Upon your arrival in the United Kingdom, you will have to pass through customs.  In most cases, your passport will be stamped by an entry clearance officer. Those travelling on a European Economic Community (EEC) passport, are usually allowed through without any questioning.  Countries in the EEC :

Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

 

If you are under the age of 27 and travelling on a Commonwealth (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and many more) passport, you are probably arriving in London on a two year working holiday visa. This visa (which must be obtained before you arrive in the UK) specifies that the work you seek in the UK must be of a temporary and non-professional nature.
 

Before allowing you into the UK, a customs official will usually ask some questions (relevant to your visa type) about your intentions for entering.  Likely questions to be prepared for are:
 

How much money are you carrying?
If you are not able to show that you have sufficient funds, they will suspect you are entering the UK to work on a permanent and/or illegal basis. Bring as much evidence as possible as to your financial situation, ie bank statements, credit cards, student travel cards, student ID.
 

Who are you staying with, or who is your contact here?
They would like you to be able to supply them with a contact name of someone that can verify your intentions, and they often would like to see proof of address or phone number of that person. Sometimes they would like to know your hotel name and address as well.
 

How long do you plan on staying in UK?
They usually want to see your plane ticket so please make sure it is a return/onward ticket, otherwise you may run into further questioning. If you intend on staying for some time, they will need to know how you will obtain the necessary money to do this, and often will ask for proof of funds. It is wise to bring along bank and credit card statements, as well as being able to show off actual cash and travellers cheques, as its very common for them to ask!
 

What type of work are you looking for?
If you are arriving on a two (or more) year working visa from countries like Australia and New Zealand, they will often remind you that you are only able to take 'casual work' or in some cases part time work. Usually bar or temporary work is a typical answer. If you are arriving with a BUNAC work permit (USA), they will give you exactly six months and you will be able to take a full time job in any field, but only for six months, no more.

Why are you here?
Be sure to emphasize your reason for coming to the United Kingdom is for travel, not work, purposes. Visiting friends, tourism, and seeing Europe will be the best answers to speed your entry into England.
 

More Advice

Occasionally people entering on UK ancestry or other visas (like fiancé or marriage) have been granted entry subject to medical examination. It isn't uncommon to be X-rayed at Heathrow for tuberculosis!

If on a holiday visa, it is also recommended not to pack your CV, references, work clothes, tools or anything else that may lead to further questioning.  Many people prefer to mail them ahead, or you can send an e-mail to yourself and pick it up when in London.  If you have a lot of documents, you can use (Free "Hard Drive storage!!!) at WWW.FREEDRIVE.COM.   Sometimes carrying a book like "Working your way across Europe" could arouse unwarranted suspicion, so keep this in mind.  Immigration officials have also been known to search belongings, and read address books, call your friends and contacts, open personal sealed letters, and diaries! Even though you may be allowed to work on certain visas, your intentions to find particular work may be misconstrued and your entry disallowed.

Passing Through Customs

After you've survived the immigration officials, you will pass through customs. It is done on an honour system, where you make the choice of which exit to use. There is "Nothing to Declare" highlighted in green, and "Goods to Declare" highlighted in red. Most people, of course, go through "Nothing to Declare".   Be careful as they do frequent checks.  It is worth noting that goods obtained in EU countries and brought into the UK have different duty free limits from goods bought in non-EU countries, like Australia and New Zealand. With the introduction of the single market in 1993, you can bring into the UK 800 cigarettes, 90 litres of wine, and 110 litres of beer.  Remember this is only if you are coming from an EU country and a special blue aisle has been created to cater for this.

L'ARRIVEE A LONDRES

Combien d'argent avez vous?

Si vous ne pouvez pas prouver que vous avez de l'argent, ils penseront que vous venez en Grande Bretagne pour travailler illegalement. Prouver leur que ce n'esst pas le cas avec votre releve de compte, votre carte de credit, votre carte d'etudiant.

Qui allez vous rejoindre en Grande Bretagne?

Ils souhiatent un nom de contact pour verifier vos intensions avec l'adresse et le numero de telephone de la personne.

Combien de temps pensez vous rester a Londres

Ils veulent voir vos tickets aller/retour.

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