I have noticed that when I arrive in an airport in another EU country besides the UK there is just this guy there stamping passports, not even really bothering to do anything other than stamp them.
But when arriving in an airport in the UK they interrogat the hell out of me, and run my passport through a computer .
I dont know why this makes me nervous, but I just feel like i am guilty of something for wanting to come to the UK for some reason!
What is your knowledge or opinions on this ??
Thanks for your answers!
2007-10-30 00:34:20 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ United Kingdom ➔ Other - United Kingdom
After 9/11, the United Kingdom was one of the few countries other than the US that was victimized by terrorists. It's only natural that they would heighten their security in an effort to protect their citizens from another horrifying attack.
2007-10-30 00:44:24 · answer #1 · answered by kozychic 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
When I travel around I find that it really does vary a lot from airport to airport, and even between different occasions at the same airport. There are certainly other EU countries where they sometimes or always check your passport on the computer. In terms of interrogation I think this is simply a question of it being easier for the UK immigration officers than for their colleagues in other EU countries to ask questions in English!
2007-10-30 01:18:14 · answer #2 · answered by Graham I 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is far far worse for anyone wanting to visit the US. They even interview everyone in the hopes of uncovering vital information. Personally I don't believe anyone could be stupid enough to fall for it, so it's mostly used as a scare tactic "we know what you're up to, so watch it". European countries have much more relaxed borders because they're so porous - there are thousands of roads in and out of France for instance, it would be very expensive to completely secure the border and insist everyone has visas checked and everything. In addition throughout the EU you don't need to have individual visas or even usually a passport checked more than once - other than on arrival, as the EU (except Britain and Ireland) signed a treaty saying that there is to be free movement. Britain on the other hand is an island, so it's relatively cheap to do, seeing as almost everyone flies and doesn't sail into Britain.
It's nothing to do with 9/11 - security was tightened, but it's always been tight compared to Europe, and nowhere near as tight as the US.
2007-10-30 00:46:11 · answer #3 · answered by Mordent 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The UK was the only one of the EU countries to keep border controls. Some sort of paranoia I guess. If you travel from Belgium to France, Germany to Holland etc it's just 'on you go madam'...UK is weird sometimes.
2007-10-30 20:04:05 · answer #4 · answered by greenorlagh 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The UK isn't in the Schengen agreement. It does have an agreement with Ireland though, so if you travel between UK and Ireland you probably wouldn't be interrogated.
2007-10-30 00:42:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋