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My wife and I are entering Canada via UK in March. We have a valid Canadian immigration visa issued in our SA passports. We know we're exempt from a DATv as we're just in transit in London Heathrow for a few hours then heading on to Canada. We return to South Africa (again via London Heathrow) on 16 April 2018. Our Canadian visa would then have expired and we won't yet have our Canadian residency cards- only the confirmation of residency document (CoPR).

I have read blogs that state if you are flying FROM Canada, US, Australia or NZ via UK (and only in transit for less than 24hrs) within 6 months of having entered that country with a valid visa, you are exempt. I cannot find this clause on any gov.uk site and would like to read the official wording to be sure. Can anyone please confirm or share a link?

Michael Seifert
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Michael Brink
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1 Answers1

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You are correct: you are exempt. You can find the wording on the UK Government web site at https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/south-africa/transit/somewhere_else/yes.

Transiting without a visa

You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:

  • you arrive and depart by air
  • have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after you arrive
  • have the right documents for your destination (eg a visa for that country)

One of the following must also apply:

...

  • you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and it’s less than 6 months since you last entered that country with a valid entry visa