Unaccompanied minor travelling on dependent visa

I live and work in HK and have a HK ID card. My 8 year old is living here as my dependent, so has a dependant visa and British passport.


She travelled to the UK as an unaccompanied minor with Virgin Atlantic. When my sister took her to Heathrow for her return flight to HK, VA insisted that she buy a return ticket back to the UK or they wouldn't let her board the flight. They claim that she wouldn't she wouldn't get through immigration at HK as she had no proof of entitlement to live there. Fortunately my sister had the funds to buy her ticket (refundable) but if her father had taken her it would have been a different story as he is unemployed and doesn't have a credit card.


Nothing I had read prior to her travel indicated this would be the case. I thought she would be fine with a dependent visa. When we moved here and didn't have a HK ID card I didn't have a return ticket and this wasn't an issue then. This can't be an unusual situation so were Virgin Atlantic correct?.


Thanks.


Sue

If your daughter has a dependant visa which is stamped on the passport, she is entitled to return to Hong Kong and hence does not need a return ticket.


It appears that, in all probability, VA on one hand had overlooked the visa endorsement, and on the other your sister too had failed to bring it to the notice of VA.


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The airlines are more often worried about minors traveling without an adult who is a guardian or parent. Didn't the carrier even ask for a letter signed by you?


I am surprised they even let a 8-year old board a plane unaccompanied although it might be because it was a non-stop flight.


Rather than blow a pile of money on a lawyer why not go to immigration and ask them to issue a document authorising her to return in furutre?


Another alternative is for your sister to have signed a WAIVER (as the airlines call them ) that says she will accept responsibility of the HKG/LON flight if HKG denied her landing.