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tedstriker
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Group: Forum Members
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+x+xSo has anyone recently traveled to france, Greece or any other shengen country who is on the SOR and if so what sort of checks did they get on arrival? I travelled to Germany in October 2019. Used the e-gates, as I usually prefer to do, as they fail for so many people that it doesn't stand out if you are rejected by them. It took an eternity at the e-gate (he must have been reading stuff), but then I got the green light and did not have to see the border officer. Was this while on the SOR or after?
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BenS
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 301,
Visits: 2.9K
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+x+x+xSo has anyone recently traveled to france, Greece or any other shengen country who is on the SOR and if so what sort of checks did they get on arrival? I travelled to Germany in October 2019. Used the e-gates, as I usually prefer to do, as they fail for so many people that it doesn't stand out if you are rejected by them. It took an eternity at the e-gate (he must have been reading stuff), but then I got the green light and did not have to see the border officer. Was this while on the SOR or after? While on the SOR. On the way back out, I got the normal questions.
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forever changes
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 561,
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAll I did was send a registered letter to my PPU and two weeks later I got a reply back saying that any remaining flags had been deleted and that I shouldn’t now have any problems. And since then I haven’t had any issues whatsoever at the border either returning to the U.K. or entering another country. Thanks for this advice, I will use this when I come off, good to know, cheers. Not had a reply from Police yet but on returning to UK I got through the e-gates for the first time ever. However I've just travelled to Greece and was again stopped. A lot of conversation in Greek between 2 police and I was let through though it was very tense and embarrassing as there was a big queue behind me. When I got through the e-gates coming back last time I thought it had all been sorted, obviously not. This sounds like you have been removed from the UK watch system but presumably still have a live alert on the SISII system. It should drop off over time I think. I think this is something they have to delete, rather than wait for it to expire. I'm not sure who to contact, but the police generally seem to refer all this stuff to an "International Section", maybe at the Home Office, who deal with it. If your former PPU contact doesn't know what to do, try the Data Protection Officer at your local force's HQ, as they will certainly know who deals with it. Just got back to uk and re-experienced the freedom of going through the e-gates for 2nd time - plus when I got home there was a letter from PPU saying 'this alert' has now been removed. Great relief and thanks for all the replies, advice and support I felt from the forum while I went through this discomfort Oh dear, I spoke too soon and had same experience as Scotboy. Just got back from a short break in Schengen area and was stopped at their passport control on both arrival and departure. No probs coming back to UK. So was PPU lying or overclaiming for something outside his control, or are Schengen countries retaining information themselves that our Police can't control? I thought I'd cracked it so it's very dispiriting and depressing I'm still being treated like this 4 months after I came off the SOR. What can I do now? Well, if the alert has to be removed, then if your local PPU is playing dumb, try the Chief Constable, as he/she is responsible for data protection and compliance. It may well then be passed on to the person who deals with it operationally, such as the Data Protection Officer. The fact of the matter is that your personal information seems to be being processed beyond what is allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018, so if the police won't help you, the ICO ought to. Well I did that and got a reply from Police that 'all alerts have definitely been deleted from police computer systems'. I suppose that could imply a) there are things not called 'alerts' which have information about me and that have not been deleted and b) there are systems besides 'police computer systems' that could be holding information causing me to have been stopped. I looked at the ICO website and you seem to have to say who you're complaining about, so if the Police have told me what they have I don't see how I can complain about them so who would my complaint be against? I suppose it's remotely possible that me being stopped was just a random event - twice! - and I will be travelling to the Schengen area again in a couple of weeks and not sure if I should wait to see if I am stopped again before I consider doing anything else, though I'm not sure what I could do now besides pay a solicitor £300 an hour to look into it.... Sorry to hear this. Being optimistic, maybe the alert took a while to get deleted. Or maybe they only deleted it after getting your letter. Let us know what happens on your trip. Well after 3 years of no problems....... as I went through Spanish border control yesterday to fly back to UK and just as the friendly guard was handing me back my passport something was flagged up on his computer screen and he grabbed my passport back, looked concerned, and consulted with his colleague for several minutes about what was on the screen (so holding up 2 queues much to my embarrassment) before handing me back my passport. I can't believe this was anything other than to do with my time on the SOR which ended over 3 years ago.It was quite a shock and soul destroying to think there is something still out there affecting my life and my freedom to travel like anyone else, is there anything left I can do or do I just have to put up with the possibility of this sort of thing happening again?
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punter99
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Group: Forum Members
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The ETIAs visa does not go live until November, but the computer system which logs all entries and exits to the EU, is being tested this summer. Did you have to get your fingerprints checked, either going in, or coming out of, Spain? If you did, then it means you were processed by the new system.
All UK citizens should have had their data wiped from the Shengen system in 2020, so that would not have triggered an alert and if you have had no problems for the last 3 years and if you are no longer on the SOR, then it's unlikely that this was the cause of the latest problem.
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LongAgo
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 50,
Visits: 4.3K
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAll I did was send a registered letter to my PPU and two weeks later I got a reply back saying that any remaining flags had been deleted and that I shouldn’t now have any problems. And since then I haven’t had any issues whatsoever at the border either returning to the U.K. or entering another country. Thanks for this advice, I will use this when I come off, good to know, cheers. Not had a reply from Police yet but on returning to UK I got through the e-gates for the first time ever. However I've just travelled to Greece and was again stopped. A lot of conversation in Greek between 2 police and I was let through though it was very tense and embarrassing as there was a big queue behind me. When I got through the e-gates coming back last time I thought it had all been sorted, obviously not. This sounds like you have been removed from the UK watch system but presumably still have a live alert on the SISII system. It should drop off over time I think. I think this is something they have to delete, rather than wait for it to expire. I'm not sure who to contact, but the police generally seem to refer all this stuff to an "International Section", maybe at the Home Office, who deal with it. If your former PPU contact doesn't know what to do, try the Data Protection Officer at your local force's HQ, as they will certainly know who deals with it. Just got back to uk and re-experienced the freedom of going through the e-gates for 2nd time - plus when I got home there was a letter from PPU saying 'this alert' has now been removed. Great relief and thanks for all the replies, advice and support I felt from the forum while I went through this discomfort Oh dear, I spoke too soon and had same experience as Scotboy. Just got back from a short break in Schengen area and was stopped at their passport control on both arrival and departure. No probs coming back to UK. So was PPU lying or overclaiming for something outside his control, or are Schengen countries retaining information themselves that our Police can't control? I thought I'd cracked it so it's very dispiriting and depressing I'm still being treated like this 4 months after I came off the SOR. What can I do now? Well, if the alert has to be removed, then if your local PPU is playing dumb, try the Chief Constable, as he/she is responsible for data protection and compliance. It may well then be passed on to the person who deals with it operationally, such as the Data Protection Officer. The fact of the matter is that your personal information seems to be being processed beyond what is allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018, so if the police won't help you, the ICO ought to. Well I did that and got a reply from Police that 'all alerts have definitely been deleted from police computer systems'. I suppose that could imply a) there are things not called 'alerts' which have information about me and that have not been deleted and b) there are systems besides 'police computer systems' that could be holding information causing me to have been stopped. I looked at the ICO website and you seem to have to say who you're complaining about, so if the Police have told me what they have I don't see how I can complain about them so who would my complaint be against? I suppose it's remotely possible that me being stopped was just a random event - twice! - and I will be travelling to the Schengen area again in a couple of weeks and not sure if I should wait to see if I am stopped again before I consider doing anything else, though I'm not sure what I could do now besides pay a solicitor £300 an hour to look into it.... Sorry to hear this. Being optimistic, maybe the alert took a while to get deleted. Or maybe they only deleted it after getting your letter. Let us know what happens on your trip. Well after 3 years of no problems....... as I went through Spanish border control yesterday to fly back to UK and just as the friendly guard was handing me back my passport something was flagged up on his computer screen and he grabbed my passport back, looked concerned, and consulted with his colleague for several minutes about what was on the screen (so holding up 2 queues much to my embarrassment) before handing me back my passport. I can't believe this was anything other than to do with my time on the SOR which ended over 3 years ago.It was quite a shock and soul destroying to think there is something still out there affecting my life and my freedom to travel like anyone else, is there anything left I can do or do I just have to put up with the possibility of this sort of thing happening again? To and fro from Spain for 3 years whilst no longer on the SOR without any hindrance? On this latest occasion something caught the border guard's eye but you weren't engaged in any conversation with the guard? If this were due to some residual flag it would be counter to everything I've been told by my PPU and solicitor. Hopefully some other recent travellers viewing this thread can offer up some reassurance.
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forever changes
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 561,
Visits: 101
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+xThe ETIAs visa does not go live until November, but the computer system which logs all entries and exits to the EU, is being tested this summer. Did you have to get your fingerprints checked, either going in, or coming out of, Spain? If you did, then it means you were processed by the new system. All UK citizens should have had their data wiped from the Shengen system in 2020, so that would not have triggered an alert and if you have had no problems for the last 3 years and if you are no longer on the SOR, then it's unlikely that this was the cause of the latest problem. No fingerprints checked in or out of Spain,I've never been to Spain for many years but I travelled to Europe earlier this year a few times and along with every other UK arrival got photographed and fingerprinted, happened twice but I knew there was a new system being introduced. I can't think of any other explanation for this happening, the look on the guard's face and the way he snatched my passport told its own story.
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forever changes
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 561,
Visits: 101
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAll I did was send a registered letter to my PPU and two weeks later I got a reply back saying that any remaining flags had been deleted and that I shouldn’t now have any problems. And since then I haven’t had any issues whatsoever at the border either returning to the U.K. or entering another country. Thanks for this advice, I will use this when I come off, good to know, cheers. Not had a reply from Police yet but on returning to UK I got through the e-gates for the first time ever. However I've just travelled to Greece and was again stopped. A lot of conversation in Greek between 2 police and I was let through though it was very tense and embarrassing as there was a big queue behind me. When I got through the e-gates coming back last time I thought it had all been sorted, obviously not. This sounds like you have been removed from the UK watch system but presumably still have a live alert on the SISII system. It should drop off over time I think. I think this is something they have to delete, rather than wait for it to expire. I'm not sure who to contact, but the police generally seem to refer all this stuff to an "International Section", maybe at the Home Office, who deal with it. If your former PPU contact doesn't know what to do, try the Data Protection Officer at your local force's HQ, as they will certainly know who deals with it. Just got back to uk and re-experienced the freedom of going through the e-gates for 2nd time - plus when I got home there was a letter from PPU saying 'this alert' has now been removed. Great relief and thanks for all the replies, advice and support I felt from the forum while I went through this discomfort Oh dear, I spoke too soon and had same experience as Scotboy. Just got back from a short break in Schengen area and was stopped at their passport control on both arrival and departure. No probs coming back to UK. So was PPU lying or overclaiming for something outside his control, or are Schengen countries retaining information themselves that our Police can't control? I thought I'd cracked it so it's very dispiriting and depressing I'm still being treated like this 4 months after I came off the SOR. What can I do now? Well, if the alert has to be removed, then if your local PPU is playing dumb, try the Chief Constable, as he/she is responsible for data protection and compliance. It may well then be passed on to the person who deals with it operationally, such as the Data Protection Officer. The fact of the matter is that your personal information seems to be being processed beyond what is allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018, so if the police won't help you, the ICO ought to. Well I did that and got a reply from Police that 'all alerts have definitely been deleted from police computer systems'. I suppose that could imply a) there are things not called 'alerts' which have information about me and that have not been deleted and b) there are systems besides 'police computer systems' that could be holding information causing me to have been stopped. I looked at the ICO website and you seem to have to say who you're complaining about, so if the Police have told me what they have I don't see how I can complain about them so who would my complaint be against? I suppose it's remotely possible that me being stopped was just a random event - twice! - and I will be travelling to the Schengen area again in a couple of weeks and not sure if I should wait to see if I am stopped again before I consider doing anything else, though I'm not sure what I could do now besides pay a solicitor £300 an hour to look into it.... Sorry to hear this. Being optimistic, maybe the alert took a while to get deleted. Or maybe they only deleted it after getting your letter. Let us know what happens on your trip. Well after 3 years of no problems....... as I went through Spanish border control yesterday to fly back to UK and just as the friendly guard was handing me back my passport something was flagged up on his computer screen and he grabbed my passport back, looked concerned, and consulted with his colleague for several minutes about what was on the screen (so holding up 2 queues much to my embarrassment) before handing me back my passport. I can't believe this was anything other than to do with my time on the SOR which ended over 3 years ago.It was quite a shock and soul destroying to think there is something still out there affecting my life and my freedom to travel like anyone else, is there anything left I can do or do I just have to put up with the possibility of this sort of thing happening again? To and fro from Spain for 3 years whilst no longer on the SOR without any hindrance? On this latest occasion something caught the border guard's eye but you weren't engaged in any conversation with the guard? If this were due to some residual flag it would be counter to everything I've been told by my PPU and solicitor. Hopefully some other recent travellers viewing this thread can offer up some reassurance. No I haven't being going to and from Spain for 3 years, I've not been for many years and was not involved in any conversation and I couldn't hear the 2 guards and wouldn't have understood even if I had. I travel regularly abroad and this sort of thing hasn't happened for some time. If you go through this thread you'll see post-SOR I still had problems despite repeated assurances by Police
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expatofff
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 14,
Visits: 48
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAll I did was send a registered letter to my PPU and two weeks later I got a reply back saying that any remaining flags had been deleted and that I shouldn’t now have any problems. And since then I haven’t had any issues whatsoever at the border either returning to the U.K. or entering another country. Thanks for this advice, I will use this when I come off, good to know, cheers. Not had a reply from Police yet but on returning to UK I got through the e-gates for the first time ever. However I've just travelled to Greece and was again stopped. A lot of conversation in Greek between 2 police and I was let through though it was very tense and embarrassing as there was a big queue behind me. When I got through the e-gates coming back last time I thought it had all been sorted, obviously not. This sounds like you have been removed from the UK watch system but presumably still have a live alert on the SISII system. It should drop off over time I think. I think this is something they have to delete, rather than wait for it to expire. I'm not sure who to contact, but the police generally seem to refer all this stuff to an "International Section", maybe at the Home Office, who deal with it. If your former PPU contact doesn't know what to do, try the Data Protection Officer at your local force's HQ, as they will certainly know who deals with it. Just got back to uk and re-experienced the freedom of going through the e-gates for 2nd time - plus when I got home there was a letter from PPU saying 'this alert' has now been removed. Great relief and thanks for all the replies, advice and support I felt from the forum while I went through this discomfort Oh dear, I spoke too soon and had same experience as Scotboy. Just got back from a short break in Schengen area and was stopped at their passport control on both arrival and departure. No probs coming back to UK. So was PPU lying or overclaiming for something outside his control, or are Schengen countries retaining information themselves that our Police can't control? I thought I'd cracked it so it's very dispiriting and depressing I'm still being treated like this 4 months after I came off the SOR. What can I do now? Well, if the alert has to be removed, then if your local PPU is playing dumb, try the Chief Constable, as he/she is responsible for data protection and compliance. It may well then be passed on to the person who deals with it operationally, such as the Data Protection Officer. The fact of the matter is that your personal information seems to be being processed beyond what is allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018, so if the police won't help you, the ICO ought to. Well I did that and got a reply from Police that 'all alerts have definitely been deleted from police computer systems'. I suppose that could imply a) there are things not called 'alerts' which have information about me and that have not been deleted and b) there are systems besides 'police computer systems' that could be holding information causing me to have been stopped. I looked at the ICO website and you seem to have to say who you're complaining about, so if the Police have told me what they have I don't see how I can complain about them so who would my complaint be against? I suppose it's remotely possible that me being stopped was just a random event - twice! - and I will be travelling to the Schengen area again in a couple of weeks and not sure if I should wait to see if I am stopped again before I consider doing anything else, though I'm not sure what I could do now besides pay a solicitor £300 an hour to look into it.... Sorry to hear this. Being optimistic, maybe the alert took a while to get deleted. Or maybe they only deleted it after getting your letter. Let us know what happens on your trip. Well after 3 years of no problems....... as I went through Spanish border control yesterday to fly back to UK and just as the friendly guard was handing me back my passport something was flagged up on his computer screen and he grabbed my passport back, looked concerned, and consulted with his colleague for several minutes about what was on the screen (so holding up 2 queues much to my embarrassment) before handing me back my passport. I can't believe this was anything other than to do with my time on the SOR which ended over 3 years ago.It was quite a shock and soul destroying to think there is something still out there affecting my life and my freedom to travel like anyone else, is there anything left I can do or do I just have to put up with the possibility of this sort of thing happening again? To and fro from Spain for 3 years whilst no longer on the SOR without any hindrance? On this latest occasion something caught the border guard's eye but you weren't engaged in any conversation with the guard? If this were due to some residual flag it would be counter to everything I've been told by my PPU and solicitor. Hopefully some other recent travellers viewing this thread can offer up some reassurance. No I haven't being going to and from Spain for 3 years, I've not been for many years and was not involved in any conversation and I couldn't hear the 2 guards and wouldn't have understood even if I had. I travel regularly abroad and this sort of thing hasn't happened for some time. If you go through this thread you'll see post-SOR I still had problems despite repeated assurances by Police I had my sopo removed some 6 years ago which ended my time on the SOR. I've travelled to a few different European countries for different reasons, France, Italy, Holland and also Ireland but that's not in the Schengan (sp) system. My passport has never worked on the Irish egate system. Sometimes they ask me questions that makes me think I'm flagged, but other times no questions. Italy and France (places I'd never visited while in the SOR) I've never been asked a question. Holland I went while on the SOR but before Brexit and I never got asked anything but after Brexit and after the end of my sor I get asked every time (where I'm going, who I'm seeing, why I'm entering). My paranoia tells me it's to do with my registration but it could also be because I was traveling mid COVID restrictions so that may be it too. On a totally separate note just before COVID I applied for an American ESTA, just to see if I'd get it, no real intention of going, though I may have done had COVID not happened, and it got approved automatically through the system. I know I've had Interpol notices against me while on the SOR so I took that to read that those notices have expired, either that or the American system is not as robust as they would have you think. To answer your question though, I don't know, I don't trust the ppu officers given things they did in the past while on the SOR so I'm never quite certain if everything did get removed or not.
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punter99
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 769,
Visits: 5.7K
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAll I did was send a registered letter to my PPU and two weeks later I got a reply back saying that any remaining flags had been deleted and that I shouldn’t now have any problems. And since then I haven’t had any issues whatsoever at the border either returning to the U.K. or entering another country. Thanks for this advice, I will use this when I come off, good to know, cheers. Not had a reply from Police yet but on returning to UK I got through the e-gates for the first time ever. However I've just travelled to Greece and was again stopped. A lot of conversation in Greek between 2 police and I was let through though it was very tense and embarrassing as there was a big queue behind me. When I got through the e-gates coming back last time I thought it had all been sorted, obviously not. This sounds like you have been removed from the UK watch system but presumably still have a live alert on the SISII system. It should drop off over time I think. I think this is something they have to delete, rather than wait for it to expire. I'm not sure who to contact, but the police generally seem to refer all this stuff to an "International Section", maybe at the Home Office, who deal with it. If your former PPU contact doesn't know what to do, try the Data Protection Officer at your local force's HQ, as they will certainly know who deals with it. Just got back to uk and re-experienced the freedom of going through the e-gates for 2nd time - plus when I got home there was a letter from PPU saying 'this alert' has now been removed. Great relief and thanks for all the replies, advice and support I felt from the forum while I went through this discomfort Oh dear, I spoke too soon and had same experience as Scotboy. Just got back from a short break in Schengen area and was stopped at their passport control on both arrival and departure. No probs coming back to UK. So was PPU lying or overclaiming for something outside his control, or are Schengen countries retaining information themselves that our Police can't control? I thought I'd cracked it so it's very dispiriting and depressing I'm still being treated like this 4 months after I came off the SOR. What can I do now? Well, if the alert has to be removed, then if your local PPU is playing dumb, try the Chief Constable, as he/she is responsible for data protection and compliance. It may well then be passed on to the person who deals with it operationally, such as the Data Protection Officer. The fact of the matter is that your personal information seems to be being processed beyond what is allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018, so if the police won't help you, the ICO ought to. Well I did that and got a reply from Police that 'all alerts have definitely been deleted from police computer systems'. I suppose that could imply a) there are things not called 'alerts' which have information about me and that have not been deleted and b) there are systems besides 'police computer systems' that could be holding information causing me to have been stopped. I looked at the ICO website and you seem to have to say who you're complaining about, so if the Police have told me what they have I don't see how I can complain about them so who would my complaint be against? I suppose it's remotely possible that me being stopped was just a random event - twice! - and I will be travelling to the Schengen area again in a couple of weeks and not sure if I should wait to see if I am stopped again before I consider doing anything else, though I'm not sure what I could do now besides pay a solicitor £300 an hour to look into it.... Sorry to hear this. Being optimistic, maybe the alert took a while to get deleted. Or maybe they only deleted it after getting your letter. Let us know what happens on your trip. Well after 3 years of no problems....... as I went through Spanish border control yesterday to fly back to UK and just as the friendly guard was handing me back my passport something was flagged up on his computer screen and he grabbed my passport back, looked concerned, and consulted with his colleague for several minutes about what was on the screen (so holding up 2 queues much to my embarrassment) before handing me back my passport. I can't believe this was anything other than to do with my time on the SOR which ended over 3 years ago.It was quite a shock and soul destroying to think there is something still out there affecting my life and my freedom to travel like anyone else, is there anything left I can do or do I just have to put up with the possibility of this sort of thing happening again? To and fro from Spain for 3 years whilst no longer on the SOR without any hindrance? On this latest occasion something caught the border guard's eye but you weren't engaged in any conversation with the guard? If this were due to some residual flag it would be counter to everything I've been told by my PPU and solicitor. Hopefully some other recent travellers viewing this thread can offer up some reassurance. No I haven't being going to and from Spain for 3 years, I've not been for many years and was not involved in any conversation and I couldn't hear the 2 guards and wouldn't have understood even if I had. I travel regularly abroad and this sort of thing hasn't happened for some time. If you go through this thread you'll see post-SOR I still had problems despite repeated assurances by Police I had my sopo removed some 6 years ago which ended my time on the SOR. I've travelled to a few different European countries for different reasons, France, Italy, Holland and also Ireland but that's not in the Schengan (sp) system. My passport has never worked on the Irish egate system. Sometimes they ask me questions that makes me think I'm flagged, but other times no questions. Italy and France (places I'd never visited while in the SOR) I've never been asked a question. Holland I went while on the SOR but before Brexit and I never got asked anything but after Brexit and after the end of my sor I get asked every time (where I'm going, who I'm seeing, why I'm entering). My paranoia tells me it's to do with my registration but it could also be because I was traveling mid COVID restrictions so that may be it too. On a totally separate note just before COVID I applied for an American ESTA, just to see if I'd get it, no real intention of going, though I may have done had COVID not happened, and it got approved automatically through the system. I know I've had Interpol notices against me while on the SOR so I took that to read that those notices have expired, either that or the American system is not as robust as they would have you think. To answer your question though, I don't know, I don't trust the ppu officers given things they did in the past while on the SOR so I'm never quite certain if everything did get removed or not. Really good reply. Very informative. So you told the Americans that you had a conviction and they still approved your visa? Were there any questions on the ETSA about crimes of moral turpitude? This would suggest that the process is automated and that they just check you against the interpol database. If nothing comes up then you are allowed in, regardless of your offence type.
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expatofff
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 14,
Visits: 48
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xAll I did was send a registered letter to my PPU and two weeks later I got a reply back saying that any remaining flags had been deleted and that I shouldn’t now have any problems. And since then I haven’t had any issues whatsoever at the border either returning to the U.K. or entering another country. Thanks for this advice, I will use this when I come off, good to know, cheers. Not had a reply from Police yet but on returning to UK I got through the e-gates for the first time ever. However I've just travelled to Greece and was again stopped. A lot of conversation in Greek between 2 police and I was let through though it was very tense and embarrassing as there was a big queue behind me. When I got through the e-gates coming back last time I thought it had all been sorted, obviously not. This sounds like you have been removed from the UK watch system but presumably still have a live alert on the SISII system. It should drop off over time I think. I think this is something they have to delete, rather than wait for it to expire. I'm not sure who to contact, but the police generally seem to refer all this stuff to an "International Section", maybe at the Home Office, who deal with it. If your former PPU contact doesn't know what to do, try the Data Protection Officer at your local force's HQ, as they will certainly know who deals with it. Just got back to uk and re-experienced the freedom of going through the e-gates for 2nd time - plus when I got home there was a letter from PPU saying 'this alert' has now been removed. Great relief and thanks for all the replies, advice and support I felt from the forum while I went through this discomfort Oh dear, I spoke too soon and had same experience as Scotboy. Just got back from a short break in Schengen area and was stopped at their passport control on both arrival and departure. No probs coming back to UK. So was PPU lying or overclaiming for something outside his control, or are Schengen countries retaining information themselves that our Police can't control? I thought I'd cracked it so it's very dispiriting and depressing I'm still being treated like this 4 months after I came off the SOR. What can I do now? Well, if the alert has to be removed, then if your local PPU is playing dumb, try the Chief Constable, as he/she is responsible for data protection and compliance. It may well then be passed on to the person who deals with it operationally, such as the Data Protection Officer. The fact of the matter is that your personal information seems to be being processed beyond what is allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018, so if the police won't help you, the ICO ought to. Well I did that and got a reply from Police that 'all alerts have definitely been deleted from police computer systems'. I suppose that could imply a) there are things not called 'alerts' which have information about me and that have not been deleted and b) there are systems besides 'police computer systems' that could be holding information causing me to have been stopped. I looked at the ICO website and you seem to have to say who you're complaining about, so if the Police have told me what they have I don't see how I can complain about them so who would my complaint be against? I suppose it's remotely possible that me being stopped was just a random event - twice! - and I will be travelling to the Schengen area again in a couple of weeks and not sure if I should wait to see if I am stopped again before I consider doing anything else, though I'm not sure what I could do now besides pay a solicitor £300 an hour to look into it.... Sorry to hear this. Being optimistic, maybe the alert took a while to get deleted. Or maybe they only deleted it after getting your letter. Let us know what happens on your trip. Well after 3 years of no problems....... as I went through Spanish border control yesterday to fly back to UK and just as the friendly guard was handing me back my passport something was flagged up on his computer screen and he grabbed my passport back, looked concerned, and consulted with his colleague for several minutes about what was on the screen (so holding up 2 queues much to my embarrassment) before handing me back my passport. I can't believe this was anything other than to do with my time on the SOR which ended over 3 years ago.It was quite a shock and soul destroying to think there is something still out there affecting my life and my freedom to travel like anyone else, is there anything left I can do or do I just have to put up with the possibility of this sort of thing happening again? To and fro from Spain for 3 years whilst no longer on the SOR without any hindrance? On this latest occasion something caught the border guard's eye but you weren't engaged in any conversation with the guard? If this were due to some residual flag it would be counter to everything I've been told by my PPU and solicitor. Hopefully some other recent travellers viewing this thread can offer up some reassurance. No I haven't being going to and from Spain for 3 years, I've not been for many years and was not involved in any conversation and I couldn't hear the 2 guards and wouldn't have understood even if I had. I travel regularly abroad and this sort of thing hasn't happened for some time. If you go through this thread you'll see post-SOR I still had problems despite repeated assurances by Police I had my sopo removed some 6 years ago which ended my time on the SOR. I've travelled to a few different European countries for different reasons, France, Italy, Holland and also Ireland but that's not in the Schengan (sp) system. My passport has never worked on the Irish egate system. Sometimes they ask me questions that makes me think I'm flagged, but other times no questions. Italy and France (places I'd never visited while in the SOR) I've never been asked a question. Holland I went while on the SOR but before Brexit and I never got asked anything but after Brexit and after the end of my sor I get asked every time (where I'm going, who I'm seeing, why I'm entering). My paranoia tells me it's to do with my registration but it could also be because I was traveling mid COVID restrictions so that may be it too. On a totally separate note just before COVID I applied for an American ESTA, just to see if I'd get it, no real intention of going, though I may have done had COVID not happened, and it got approved automatically through the system. I know I've had Interpol notices against me while on the SOR so I took that to read that those notices have expired, either that or the American system is not as robust as they would have you think. To answer your question though, I don't know, I don't trust the ppu officers given things they did in the past while on the SOR so I'm never quite certain if everything did get removed or not. Really good reply. Very informative. So you told the Americans that you had a conviction and they still approved your visa? Were there any questions on the ETSA about crimes of moral turpitude? This would suggest that the process is automated and that they just check you against the interpol database. If nothing comes up then you are allowed in, regardless of your offence type. Nope, I lied and said no convictions to the Americans
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