A Danish citizen, and his Turkish wife, were blocked from taking a flight from Turkey to the UK where they reside.<\/p>\n
On 7 May 2019, British Airways refused the non-EEA migrant permission to board the plane as she did not travel with a biometric card or other right paperwork.<\/p>\n
To be noted that the Turkish national has been living in the UK for six years. However, when she applied for a \u2018settled\u2019 status on 9 April 2019, with just a week before her flight, the Home Office told her she had been \u201cdowngraded\u201d to pre-settled status for citizen in the country fewer than five years.<\/p>\n
Non-EU spouses are entitled to travel and reside with their EU family member in another member state under EU freedom of movement laws. However, under the UK\u2019s post-Brexit plans, EU citizens and their family members must apply for \u2018settled\u2019 or \u2018pre-settled\u2019 status.<\/p>\n
In this case, the migrant took a copy of their marriage certificate in order to prove her rights.<\/p>\n
Non-visa nationals can board flights and are defacto \u201cre-admitted at the border\u201d but airlines often refuse other non-EU nationals even if they have the required proof of the status as an EU family member.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, the Home Office should work more closely with the airlines and ensure that all carriers have clear lines of communication with UK immigration for getting pre-boarding clearance and help travellers on their journeys in these circumstances.<\/p>\n
For further advice, please contact us.<\/p>\n