I really wish I had a cool story to go along with this. Maybe I should make one up. Sadly, it’s a simple case of another immigration officer being a twat.
I went to Munich last week to visit a good friend. Had a great time, check out the Munich, Germany article.
When I first came into London, I almost didn’t get in. The immigration officer grilled the hell out of me, and since then, I’ve come and gone from London multiple times for work and various other reasons, each time getting in with the regular 6 month visitor stamp in my passport.
This time, the lady really didn’t like me. She didn’t like the fact that I don’t have an itinerary (she scoffed at my “winging it.”) She didn’t like that I work from my laptop anywhere in the world. She didn’t like my other stamps, or that I’ve been in and out of the UK a few times. I’d say, overall, she seemed like a pretty miserable person. But, doing her job or whatever.
She eventually stamped my passport with a four-week visa and said I had to be out after that month. I haven’t even seen ANY of the rest of the UK! I proceeded to call her a “fucking twat” and stormed out of the airport throwing a mini temper tantrum, which ended in me getting lost on the night transport and wandering around unfamiliar parts of London until 3:30 am until Mary called me and told me to calm the hell down and ended up saving my ass that night. Thank you Mary :)
In retrospect, it could have been much worse. Could have been denied entry entirely. But seriously, what harm could I bring? They have hoards of Poles and Aussies legally coming into the UK for work every day, and they give a self-employed American a hard time?
So…four weeks until I have to leave the UK. Better get moving!
And I really have to come up with a cooler story than “bitch immigration officer.”
what sort of work you do as self employed, fascinating that you can travel and work same time
I run a few other blogs that bring in a small amount of income – just enough to get by and keep traveling :) I will be updating the About section with details about what I do exactly. Thanks for reading!
Chris, I feel for ya. btw, I love the blog. My husband (British citizen) and I are in Prague for a 6-mo working honeymoon and I’ve enjoyed your articles about the place. As for nearly getting denied entry to the UK…you and me both. They are indeed twats. For some reason, Americans are now personas non grata for the UK, hence, why we’re in Prague. Keep on keepin’ on, dude!
Glad to hear I’m not the only one! Funny enough I came back to England for the holidays and they only gave me a 3 week stay this time! They told me if I don’t go to the embassy before coming back in next time, they *will* refuse me entry. Ouch!
Prague is a great choice, I’m there whenever I can be, I LOVE it. Did you have any issues getting a long-term visa for CZ?
BTW where are you living? I was staying in Holesovice for a few months. Thanks for reading, your comment is motivating me to write more frequently :)
We’re in Strasnice (Praha 10) and really enjoy it. I like “suburbia,” especially when it only takes 15 mins via metro to get to the city center. We have just started our residency permit process for long-term visas, but don’t foresee any issues receiving them. Being married to an EU citizen makes the process easier for a Yank.
Glad you’ll be writing more frequently. I LOL’d at some of your posts. I’m a long-term expat and a lot of your experiences resonated with me. :) Look forward to seeing more!
Ah, I stayed for a couple months on the edge of Zizkov so I think we were pretty close actually!
Yeah I imagine being married to an EU citizen would make things go more smoothly. I have an American friend engaged to a Czech guy and she was able to secure a long term visa for that.
Glad to hear you relate to some of the stories, I’ll definitely be writing more soon :)