03. How is entry to the UK controlled?

There are four places where you may need to show that you are allowed to come to or stay in the UK. They are:

• at a British embassy or other consular post overseas, when you apply for a visa (or other kind of entry clearance);  
• at a British airport or seaport when you arrive in the UK, or when you are getting on a Channel Tunnel train;  
• at the Home Office after you have arrived in the UK, when you apply to extend your permission to stay, or to change the reason for your stay; and  
• if you are questioned by immigration officers or the police in the UK when they think you may not have permission to be here.

You can also be asked about your immigration status when you apply for certain things in the UK. These things include:

• social security benefits;  
• hospital treatment;  
• housing from your local authority;  
• a school or college place for yourself or one of your children;  
• a marriage licence; or  
• a job.

At any of these places, you may have to show papers such as your passport or a Home Office letter to prove that you have permission to be here. These are not immigration controls, but getting the service (for example, benefits or a job) may depend on your immigration status, and information about you may be passed on to the immigration authorities.