# Tier 5 visa - arrive before "valid from date"



## philbickford (Jun 16, 2014)

I'm in a bit of a panic about the following:

After getting the email saying my Tier 5 visa was issued I booked a cheap one-way flight that arrives in the UK on July 21. I've now received the visa and it is valid from Aug. 1, 2014. I had assumed that the visa would be valid from the date of issue.

I emailed the UK Visas and Immigrations International Enquiry Service explaining my situation and was told "You will not allow to come to the UK before the valid date and if you do, there may be a risk that you will be sent straight away back to your country. It is strongly advised that you do not enter the UK before the valid date of your visa unless you provide a compelling reason as to why."

This was a bit unexpected as I had seen this question asked on these forums and in other places, and the opinion seem to be that you could enter on a tourist visa but you would be required to leave the country and re-enter it after the tier 5 visa start date to have the visa activated. 

Can anyone with experience of UK border rules etc. speak to the chances that I'll actually be denied entry under these circumstances? I'm a Canadian citizen, I do not have a return flight booked.

I can't afford to pay for another flight but I'm not sure if that is a sufficiently "compelling reason" for being allowed to enter the country. I am joining my partner in London so I have an address/phone # to provide at customs.

I suspect I am basically out of luck here but I am interested in hearing whether anyone with more traveling experience (I have almost none) would agree.

Thanks to anyone who can help. Even if that help is just affirming that I am definitely out of luck.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

You should be able to enter the UK on a tourist visa... tell them that you're only here for 10 days and then are going on to France. Once you arrive, you will just have to find and take a cheapie train to Paris on or after 1 August and then come right back to activate your Tier 5.

You can't go to the Republic of Ireland to do this, as you won't be subject to passport control when you return to the UK and your visa won't be activated.


Good luck and an early Happy Canada Day to you!


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## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

You should probably come up with a reasonable explanation for why you are going to France or wherever you decide to go.

I can tell you from planning a trip last year that Eurostar makes bookings available 90 days out, and there are a limited number of the least expensive seats. It's a good deal, but not necessarily cheap. I also discovered that there are cheap flights out of London City Airport, Stansted and Luton. Check some of the bargain air carriers like RyanAir. August 1st is a Friday. Perhaps you could plan an overnight/weekend trip for that weekend with your partner somewhere cheap and cheerful? That would make it seem like a real plan, particularly if you are enthusiastic about it...?


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## philbickford (Jun 16, 2014)

Pallykin said:


> You should probably come up with a reasonable explanation for why you are going to France or wherever you decide to go.
> 
> I can tell you from planning a trip last year that Eurostar makes bookings available 90 days out, and there are a limited number of the least expensive seats. It's a good deal, but not necessarily cheap. I also discovered that there are cheap flights out of London City Airport, Stansted and Luton. Check some of the bargain air carriers like RyanAir. August 1st is a Friday. Perhaps you could plan an overnight/weekend trip for that weekend with your partner somewhere cheap and cheerful? That would make it seem like a real plan, particularly if you are enthusiastic about it...?


My plan would be to take a cheap trip with my partner to France or Spain or somewhere is affordable on the weekend of Aug 1. I thought this would be a solution to arriving in the UK before the date on which my visa becomes valid, especially if I were able to present a travel itinerary for leaving the UK on August 1. And the flight I booked for travel from Canada to the UK was like half of what I had budgeted for, so I could justify the cost of a mini-vacation to somewhere in Europe that I've never been. 

But the reply I received from the UK border enquiry service has made me question whether this plan/explanation would be acceptable to an immigration officer at the airport. I guess I didn't expect an official UK visa help service to be like "here's how to get around this problem with the valid from date" but, still.


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## philbickford (Jun 16, 2014)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> You should be able to enter the UK on a tourist visa... tell them that you're only here for 10 days and then are going on to France. Once you arrive, you will just have to find and take a cheapie train to Paris on or after 1 August and then come right back to activate your Tier 5.
> 
> You can't go to the Republic of Ireland to do this, as you won't be subject to passport control when you return to the UK and your visa won't be activated.
> 
> ...


thanks for the reply, and same to you of course.

I am hoping that a plan like this would be a solution to this here problem. I suppose I will have to just make a decision and hope it works out. 

thanks again


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

I think that if you were coming really really early before your visa (i.e. pitch up at Heathrow tomorrow morning) you'd draw more suspicion than arriving 10 days before the start of the visa. 

Having an onward to Paris/Barcelona/Rome ticket with a weekend-of-August 1st departure date with you when you arrive would be helpful to plead your case... Eurostar London King's Cross St Pancras to Paris is probably your best bet... you can get from London to Paris in just over 2 hours, and if you watch the fares and book far enough in advance, you can often find a decent fare.

Again, good luck to you and have a safe trip over!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Wouldn't it be cheaper all around to change your flight?


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## philbickford (Jun 16, 2014)

nyclon said:


> Wouldn't it be cheaper all around to change your flight?


i'm booked with air transat. the cancellation fee is $300 on a flight i got for less than $400. based on every other fare i've seen it will cost me around $900CAD to book a later flight.

i don't know if the cost of a weekend vacation would exceed ~$500 but at least i would be paying for something instead of for nothing. 

but maybe this combined with the stress of possibly being denied entry is enough reason to just pay the price to change.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

You only need an easyJet or Ryanair daytrip to France, Belgium, Holland etc. July/August is peak travel time so fares are high but you may just find one to a non-tourist destination like Hanover which may be cheaper.


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## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

Let us know what you decided and how it all went... Have a great trip!


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

On 01 August, if you caught the 13:31h Eurostar train to Paris you'd be in Paris by 16:50h local time. After you arrive, simply find the gate for the 18:13h service back to London and you'd be back in the city, Tier 5 activated, by 19:40h... there is an earlier service than 18:13h, but since you have to pass through the UK border, there's probably not enough time to catch that one (it leaves at 17:13h... you clear French customs before you get on the train in London)... all of this can be done for the amazingly low bargain basement price of £120 all in... as expected, this is a seat sale price, so book now to avoid disappointment. 

Anyway, It's not like you're the first one who has done this and you definitely won't be the last... besides, as stated earlier, it's not like you're trying to cheat the system - two weeks in London during the summer is _not_ unreasonable and you do have permission to stay for longer after that two weeks is up.


Decisions, decisions....


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Just make sure you tell the UK immigration officer on first arrival what you are up to - doing a daytrip to France to activate your Tier 5 YMS visa, and when asked, show your Eurostar booking confirmation, evidence of temporary accommodation in UK and possibly adequate funds (e.g. bank statement).


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## philbickford (Jun 16, 2014)

hey all, because everyone was so helpful and because it might benefit someone in the same situation:

i came to England today and had no trouble at all at customs. i just explained that i had a tier 5 starting august 1 and that i was going to go to Belgium for a weekend trip to return August 2 to activate it. 

anyway thanks to all who replied etc. see you around!


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## londonLhc (Aug 5, 2014)

philbickford said:


> hey all, because everyone was so helpful and because it might benefit someone in the same situation:
> 
> i came to England today and had no trouble at all at customs. i just explained that i had a tier 5 starting august 1 and that i was going to go to Belgium for a weekend trip to return August 2 to activate it.
> 
> anyway thanks to all who replied etc. see you around!


Hey,

I'm in this same situation. My Tier 4 visa only starts 29th of August but I kind of need to go 13th of August to sort out acommodation.

DId the Imigration officer ask you a lof of questions? Or was it really fine? I'm really afraid of being turned down.

Thanks!


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