[Closed] UK Border and asking lots of questions of EU nationals

What was the food like on the flight?

Reasonable enough but do they actually have any right to ask this of EU citizens? There aren't any transition arrangements still in place for Romanian citizens they have the same rights to work and live as everyone else.

Remember that free movement does not mean free movement in the way some seem to think, and never really has. What it means is you have the right to move around the EU and find work. If you haven't found anything after 3 months you have no right to remain.

You can travel in EU with just your ID card? That's new to me.

I thought everyone needs passport to travel even in EU (just waving through).

Travel between countries with ID card only? That's so obvious a way to generate illegal revenue ... 🙄

I don't see any reasons why you cannot ask ... I have been asked all the time.

Peanuts. Non-issue. 🙄

Yeah believe you can travel with a national ID card within Europe. Not something we can do as we don't have a national ID card.

chewkw - Member
You can travel in EU with just your ID card?

you can, yes. seems there's a lot you don't know chewkw.

In the Schengen area...

Not just in Schengen. EU nationals can come to the UK on an identity card and of course Irish nationals don't need a passport for the UK either.

And the UK too, I've been in and out of the UK on my French ID card and Madame took 110 kids through on their ID cards in 2016. She won't be doing it again though.

seosamh77 - Member

chewkw - Member
You can travel in EU with just your ID card?

you can, yes. seems there's a lot you don't know chewkw.

You also don't seem to see the opportunity or at least does not understand in other part of the world people buy fake ID daily ... 😆

Using ID to cross boarder is the dumbest idea there is ... 😆

I remember very well in the far east (where I come from) the central govt abolish passport travel, suddenly there were so many of "our" people migrating to the capital ... we laughed our head off when we realised that those migrated were all from our neighbouring countries using fake ID ... because of ethic diversity ... the govt didn't even know they were with fake ID ... security tighten since but it was so funny ... 😆

Yup, there's a market for fake passports including British ones. This isn't the place to put ideas into people's heads so I won't go further... .

Edit: except to say that if you wanted to get into the UK which document would you favour?

You also don't seem to see the opportunity or at least does not understand in other part of the world people buy fake ID daily ...

Using ID to cross boarder is the dumbest idea there is ...

And a Passport is a form of.......................

Using ID to cross boarder is the dumbest idea there is ...

No that would be a sodium tea pot, magnesium fire blanket or the Sinclair C5.

(Or actually it's probably the idea that you can have nuclear supremacy or world peace).

Edukator - Reformed Troll

Yup, there's a market for fake passports including British ones. This isn't the place to put ideas into people's heads so I won't go further... .

Edit: except to say that if you wanted to get into the UK which document would you favour?

If I were a desperado from outside of EU border I would learn few of the cultures and languages of the out most EU countries that are most corrupted, then buy my ID from there ... 😆

Imagine Turkey is in EU ... You will have the entire Central Asia and Asia relocate to EU ... 😆

Oh, just **** off!!!

I once watched a Romanian woman with her kids going in and out of poundland shoplifting, poundland! Maybe the MD has had enough of that and had had a word with the passport control as it must of been costing him literally hundreds of pounds! 😆

Yes because if you're say Iraqi just pitch up in Bulgaria , learn the language, find someone who will sell you a fraudulently obtained genuine doc as a forged or doctored passport will be spotted, have a large amount of cash to pay for all of this and away you go - obviously easy as pie

often get asked questions
what's the reason for your visit? I'm british.
how long are you staying for? Erm, I'm british (showing a british passport), but I'm only back for a week for christmas.
where do you live? Germany
where do you work? An international organisation of which the UK is a member state.
do you have any ID for that work? No, I left it at home.

tbf those last 3 are usually when trying to get back out again.

Not sure if it's the German car that confuses them, or the passport issued in "FCO".

Fortunately, I have a new passport that now works properly in automated passport control, so don't get scrutinised entering my own country.

Hate to think what non-Brits get asked. And 52% of the population want it to be harder?

andytherocketeer - Member

often get asked questions
what's the reason for your visit? I'm british.
how long are you staying for? Erm, I'm british (showing a british passport), but I'm only back for a week for christmas.
where do you live? Germany
where do you work? An international organisation of which the UK is a member state.
do you have any ID for that work? No, I left it at home.

tbf those last 3 are usually when trying to get back out again.

I got asked almost similar questions too when coming back ... 😆

"what's the reason for your visit?" I live and work here.
"how long are you staying for?" As long as I wish (refer to previous answer).
"where do you live?" Here in the toon.
"where do you work?" Large bureaucratic organization like yours. 😆

Yes, those are my answers with a smile.

Fortunately, I have a new passport that now works properly in automated passport control, so don't get scrutinised entering my own country.

Hate to think what non-Brits get asked. And 52% of the population want it to be harder?

Naw, it's cos they canny be ****ed listening to your inane pish.

Nobeerinthefridge - Member
Naw, it's cos they canny be **** listening to your inane pish.

^^^ 😆

In the past twice I was questioned in a special room. I thought they were going to perform cavity search 😆 , but 5 mins into the questioning they realised I was not a drug mule or diamond smuggler so we ended up chatting about silly stuff ...

edit: in the far east if you are being taken into special room ... you are in trouble.

OP yes they have the right to ask these questions of anyone. They can only deny entry to an EU citizen if they believe that person presents an immediate danger. As for the Romanians questions possibly

Suspicion of working illegally
Suspision of criminal activity
...

Romanians where the number 1 source of EU migrants last year, 30,000 in total. I imagine the Border agency is wondering how they are supporting themselves. They would have access to stats of how many are in legitimate employment vs working in the illegal labour market

@mrmo if you can support yourself you are entitled to stay as long as you like. If you are looking for work you can also stay as long as you like, these days in the UK you cannot claim unemployment benefits until you have been here 3 months (Germans are in the process of making that 5 years)

A mate of mine is mixed race (Mauritian dad, white british mum). My mate can only think that he was pulled over by security getting off Eurostar at St Pancras because he looks slightly browner than most white British people (apart from those returning from a few weeks sunning themselves in the Med). He was somewhat bemused by this pointless exchange...

Security: "What nationality is your passport?"
Mate: "British."
Security: "OK and do you live in the UK?"
Mate: "Yes I do."
Security: "OK great, thanks."

They didn't ask to see his passport or anything else!

french guiana was easier... "are you carrying any drugs? any cocaine, cannabis?"... nope... OK off you go.

Andy - I had exactly the same exchange going through customs at Birmingham International returning from a work trip in Amsterdam.

My best experience was being told to go back to Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) from Hungarian boarder many many years ago. 😀

The Hungarian boarder security guards had to march me to the nearest boarder gate with machine gun ... 😆

Those were the days when they were still 3rd world nations. 😆

but i fort dat dey got a bundle of 50 pound notes and a free knee operation on our NHS?

They would have access to stats of how many are in legitimate employment vs working in the illegal labour market

what are you implying?

Imagine Turkey is in EU

Which it isn't and is unlikely to be for the foreseeable future.

bigrich, large number working cash in hand

Got any statistics? Because if you are condemning an entire nation of people as criminals, you'd better be pretty sure.

Profiling.... Just not by colour this time.
As ever the best way to go after cash in hand workers is through the people putting the cash in the hand. People at the border can come here to look for any work.

I once watched a Romanian woman with her kids going in and out of poundland shoplifting, poundland! Maybe the MD has had enough of that and had had a word with the passport control as it must of been costing him literally hundreds of pounds!

I've seen an Englishman punch his wife in the face. I judge him, like I judge you. You disgust me.

I had a romanian offer discount for cash, he was cunningly disguised as a carpet fitter called Dave from West Bromwich.

sneaky

RichPenny - Member
I once watched a Romanian woman with her kids going in and out of poundland shoplifting, poundland! Maybe the MD has had enough of that and had had a word with the passport control as it must of been costing him literally hundreds of pounds!
I've seen an Englishman punch his wife in the face. I judge him, like I judge you. You disgust me.

The poing being the "joke" could be taken as annecdote given the level of immigrant bashing these threads attract.

To try and explain what is being said at any point where you use a nationality other than yours in a story replace it with English person and see what it sounds like.

To try and explain what is being said at any point where you use a nationality other than yours in a story replace it with English person and see what it sounds like.

I have an honest face. At least twice border guards have waved me through as soon as I said I was British - no need to see a passport. (And no it wasn't in Schengen)

@bigrich I am not condeming an entire nation I am explaining why border force may be asking more questions of certain groups

I imagine Border force are able to assess how British you are likely to be by your accent. They have a job to do and a lot to get through so they make a few assumptions. They have to tread a line between political correctness, the law and doing their job

The border agents were asking a few groups a lot of questions. They were all Romanians travelling with their ID cards from what I could tell.

Flew back in from Paris last week and there were Border Force checking passports at the end of the plane tunnel (I'm sure there's a technical term for this – no idea what it is tho). They were asking the usual questions, but this was quite a stroll before transfers and regular passport control.

I was fine on a few questions having only left the day before, but those with connecting flights or a longer stay were getting asked a few more.

Hate to think what non-Brits get asked. And 52% of the population want it to be [s]harder?[/s]

They might have been doing increased questions for everyone that day. Was it just your flight?

I should really stick to asking questions about bikes, no chance of attracting chewy to those threads. 🙂

Anyway, thanks for the responses. It had piqued my curiosity as its the most "probing" I'd seen the Border agents be to people who were all in the EU queue.

Not really related to the topic, but drove to Ireland (Fishguard-Rosslare) on Thursday. Lots of questions* going through Rosslare, nothing on way back through Fishguard.

*I was impressed with the questioning tactics. 🙂 It was all very friendly, very "Irish" chatty type questions. Oh, where are off to? Ah, just a holiday? Who are you visiting? Travelling on your own with a small child and a dog, aren't you brave? etc etc." It was interesting that she never really let me finish a an answer to a question without starting her next one...all about lulling you into dropping your guard and "getting your answers wrong" I guess. I did enjoy the process though.

Got any statistics? Because if you are condemning an entire nation of people as criminals, you'd better be pretty sure.

I'm more than pretty sure that Romanians have by a significant margin the highest arrest rate of any EU nationality - will Google and edit if I can find the links but IIRC BBC More Or Less discussed it and had a Romanian Embassy official contributing and offering possible explanations.

I also know from 3 years as a police custody sergeant in a busy city (average at least 10 detainees a shift, so pushing 10,000 detainees) that Romanian organised crime gangs bring people to the UK to shoplift. Every one I dealt with had train tickets showing they'd travelled all over the country, and a piece of paper with a phone number for an 'uncle' and a solicitor. Of the literally hundreds I've dealt with they only gave about 3 different London addresses, and almost all of them had never been arrested before so were usually eligible for a caution (i.e the gang regularly replaced them once they were on our systems).

The entire south east is currently suffering from a series of residential burglaries committed by South American (yes really) gangs. We suspect groups fly in for a few weeks as tourists, burgle, no doubt have handlers lined up, and fly out again. Usual M.O is daytime, using a car to get around, usually the car parks up and a pretty young female (less suspicious or threatening) knocks on doors for help - actually an occupancy test for the house (if someone answers then she's lost, or needs water for the radiator etc).

I don't think all Romanians or Brazilians are thieves, I do think a disproportionate percentage (compared to other nationalities) of those travelling here may be engaged in a specific criminal activity and I'd expect the border force to have up to date intelligence on similar crime series.

As an aside, by far the biggest population I saw of asylum seekers (usually jump out of the backs of lorries and don't run away when Babylon turn up, or even self present at police stations after entering as they know being technically detained for immigration offences is the start of the asylum process) wasn't Syrian or Iraqi, but Eritrean. So I educated myself as to why (think North Korea).