Back from the Gap

Catriona started her long journey home on Wednesday. Her route was Cairns Australia to London Heathrow/Manchester Shuttle via Singapore…

She turned up at the airport in good time of course and was extremely excited at the prospect of coming back to UK. Little did she know the drama that was about to unfold. And let’s put this in perspective, here we have a young nineteen year old, slip of a girl, who travelling alone for the first time....Checked in and customs ahead… she is preparing herself for security checks when the customs officer says,

“We need to take you to immigration”…and that is where the story begins…

Catriona knew that her working visa had expired. However, she had been in touch with the immigration authorities by phone on several occasions to get the facts explained to her; you see she plans to work for another year in Australia before taking on further education, so she obviously needs to get it right.

And here is the dichotomy - immigration’s interpretation was very different to Catriona’s understanding… and as they began to read her, ‘Her Rights’ prior to escorting her to the interview room she was in a state of shock! Especially when they told her she was entitled to a lawyer…mentioned a delay of about and week…. she was beginning to panic thinking…all I want is to go home!

“Do you have anything to declare?” the officer asked.

Catriona burst into tears, as she thought on my goodness at anytime they are going to do a full body search and get out the latex gloves! This extensive interview lasted over an hour, whilst immigration ran all sorts of checks on her…from the British Embassy to her Australian employers… and all the time she is thinking…I am not a criminal, I just want to go home…

She regained her composure and started to defend her situation in a gentle, yet factual way. And progress was made; immigration adopted a much more friendly approach. Then they told her that had she stayed just another 72 hours then she would have had a three year ban against her entering Australia! You see, no-one had mentioned that she would need a bridging visa… She burst into tears again! This was turning into a nightmare! Especially since we have already purchased her return ticket for next year! She was almost inconsolable….

Well, obviously Cat eventually got clearance and then was whisked through security…for little did she know the flight had been delayed because of her and 300 travellers were waiting for her to board!

The next part of the drama unfolds, as she gets on her flight, the cabin crew welcomes her. They can see from her tear stained face and red eyes that she is really distressed and in an attempt to cheer her they announce over the public address system that the passenger sitting in row 3D is the only UK resident on the plane and was held at customs for over an hour due to formalities… the passengers were asked to give her a round of applause and to Catriona’s great relief the plane took off…

It is at this point she finds out that she is heading to Darwin not direct to Singapore…oh great she thinks to herself, I am on the milk round and maybe they think I’m a terrorist!

You may be thinking the drama ends here…but you’d be wrong…when Cat gets to Darwin, Qantas do not have a seat allocated to her. There has been an administration error. By this time, I think she is in a state of nervous exhaustion yet, being an absolute star, she quietly states to the check-in agent…Can you help me please, I just want to go home… get me on that plane…And her attitude and personality won through, for at this point Miss Catriona MacFarlane Milnes is upgraded to first class all the way home!

This is kind of spooky as I have always said that we should act as though we travel first class through life …yet I have never flown first class personally…well not yet! And here she is at 19 years of age doing just that. And she liked it very very much... from the lounge where she sat in luxury sipping champagne, to the complimentary back massage and pedicure; to the 747 where she had a seat that turned into a bed, a personal sound and vision system that was like being in her own cinema and service from the a la carte menu - Not to mention the champagne and hors d’oeuvres on arrival!

So thankfully, the story does have a happy ending…and what can we learn from Catriona’s experience?

• Always buy a return ticket that falls within your visa deadline – she had purchased a one way ticket
• Do not depend on your knowledge and interpretation of immigration laws – get it in writing – ignorance is not a defence
• Learn to act in a polite and positive fashion, be transparent with your answers to officials and at the same time transmit your belief that the situation can have a happy resolution

All’s well that end well… and as I close today’s blog entry, Catriona is calling Australian immigration here in UK to ensure a seamless entry back in to the country in seven weeks time…