Transit Visa for Heathrow

Q: My daughter is traveling via London to New York on a S.A. passport. She has a 10 year US visa plus all accommodation booked for the business trip. She will only be in Heathrow for two hours before her connecting flight to New York. Does she require a transit visa for Heathrow, as she will not be leaving the terminal? - Sue Martin

A: While South Africans now need transit visas to pass through airports in the United Kingdom, your daughter should be exempt from this provision because she has a valid visa for the United States. Let me explain. From July 1, 2009, South Africans have needed to apply for visas for airport transfers in the UK. This visa is known as a Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV). However, in cases such as your daughter's, South Africans are exempt from the DATV requirement if they hold a valid visa for Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States and are passing through the UK en route to one of these countries. Obviously, she would not be able to pass through UK Immigration Control, or, more importantly, collect any luggage on her journey through the UK. I suggest she make a final check on her visa status with the airline she is using for her flight, as they would be responsible for denying her onto the flight if she does not meet all visa requirements. For further information check the UK Border Agency website www.ukvisas.gov.uk. (3/7/11)