9hr stop at Heathrow- allow out of Airport?

[londonbased]

My elderly uncle is facing a nine hour stop over - Seattle to London 9hrs,then London to Delhi. I am concerned about his health he is a diabetic (dialysis trice weekly) my aunt died in Seattle four weeks ago and his only wish now is to return to India asap hence the poorly scheduled flight. He is a permanent U.S. resident and his travelling companions are Indians (with still 11 month o/s U.S visas).

I do not want him sitting in a wheelchair for 9 hours. I have contacted BA but they say there is nothing they can do to make his wait easier for him (if you are flying economy they can't be bothered).

I don't know if UK immigration would allow him out of the airport for that time to spend time with us. Anyone got any ideas?

The UK visa telephone service is suspended till the 7th of Jan - so i can't call and ask immigration about it.

[knowledgeable]

British are not too friendly

Unless you're an United States citizen, you need a transit visa to go out of the a'port in UK.

If nothing else works, you may try to get a temporary permit at the airport itself, it may be given based on the medical condition.

Make sure you have ample cash in US dollars and credit cards for your expenses. A good way to get Pounds [British currency] is to withdraw from a local UK ATM using a check card from your US bank.

Sorry to hear of the loss.

Take care.

[londonbased]

Thanks knowledgeable. Unfortunately none of the party speak English and it occurs to me that if they have to try and explain their case to get a temp visa it may become too cumbersome for them - but what I will do is make sure that they have paperwork in English detailing the issue so if they see a friendly looking official anywhere at Heathrow they can try waiving it under their noses and there should be any number Punjabi speakers wandering around.

Thank you for your condolences. The two passengers coming back with my uncle are his daughter and BIL. I discovered this site after they were initially turned down by the US consulate at Delhi for a visa to visit their dying mother. I received lots of good advice from the helpful folk here. They were finally granted a visa mid-November and were able to get to Seattle and see her before she passed away.

[knowledgeable]

Heathrow

There are quite a few Punjabi and Gujarati speaking people at Heathrow.

If you know someone in London city, give their phone numbers to your family, just in case.

I hope they have a safe and comfortable journey.

Take care.

[londonbased]

Update

Hi Knowledgeable

Thought I'd post an up date - Well my uncle and his daughter and brother in law were allowed a 24hr visa. Before they left Seattle yesterday I emailed to them a page outlining their details, visa's, passports and my uncle's illness and recent background to print off and carry with them. They showed it to the wheelchair man at Heathrow and he and female Asian member of staff tracked down the right people to speak to at immigration (they had to go all over the place). At the immigration counter they had to show their all their papers and were asked questions about their relatives in this country.

About two hours after their plane had landed in London I received a phone call from a "wheelchair" man telling me that my uncle and cousins had been granted a 24hr visa and were sitting in the arrivals area of Terminal 4 and he was going off duty. It was totally unexpected - we raced to the airport and we able to spend some quality time with them before it was time for them to catch their flight home. It was fabulous to be able to see them and it did my Uncle a world of good seeing his UK family.

Then we asked for a wheel chair to help take him back to departures BA sent one down. They did not have to check-in again and were taken through to boarding.

The wheelchair man didn't give me his name over the phone - but he and his female co-worker were total heroes today as no doubt they are every day.

[knowledgeable]

Beautiful !

I am very glad they not only got the 24 hour visas, but had a very convenient stop over and prompt check in back to the flight.

Such things do ease the pain you all have suffered recently and tell you that good things do happen to good people.

A few hours with your loved ones is life time of good memories.

Best regards.