Bloody immigrants! I blame old IT contractors....

[DimPrawn]

Border security system 'at risk of collapse', warns official watchdog - Telegraph

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the Home Office’s Warnings Index, or “WI”, was introduced nearly 20 years ago but was only designed to have a seven year life-span.

Every passenger arriving in Britain has their passport swiped through the WI system which is meant to detect whether they are known to be dangerous, or whether they are “wanted” criminals who should be detained for questioning. It also raises the alarm if they have previously been refused entry to Britain.

“Frontline staff use a database called the Warnings Index to check all passengers’ passports and to ascertain whether the passengers should be detained or questioned by other agencies.

“The Warnings Index went live in the early 1990s and was designed to have a seven-year life span.

“It is now unstable and at risk of collapsing. It also contains a great deal of out-of‑date information, which can delay passenger processing if officers need to leave passport control to double-check entries.

“It will, for example, contain details of somebody being refused entry to the UK but not state whether they have subsequently been granted permission to enter.”


Okay, who worked on this crock?

[scooterscot]

At gatwick last week I waited 1 hour 43 minutes to get through passport control.

Not funny with a baba and temperature like the tropics. I tried to tell others who were waiting, queuing is a British thing, it's what we do. Nothing beats a good queue. It did not appease.

[vetran]

some enthusiastic junior developer knocked it up in access at the weekend, it worked and they wanted to move it to a decent server and buy a copy of sql server. At that point the suits got involved, they hired Crap-IT PLC to build it 'properly' several years and billions later it was released still running on Access 97 but with every field's validation settings removed 'to improve reliability' and some rather crap help files.

The 7 years lifespan refers to how long the original developer had to early retirement, which wasn't really an issue, when Crap IT took over he was TUPE'd and then sacked.

[bless 'em all]

At gatwick last week I waited 1 hour 43 minutes to get through passport control.

Not funny with a baba and temperature like the tropics. I tried to tell others who were waiting, queuing is a British thing, it's what we do. Nothing beats a good queue. It did not appease.

We didn't have a long wait at Brum Airport the other day - what really p'd me off was the Border Control bint asking my eldest son "Who are the adults you are travelling with?". Being a smart-arsed 12 year old he replied "I've never seen them before in my life!". Then she proceeded to ask my youngest (5) what his name was. She got even pissier when he gave her his 'short' name instead of the one printed in his passport.

There's nothing like being treated as a potential child smuggler when you're coming home from your hols.

[Mich the Tester]

We didn't have a long wait at Brum Airport the other day - what really p'd me off was the Border Control bint asking my eldest son "Who are the adults you are travelling with?". Being a smart-arsed 12 year old he replied "I've never seen them before in my life!". Then she proceeded to ask my youngest (5) what his name was. She got even pissier when he gave her his 'short' name instead of the one printed in his passport.

There's nothing like being treated as a potential child smuggler when you're coming home from your hols.

I think they have a list of questions that they ask different categories of people. I often get asked what the purpose of my visit to the UK is and how long I'm planning too stay, and while I'm tempted to say 'I'm a British citizen, it's none of your business what the purpose of my visit is and I'll stay as long as I bloody well like', I comply just for the sake of avoiding hassle. The other great one was 'is this your car or a company car'; I had to think about that. 'Yes and yes' would perhaps be the only correct answer, but that would confuse the customs officer.

Or perhaps they're asking questions of people that they think are unlikely to be a problem, just to look like they're doing something; it's the customs equivalent of the eternally opened terminal emulator on a contractor's screen.

[Troll]

Use the ePassport facilities...simples!

[bless 'em all]

Use the ePassport facilities...simples!

That's for over 18's only - so I suupose my wife and I could have gone that way, leaving the kids to queue.

[bless 'em all]

'I'm a British citizen, it's none of your business what the purpose of my visit is and I'll stay as long as I bloody well like'.

^^^^^^^^ I'll try that next time I go through passport control ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Mich the Tester]

That's for over 18's only - so I suupose my wife and I could have gone that way, leaving the kids to queue.

NOOOO!! They will then interrogate your children about where their parents are!

It is simple; You vill conform, end uzzervize you vill be in trouble!

[Wanderer]

I think they have a list of questions that they ask different categories of people.

Yes, they do. Many of them are designed to engage you in conversation to scope out your nervousness, demeanour, accent and the eloquence of your spoken English.

A UK resident friend travelled extensively on a non-EU passport and got the same questions over and over again from the UKBA. After a long flight he was asked "What is the purpose of your visit to to the UK". Not in the mood for a long Q&A session he made a pre-emptive strike and parroted all the questions and questions to the immigration officer and asked if there was anything else he wanted to know.

The officer smiled, flicked through the pages full of UK boarder stamps and quietly gave some really good advice. Just say the words "Returning Resident" and you will most likely be stamped and waived through once we see how many stamps you already have. He reckons this has been used to great effect ever since.

The other tactic when dealing with immigration/customs/police is to be polite and businesslike by giving a shortest and concise answer. These people are normally mind numbingly bored in their job and love to have a bit of a distraction from the tedium. Don't give them any information which may lead to them engaging you in a conversation leading to further questions and you will be on your way more quickly.