kathryn|kurioso

I now have a better understanding of that word: FREEDOM, after 5 hours of interrogation by the UK immigration, after 3 weeks of no internet access, and after 1 week of no phone line from home. These are my experience in June. It is quite easy to understand my pain for last two experiences: no internet access and phone line. My experience with the UK immigration is definitely an experience, and I will never in my life want to experience that again. The moment I got released from the UK immigration….stepping out the door, seeing a familiar face picking me up from the airport….I can smell freedom, and it is sweet.

Many of you may be interested why I was detained from the UK immigration….because I am staying in London with Kevin for 3 months, and unemployed at the moment. An UK immigration officer, male, late 20s to early 30s, white, a little over weight, was the man who made the process between stepping out from the flight after landed in Heathrow to seeing Kevin at the airport. 5 hours….mostly are waiting. Before the officer asked me the 50 questions, he sent another lady officer to search my luggage. She picked up almost everything I have that has words on, so they can study my purpose of my visit, and prepared their 50 questions. After the search, she led me to a room with other suspects waiting to be questioned. Waiting is the most painful thing in this kind of situation. I learned from a learning channel program saying that is one of their strategies to make the person they are interrogating to panic. In between each step, they made me wait for at least 45 minutes, and waiting in the room with others learning some of them have been there for 10 hours. It really worried me. They also played the good cop and bad cop. The lady officer was playing the good cop. She was friendly, approached me for conversation, and seemed understanding to my frustration.

3 months staying in London seeing my boyfriend and being unemployed at the moment, plus my belongings: unfinished portfolio and big pencil case, made me looked very suspicious to them that I will be illegally working in UK. After a long wait with some water offered in the waiting room, the male officer finally showed up. He returned my sketch books and my portfolio, and led me to a small room and began his questioning. Questions included: why I came here, why I planned to stay this long, why I quitted my job in Toronto, why I moved back to Vancouver, how much money do I had (they wanted to see a bank statement for proof…and of course I don’t have one with me. I told him that I use internet banking)…to how I would feel if they return me to Canada and can’t go to my Greece trip (my answer: it will be unfortunate)…to questions related to how well I know Kevin’s job/project, to how well I remembered all the details about my relationship with Kevin, and our conversation about my future after my visit to London, and of course why I have my portfolio with me. I told him everything (well…almost: yes, I am planning to find a job in London, but not planning to work here illegally, and I wondered how in my profession.) In between questions, he kept saying that he is convinced that I am here to work illegally, and he will send me back to Canada to the next available flight. After his 50 questions, he still asked me if there are more things I wanted to tell him. My conclusion at that point is: my portfolio is the worst thing to have with me, so my final statement is: I will send my portfolio and other required items back to Canada to meet the UK policies. At the end, I passed with a regular visitor visit permit and without sending anything back to Canada. He turned all friendly when he showed me the way out. Feeling at that moment is mixed: pissed, happy, and pissed…..but for sure now I know the true meaning of FREEDOM.