Can I ask was your past offense one of a sexual nature ?

Hi bachman and thanks for returning to post information, always good to know peoples travelling woes and success I say this often like a broken tape but most just travel and never post back.

I suspect the guy who travelled without notification probably feels he is not an criminal and does not agree with any part of the notification, some see it as a major privacy violation also so am not surprised he did so for 3 years, we have to remember only in English speaking countries such witch hunts exist I would be 10x more worried if I was sitting next to a murderer or thug but no such register would ever exist for that since it was expose the fakeness of any register. Europe and other places no such witch hunt exist and if it does its only once and no travel notification naturally.

Its all done in the name of crime prevention, the politicians and police saw the film minority report a few too
many times and then cashed in on the idea. No doubt they are also aware Brits wish to go abroad and have fun
and its that fun they wish to cover their own backsides, which is why they can now turn round and say we did inform
you so its not our fault

Hopefully when people are off any List and travel a lot we can get a clearer picture of what exactly is going on.

My offence requires me to record all foreign travel, this isn't an issue for me. I was convicted in 2010 and have since spent most of my holidays in the Majorca but for a change decided to head for Fuerteventura for some winter sun the December just gone. Everyone was waved through (including my wife) and I was stopped much to my surprise. I had never had any problems before and the local police was as confused as I was. They got me to fill out a landing card highlighting where I was staying, duration etc., normally set aside for NON-EU citizens. The funny thing is they already had all of this information as the form I completed at my local police station registering my intent to travel they had on their desk.

It got even more bizarre on my return to the UK. I used a regional airport for no other reason then it is close to where I live. The UK Border Force official asked what must have been the stupidest question ever, "Where have you flown from today, Paris?" Given the only other flight that had landed in the past hour was a domestic I thought he was joking. He wasn't and continued with his questioning in what can only be described as an aggressive manner. When I didn't give him the answers he wanted I was taken to an interview room. I spoke with the supervisor and told him that stupid illogical questions wouldn't get a logical answer from me. I explained that I was a regular traveller and that until this point I had no issues whatsoever returning to the UK. The officer in question was trying to get a reaction in the hope I would kick off.

I am off again later this year to Mauritius. I have checked all entry requirements along with my local police force and there seems to be no problems with me entering the country, It will be interesting to see what, if any reaction I get this time.

Hi Ben,

I shared a cell with a guy who thought he could go undetected by using sea ports rather than airports to get across to the continent. He successfully did for 3 years, albeit using a 2nd passport in a different name. He got caught out eventually when the Garda visited his sister in Waterford, Ireland. When asked where he was she said she didn't know and hadn't seen him in nearly 10 years. Cue an international manhunt and 3 days later he pops up in Amsterdam. I didn't really understand his reasons behind why he did this. Nothing stopped him from moving around Europe, all he would have to do is register any countries he was visiting. It seems he was someone that wanted to beat the system and nothing would change this. He got 3 years custodial which may seem harsh but when people like him do stupid things like that it ruins it for the rest of us.

I think I posted much of this information earlier this year on another thread.

If you notify travel within the EU and 4 EEA countries (Switzerland, Litchenstein, etc.) a section 36 alert is automatically issued by your PPU via SISII. According to the SIS guidelines, there is no risk assessment - automatic if you are on the SOR.

SISII is not linked to any systems outside the EU. As you probably know, the EU in general (France and Germany in particular) has very tight data protection and personal privacy laws.

Beyond the EU, it is up to the PPU to do a risk assessment and determine whether to issue an Interpol green notice. If they do, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that some countries process them efficiently and the information will flag at the foreign border control, while others take little notice or do not have the ability to check at point of arrival.

The above is how the system works when everyone plays by the rules. As we know post-Snowden, however, governments can say one thing and do another.

Anyone who has to notify will be on the ViSOR database. Those records are updated to the Home Office Warnings Index (the UK's Watchlist), which is what UK border control see when you return to the UK.

The real question is which countries do we share Watchlist information with??

JohnL - unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything concrete on the "expiry date" of a section 36 alert or a process for deleting alerts.

I guess all you can do once your notification period ends is to try and get written confirmation from the PPU that your ViSOR record is archived and the PNC section on alerts has been updated. You could also try a Subject Access Request via ACPO where you ask very specific questions about both live and archived information held about you on SISII.

I doubt the PPU would put anything in writing, but if they did and it proves incorrect you might be able to use it later on in a legal claim should an unintended consequence arise (e.g. you travel with your boss and a border official makes a less than discreet enquiry and you end up losing your job ...)

A month ago (October 2015) I travelled from Dover to Calais by ferry. As is usual for both ferry and tunnel, all the checks are done in the country you are leaving i.e. if you're going to France, both UK and French checks are done at Dover, then you drive straight off onto the motorway at the other end. Vice versa when coming from France to the UK.

Anyway, at Dover I drove past both UK and French border guards who just waved all the cars through without even bothering to check passports or even opening the window of their little hut. On the way back at Calais, the UK border guard did look at my passport but he never put it through a scanner, it was just a quick visual check that you are the person on the photograph.

Maybe this has tightened since the tragedy the other week but at that point, which was definitely after the implementation of the new travel alert system, they weren't bothering with it at all.

Post Edited (BenS) : 24/11/2015 09:23:24 (GMT+1)

Depends on your local police force/PPO etc.

If they're particularly annoying, they would simply "forget" to remove the flag. Then you would have to ask them, then they would ask for proof from you that the notification period has ended, in which case you have to find court papers and potentially see a solicitor or contact the court where you were convicted. The police will then grudgingly and belatedly remove your flag "as a goodwill gesture" "as an exception" etc.

This is what happened to me, not with a flag but with a banning/restraining order, which was for 2 years but the police said 4 years and I had to go to great lengths to prove to them that the court really did state 2 years. Showing them the original signed court document was not enough of course.

What I would do when you finish your notification period is to make a point of checking with your local police / whoever you report to, armed with paperwork.

Thanks for this info Bachman, very interesting.

I'm glad you haven't let your restrictions put you off travelling, both in Europe and further afield. As UK passport holders we are lucky with the number of countries we can enter quite easily. I was recently in Mexico, which was also no problem with the police, the landing card asks nothing about convictions and the border guards just glance at your passport and stamp it without even taking a glance at your landing card or asking any questions.

Some of the border guards seem very dim, especially at smaller airports with only a handful of flights per day, asking you where you have come from when your arrival is the only one for hours in between! The most aggressive and idiotic thing I have faced was being taken into an interview room at Humberside Airport to be asked why I hadn't flown into a bigger airport like Manchester or London. I gave 3 reasons: the airport is nearer to my home, this flight was cheaper and it was at a more convenient time. I think the guard contrived that I was choosing to go through a small regional airport to somehow avoid detection or some other half-baked excuse to get me in trouble for a made-up reason.