The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested explanations from the United Kingdom for the decision of British customs authorities to deport a Spanish citizen, at the time she was returning to London after her Christmas vacations, as a result of a bureaucratic problem related to her work permit.
“I would like to think that this is a one-off event and let’s say a mistake”, but “I am currently requesting explanations as to what could have happened”, declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, to journalists during a visit to the town of Herencia in La Mancha.
For this reason, he assured, he has given “instructions to the General Directorate of Consular Affairs to contact the British authorities” with this objective. According to Albares, both this person and all Spaniards residing in the United Kingdom “can count on Foreign Affairs and myself for their defense and the strict application of the agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union” after the Brexit.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the 34-year-old Spanish woman was expelled from the UK when she tried to return to London after spending the Christmas vacations in Malaga, even though she had the necessary documentation from the British Home Office proving her right to live and work in the country, where she lives with her husband. After the incident, the woman was held overnight in a detention room at Luton airport and was forced to return on a flight back to Spain on December 26.
The woman herself admitted to the London newspaper that she had belatedly applied to be included in the Settlement Scheme set up by the British Government to facilitate the stay in the country of people already residing there before December 31, 2020. The application was rejected in June 2023 because she had not provided sufficient evidence to justify the work permit, but she requested an administrative review of the decision and had a certificate of application from the Home Office which, according to her, made it clear that she could continue to work in the UK pending a final decision on her case.
In statements to the Europa Press agency, a spokesman for the British Home Office assured that “the number one priority of the Border Force”, the body that detained and deported the Spanish citizen, is to maintain the security of British borders and that “never” “concessions are made in this regard”. Therefore, he warned, the agents “can detain any passenger who arrives for further examination if they are not convinced in the first instance that he meets the requirements for entry” into the United Kingdom, a decision that “is made based on the information provided by the passenger, not on his nationality”.
The British authorities have recalled that having a certificate of application after the deadline is not equivalent to an entry visa to the United Kingdom and, therefore, people in this situation may be required to prove that they actually reside in the country. In any case, they have indicated that the refusal of entry to a person does not imply a deportation order, which would prevent him/her from re-entering the country.
