crimes they are wanted for in their home country. They may also want to make sure that the ID document you are using actually belongs to you. This can lead to questions like "What's your date of birth?"

Upvote:7

In most countries (maybe all) everyone, including citizens, is subject to interview and inspection and the Officer can ask pretty much anything they want*.

If a citizen is worried about the process, for legitimate or fanciful reasons, they should know the exact extent of what border Officers, Immigration and/or Customs, can do. For example, a US citizen cannot be prevented from entering the United States. They can be questioned, searched, detained, examined, etc. but cannot be turned away. They can be arrested immediately after admission, but not sent back.

*For the nitpickers, they're not going to ask random irrelevant questions, "How many Pokemon did you catch?", unless they're trying to elicit physical clues as to the veracity of the traveler's other claims.

As an aside, I have noticed that UK Border Force regularly asks the most questions.

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