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Do you have to pass through immigration when arriving at Terminal 4 and departing from Terminal 3 on TWOV?

The layover is just over 3 hours. Is this sufficient time to make a connection?

Flight is SVO-LHR-LAX on multiple carriers.

PS: In case of different carriers, how do I arrange the luggage to be transferred to the next flight without passing through immigration?

Thanks.

Crazydre
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Marbles
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  • In LHR there are connections airside as well as land side, but whether you can use them may depend on the ticket(s) you have. – Willeke Dec 16 '17 at 22:25
  • Could you please explain what type of tickets allow air/land transit? I have Aeroflot SVO-LHR and Virgin Atlantic LHR-LAX. Both return, both require transit at LHR. – Marbles Dec 16 '17 at 22:29
  • To clarify, did you book two separate tickets (one with Aeroflot and one with Virgin Atlantic) or just one? – Zach Lipton Dec 16 '17 at 22:40
  • @ZachLipton I didn't buy two separate tickets from respective airline websites. I used a travel booking site to find affordable fares and it showed multiple carrier connections through LHR, which I bought. Would it be considered as 'one ticket'? – Marbles Dec 16 '17 at 22:49
  • @Marbles not necessarily - do you have one single booking code or ticket number, or do you have two separate booking codes or ticket numbers? –  Dec 16 '17 at 22:57
  • @Moo it has single booking code as far as I can see. Please be so kind to explain what effect does single/multiple tickets have on transiting through LHR. – Marbles Dec 16 '17 at 23:02
  • @Marbles With a single ticket, your baggage is checked through, otherwise not and you'd have to clear immigration to collect it. Also if you require a visa to clear immigration, with separate tickets check-in staff will usually refuse you boarding without a visa even if you only have hand luggage and as such don't need to clear immigration – Crazydre Dec 16 '17 at 23:07
  • @Coke, thanks. I do require a visa to enter the UK. But I have a US visa and I'm going to the Los Angeles and as such eligible for airside TWOV as well as landside TWOV. I will be at LHR only for airside transit but I'm not sure that my luggage is checked through to the final destination because of multiple carriers. What are my options please? – Marbles Dec 16 '17 at 23:15
  • @Marbles If it's in one ticket (it usually is if it's in one booking), it will be checked through. If not, you have to clear UK immigration to collect it - in this case present your passport open at the visa page, filled out landing card and both Boarding passes, and you can enter and stay until 23:59 the next day – Crazydre Dec 16 '17 at 23:16
  • @Marbles To clarify, airside transit means not clearing immigration. If you clear immigration to collect luggage, that's landside transit. As explained in the comment above, you'll have no problems – Crazydre Dec 16 '17 at 23:18
  • @Coke, that's a relief. I read up on visa rules thoroughly but did not account for the luggage transfer. In case I need to collect luggage, do you think 3 hours layover is enough to arrive at T4, clear immigration, collect luggage, and check-in at T3? – Marbles Dec 16 '17 at 23:22
  • @Marbles Don't know, but you may want to be fast in that case. Like I said though, check your booking confirmation. You can even upload your confirmation here (blacking out personal Details) and I can tell you whether the bags will be checked through – Crazydre Dec 16 '17 at 23:27

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You can transfer between all the terminals at LHR without clearing immigration, so if your ticket is in a single booking or you only have hand luggage, you do not need to clear immigration

With separate bookings and checked luggage, you'll have to clear immigration to collect the luggage, which you can do on your US visa.

Crazydre
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