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Are international (NON-EU/EEA/SCHENGEN) tourists generally required upon entering the UK at the border to provide any information at all about the person they're visiting (both in case they're staying at this person's place, or in case they're staying in a hotel) if they're coming to the UK to visit a family member or a friend?

In case of a positive answer to the above: is this information only provided orally, informally and off-the-records to the border agent, or will a record be kept?

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    Gov.uk advice is to bring the same documents required to apply for a visa with you, to show to Border officers if asked. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/… I have personally been contacted by a Border official during a friend’s landing interview and was asked various questions to confirm the statements my friend was giving (and had provided in his visa application). The Border Officer didn’t say if he recorded details (and I didn’t ask); my assumption was that he did.
    – Traveller
    Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 18:53

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Are international (NON-EU/EEA/SCHENGEN) tourists generally required upon entering the UK at the border to provide any information at all about the person they're visiting (both in case they're staying at this person's place, or in case they're staying in a hotel) if they're coming to the UK to visit a family member or a friend?

From a legal point of view, yes, they are generally required to provide this information, but in practical terms, they are only required to provide it if the officer asks for it, and officers often do not ask. As an example, I once entered the UK on a US passport, saying that I was going to be there for a few days visiting a friend. The officer did not ask for any information about the friend.

An officer who has asked for this information may refuse entry if the refusal to provide the information leads the officer to conclude that the traveler has not shown that he or she meets the conditions that apply to the category in which he or she seeks to enter the UK (for example, as a visitor or as a student). There are questions here where people have had visas refused because of inadequate information about the person they're visiting, and an immigration officer is entitled to seek the same information from someone at the border as they would be required to submit in a visa application.

In case of a positive answer to the above: is this information only provided orally, informally and off-the-records to the border agent, or will a record be kept?

It is certainly not off the record. The officer may record the information in the traveler's database record, even if it is given only orally. But it is by no means guaranteed that the officer will in fact record it.

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  • Thanks. What kind of information would they be aloud to ask: personal information such as name, nationality, date of birth...?
    – user93813
    Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 19:14
  • @user93813 yes, and address, and the size of their house or apartment and whether they own or rent it (if you plan to sleep there), and their employment status and financial position (if they're paying for some of your expenses during the trip). A good place to start is gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa/documents-you-must-provide; also see the guidance at gov.uk/government/publications/….
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 19:19
  • Thank you. Can border officials ask instead personal information about them, which were not required for the visa application? A particular case is the following: would a border official be aloud to ask ANY question about the person they're visiting, to EU citizens in April (which will be required no visa to visit the UK, and furthermore in light of the probable extension).
    – user93813
    Commented Mar 20, 2019 at 12:53

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