Do debit cards satisfy liquidity requirement at UK immigration entry

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Accepted answer

The question is about how people who do not need an entry clearance establish their bona fides at the landing interview stage and in particular if debit cards are useful as evidence.

The controlling technical reference for this question is Appendix V, Paragraph 4.2 (e), which says...

must have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to their visit without working or accessing public funds. This includes the cost of the return or onward journey, any costs relating to dependants, and the cost of planned activities such as private medical treatment.

As seen there are is no mention of how the person establishes this. The rule is vague by design and intent (and we like it that way; see UK visa refusal on V 4.2 a + c (and sometimes 'e') for a discussion about how the current set of visitor rules were made). So the decision is entirely in the hands of the Immigration Office conducting the interview (and if the things go badly, the duty Chief Immigration Officer).

It means two different people can have different results even if their evidence is identical, some people do well and others do not.

So the exact answer to your question is indeterminate.

TL;DR

Nothing in the rules prevents you from showing debit cards and being successful at gaining entry to the UK,

And I can add this...

A nearly infallible strategy with IO's is to be ready to say...

My situation is reasonable because... (your rationale goes here).

They have to respect reasonable circumstances and if you make a tenable argument, you will win. Reasonableness is one of the strongest game plans you can ever make in a landing interview.

Note: the same thing goes for credit cards. In fact if you can establish reasonableness you can show candy bar wrappers.

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