The Immigration (Passenger Transit Visa) (Amendment) Order 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Immigration (Passenger Transit Visa) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/2702) which requires certain passengers to hold a transit visa to pass through the United Kingdom without entering while transiting to another country.

Article 2(2) and (3) of this Order require all passengers holding a travel document which does not establish citizenship or nationality to also hold a transit visa to pass through the United Kingdom without entering.

Article 2(4), (5) and (16) clarifies that citizens and nationals of the territory of Taiwan do not require a transit visa.

Article 2(6) defines “Convention Travel Document”.

Article 2(7) exempts holders of an expired visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America from the requirement to hold a transit visa, provided it is less than six months since the holder last entered that country with a valid visa.

Article 2(8) limits the versions of a valid USA I-551 temporary immigrant visa, which exempts the holder from the requirement to hold a transit visa, to one that is machine readable.

Article 2(9) clarifies that a person must be travelling to the same Schengen Acquis State which issued the visa to a Chinese tour group under the Approved Destination Status Scheme in order to benefit from this exemption from the requirement to hold a transit visa.

Article 2(10) clarifies that diplomatic and service passports issued by the People’s Republic of China and diplomatic and official passports issued by India or Vietnam must be valid in order to grant the holder an exemption from the requirement to hold a transit visa.

Article 2(11) and (12) exempts holders of a diplomatic passport issued by Turkey from the requirement to hold a transit visa and, as a consequence of article 2(3), makes clear that holders of aliens’ passports issued by Latvia and Estonia, Convention Travel Documents and a laissez-passer issued by the United Nations or the International Committee of the Red Cross will continue to remain exempt from the transit visa requirement.

Articles 2(13) and (14) restricts the types of entry visas which exempt citizens and nationals of Syria from the requirement to hold a transit visa.

Article 2(15) clarifies that electronic format documents will not exempt the holder from the requirement to hold a transit visa, other than when such documents can be verified by the airline.