Yemeni passengers at UK airports- New visa plans
As of 14th July 2011, a direct airside transit (hereon referred to as DATV) regime will be imposed on Yemini citizens. This will even affect Yemeni citizens who wish to transit at a UK airport.
The DATV regime has been in place since 2003 whereby nationals of certain countries are required to obtain a visa prior to traveling even in cases where they arrive at and leave from the same airport. This has been used as an immigration tool to prevent people from destroying documents prior to claiming asylum (specifically those using false identity or nationality) on their arrival in the UK. Its initial implementation assisted the UK Border Agency to export the UK border and enabled them to undertake extensive checking on all persons transiting the UK. Since its introduction, a noticeable reduction has taken place in transit passengers destroying their travel documents prior to claiming asylum in the UK. In cases where passengers have done so, the information collected as part of the process including biometric details, has helped identify and reissue documentations to these passengers a more swift process.
The DATV regime has added a number of countries to its list, specifically this takes place in response to emerging counter terrorism threats the UK faces. Thus, as recent events have highlighted, Yemen has been classed as being of real and pressing concern to the international community. This follows it being the country where the Detroit bomber received his training and it also being the source of the bombs disguised as toner cartridges in cargo aircraft last October.
Despite the UK terror threat level having been reduced from severe to substantial this week, it is claimed that imposing a DATV regime on Yemeni citizens transiting the UK is a sensible and proportionate response to the ongoing terrorism threats the UK faces.
15th July 2011