England, Revisited

Never have I imagine that I could go back to England so soon when I just left the country in 2011. So, using my brother as a valid reason, my family and I boarded the flight by KLM from Penang all the way to Newcastle upon Tyne.

It was a pleasant and smooth flight. The cabin attendants were all friendly and generous. So, apart from not being able to sleep for long time, everything else was fine. The flight experience with KLM was good.

I was not prepared for what my family and I had to go through at the UK Border immigration counter at Newcastle airport. We were held back for awhile because I used to live in the UK for some time and when they checked my passport, a little history of my past appeared in their system.

Back in 2009 after my BVC studies, I applied for the post study work visa. It was not a smooth application in that it was rejected the first time due to my graduation date. The Home Office could not verify my graduation or completion of studies date. At that time, i had to resit two papers and therefore my graduation was in December instead of July like everybody else in my class.

So, fortunately, after all my explanations, the immigration officer kindly told me to bring my old passport along as it contained all my travelling history in the UK. The new one was literally brand new and so it didnt help much. Neither do my old passport number or my British National Insurance number would be able to tell the immigration officer of my travelling history.

I was never deported nor refused entry in the United Kingdom or any parts of the world and so this was quite a traumatic experience for me. I am glad that the officers in Newcastle airport believed in me and had recommendation submitted to the Home Office for the deletion of the appeal application back in 2009.

So, a lesson learnt when visiting the UK was to always bring your old passport along with the new one for verification purpose.