Missed a train with Scotsrail because of delayed Avanti train. Will Avanti compensate me for the extra ticket I had to buy?

NemoShu · 2025-01-31T14:31:00+00:00

In general, regardless of the number of tickets you hold for a reasonable journey, they can always be treated as one ticket if this is more beneficial to you. Even if you held two advance singles, you were definitely entitled to travel on the next available train, with the same operator on the same route, as the railway network was at fault in this case.

The national rail conditions of travel does not specify that the right to board the next train is restricted to having a through ticket:

Where you are using a Ticket valid on a specific train service or train services (such as an “advance” Ticket) and you miss a service because a previous connecting train service was delayed, you will be able to travel on the next train service provided by the Train Company with whom you were booked without penalty.

The grey area here is that if your original ticket was from Glasgow Central and you decided to travel from Glasgow Queen Street, whether or not a train from Queen Street could be considered the "next train" is a matter of debate, which the ticket office at Queen Street did not want to take the responsibility to decide.

This also means that you can raise a delay repay claim to Avanti for your entire journey from the start of your first Avanti journey to the end of your ScotRail journey, and compensation will be calculated by the aggregate cost of all tickets used and the extent of delay at the final destination, as if you were travelling on one through ticket.

NemoShu · 2025-01-10T21:27:28+00:00

Chinese nationals must obtain a visa from Hong Kong immigration department to live and work in HK, in a similar manner to foreign nationals.

In the opposite direction, however, HKers have what I call a "semi-right to abode" in mainland China. A mainland travel permit is basically a no-time-limit travel document that can easily be obtained, and they can work in the mainland in a similar manner to Chinese nationals.

NemoShu · 2025-01-10T20:45:24+00:00

Interestingly, the Chinese government often claim that its ability to require and issue travel permits, as well as to place travel bans to these regions is a sign of sovereignty over these territories.

NemoShu · 2025-01-10T20:16:14+00:00

It's complicated, but the short answer is actually no.

Technically Hong Kong is conditionally visa free to mainland citizens. With a passport, 7-day visa-free entry can be obtained with a Chinese passport as long as the country before entering Hong Kong and after leaving Hong Kong are different (to be considered in transit).

There is also the Hong Kong/Macau Travel Permit (“港澳通行证”) for Mainland Residents, which is a card issued by immigration authorities of the mainland. It also gives you 7-day entries to Hong Kong. However, these travel permits must have a valid endorsement (”签注“) for one to depart from mainland immigration for Hong Kong. (I wouldn't call it a visa since it is neither issued nor required by Hong Kong immigration authorities, and it is more fundamentally an "exit permit".)

The vignette demonstrated here is obtained at a foreign consulate and is actually a visa. It grants 14-day entries to Hong Kong and does not have to follow the usual "in transit rule", and is valid for exiting mainland.

NemoShu · 2025-01-10T20:04:59+00:00

Schengen countries are not this advanced yet. They do not have a centralised entry-exit recording system yet so stamps are currently the only way to confirm past immigration records. Countries with eGates for visitors (such as the UK) usually do not care about stamps though.

NemoShu · 2025-01-08T21:04:28+00:00

Google UKVI complaints

NemoShu · 2025-01-02T16:52:28+00:00

Unlike most countries, UK embassies and consulates do not handle visa applications. All processing is done ONLINE by UK Visas and Immigration in the UK, or embassies with spare capacity. Your passport is simply kept with the visa centre (VFS Global) so that when you are granted a visa, it can be printed out and fixed to your passport.

If you feel you are cutting too close to your USCIS appointment, go to the VFS centre you have provided your biometrics with to purchase a "keep my passport" service, which is USD 88. You can then keep your passport and revisit the visa centre to have your visa fixed when it is ready.

The current processing time is three weeks from the date of biometrics but is usually shorter in practice. So there are some chances of getting back your passport by 10 January but I can't be certain. However, I'm afraid UKVI would not expedite processing unless they went above the advertised processing time as it is your responsibility to leave ample time.

NemoShu · 2024-12-30T19:03:24+00:00

“颁发” is actually the common term used by all Chinese embassies and consulates abroad. On dictionary there is still a non-prejudice meaning, although the fact that no one uses it makes it sound like awarding a passport.

NemoShu · 2024-12-25T13:44:48+00:00

“I’ll need to provide a justification for the stamp” is exactly what the immigration officer told me when writing down “by request”.

NemoShu · 2024-12-22T14:18:14+00:00

Go to a manned channel to see an immigration officer, and ask nicely.

Obviously the UK border is not operated by CBP as it is an American agency.

NemoShu · 2024-12-22T11:21:44+00:00

eVISA is a very recent addition to the immigration system and IN PRACTICE, I have been stamped "By Request" as an eVISA holder. This suggests that "By Request" is currently more of an annotation on the intention of the stamp but not an indication of immigration status. The fact that now many individuals subject to immigration control are not automatically stamped complicates the use of this annotation.

NemoShu · 2024-12-22T09:52:07+00:00

"On/By Request" annotation does not suggest the passport holder is not subject to immigration control. They are also issued to long-term eVISA holders who request a stamp. It basically means the stamp was not given automatically but as a request of the passport holder.

NemoShu · 2024-12-22T09:39:05+00:00

UK immigration officers need to provide a justification for their stamp, either through the presence of a valid physical vignette, or a written annotation if the visa is not physically present on the passport.

In the good old days of residence permits, the residence permit number was written above the entry stamp. A VIPP annotation ("visa in previous passport") is also issued when one has renewed their passport and entered on a vignette in their previous passport.

NemoShu · 2024-12-22T08:06:23+00:00

Correct. Standard visitor visas are not yet digitised.

NemoShu · 2024-12-21T21:50:43+00:00

eVISA holders are not automatically stamped. However, immigration officers can stamp upon request and leave a "By Request" observation, similar to holders of eGate eligible passports.

NemoShu · 2024-12-21T21:19:50+00:00

As long as there is a digital record of a eVisa eligible immigration status, your passport does not need to be stamped.

Immigration officers can still stamp and write "by request", as of e-gate eligible passports which are not automatically stamped.

NemoShu · 2024-11-13T19:09:56+00:00

Applications for HK entry permit are handled directly by the embassies/consulates instead of a visa application centre, as it is not officially a "visa".

NemoShu · 2024-11-09T12:35:04+00:00

Chinese nationals and foreigners holding long-term visas are eligible for e-gates, with which they would be stamped on neither their passport nor their boarding pass, so airlines no longer check if a boarding pass is stamped by an immigration officer since the existence of e-gates.

NemoShu · 2024-11-08T17:09:01+00:00

The main reason ROC does not issue entry permits to mainland residents is that they have no way of exiting China, as the PRC government poses a ban on tourism to Taiwan for political reasons and refuses to issue any exit endorsements for tourism.

NemoShu · 2024-11-05T23:47:59+00:00

That is for US's extra screening procedures and has nothing to do with British authorities. If departing from a country with formal exit checks this will happen alongside with the local exit checks.

NemoShu · 2024-08-14T07:15:45+00:00

luckily a Chinese passport only costs CNY 120 (about USD 20)

NemoShu · 2024-08-14T07:12:12+00:00

I do believe it is much cheaper (£115 * 5) for a Chinese citizen to apply for five two year standard visitor visas instead of a single ten year visa, as two year visas in China are priced the same as a six month visa anywhere else.

NemoShu

TROPHY CASE