Savings come from previous work obviously. All genuine and verifiable lol. It's not money on a credit card. It's money in a bank account.

That's fine, but the border official will need to see proof of that.

Getting a genuine return ticket seems the best bet then. As well as a genuine hotel reservation.

How does he prove that? Bank statements? That's not an issue.

Recent bank statements, pay slips. A real return ticket would definitely help his case, but I can't stress enough that not being honest will land him in serious trouble

I know and thanks for all the replies. I don't like the idea of not being truthful. If it wasn't so complicated the situation, I wouldn't bother with all these "shenanigans". Well if he shows up with a return ticket to the US, hotel reservation, why would they have any reason to suspect anything really?I don't see why it would even get to asking about his money, employment or ties back home. It sounds like any tourist. He's in his 30s so his age is ok. That's what I don't get. Why would they need to question him further unless he ends up talking to some really zealous official.

+1, very professional

Now I get what you mean by premise. Well the premise is that he has time to holiday. Apparently in the US it's very rare to have extended periods of holidays like here in Europe, so why not have a relaxed holiday once he doesn't have the commitment of a job to go back to in a short time? He could always mention he knows me and other people here in the UK and so might meet up with them. I'm not the only one in the UK that he knows.

I don't see written anywhere that it's a requirement to have payslips etc when travelling visa free or to have to explain any single detail. Thought all this documentation was required WITH a visa. Otherwise don't see the point of visa free if you get the same hassle honestly. If they see someone presenting as a visitor with a short-dated return ticket and proof of a hotel reservation I struggle to see why they would have reason to dig any deeper than that. Not like US citizens routinely try to cheat immigration to settle in the UK and therefore be already seen as suspicious.

@EUTraveller, no, that's what the site says; you need to read it again. "However, you should bring the same documents you’d need to apply for a visa, to show to officers at the UK border. "

@EUTraveller While I sympathize very much with your predicament, this site has quite a hard "party line" which says "Trying to deceive officials in any way is pretty much never a good idea." So if you're looking for advice on how to deceive border officials, you've come to the wrong site. Any answer advising you in such a fashion would likely get heavily downvoted and possibly deleted. And there are good reasons for that. Deceiving border officials typically is a bad idea. So, I wish you and your friend the best, no matter what you do. But you won't get such advice here.

US citizens have the 2nd highest removal rate :)

Pardon, thought wrongly the UK operated a Visa waiver thing like the US have for us Europeans. Then fair enough. I see they get given a tourist visa upon their arrival in the UK. Thanks for letting me know!

Well I am still glad I asked because I guess it gives me an idea of what it might entail to show up before a border officer. What they ask etc.

LOL, read all of this these in your spare time...... travel.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/removal

Yes, I embarrassed myself there thinking there was no visa involved. I will read. Thanks

@EUTraveller, he can always get an entry clearance before he goes, it's cheaper and safer

@GayotFow that should be an answer.

Thanks. What does an entry clearance entail?

@EUTraveller Entry clearance is just the UK government's name for a visa (of visa equivalent). Also note that going to the US under the Visa Waiver Program, you can be asked for all the same things - they can (and do) ask people for proof of funds, proof of employment etc etc at the border. You say you "don't see the point of visa free if you still get this hastle" - well A, you might not, they might ask like 2 questions at the border and wave you on by. B: there's no fee (like there is for a visa) and you don't have to plan in advance.

@Fiksdal Could you remove that link? "VisaBureau" are a private company that charge additional fees. gov.uk/apply-uk-visa is the offical government site.

@CMaster OK, removed. I didn't mean to imply that OP should use those services, I just thought the information there seemed more easily accessible than that of the government site. But you have now provided a comment for OP, anyway. And if she has any more questions, she can post them here.

Thanks. If I were to visit the USA, I can prove ties here in the UK and also home country: I have a job and tenancy agreement and I co-own the family house in my home country.

I definitely wouldn't live in the USA lol. I don't like their health care system one bit. I would visit as a tourist because the USA are always fascinating for a European but wouldn't live there. I'm more than happy with my life here.

@Fiksdal, tip: if you want to post a link to a legal resource, you can link to the Law Society, or ILPA, or to the Immigration Services Commissioner.

@GayotFow Alright thanks.