European visitors in the United Kingdom reported being fingerprinted, arrested, and treated like liars and criminals by border officials during crossing the ferry at Calais or Channel Tunnel.
Sergio D’Alberti is a restaurant manager. He is now unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said to Guardian that he had been arrested for 7 hours at the French port by the UK border officials.
They stated that his 4,500 euros he was carrying with himself are not enough for all the costs he would have during his stay in the UK. The absence of a return ticket and unemployment were other reasons why his words were not taken with much seriousness.
D’Alberti scheduled a trip to Ireland to visit his wife’s family during COVID-19. Instead, he was imprisoned for several hours, photographed, and fingerprinted as if he was a criminal. All this happened because of not booking a guesthouse for his trip and lack of a return ticket.
Notice of Refusal of Leave to Enter
D’Alberti also received a notice of refusal to enter the country. There it has been written that D’Alberti sought permission to enter the UK as a visitor as he intended to stay in the UK for up to 3 months.
Moreover, the letter says that it was stated in the interview that he would not be looking for employment while in the UK and does not currently have a job in France, although his profession is working within the hotel industry as a hotel manager. They also mentioned that they were not satisfied that the only evidence he can show them of his financial position is his receipt of unemployment benefit as proof that he will not look for a job in the UK. This is important because it is prohibited for visitors under paragraphs v4.4 and V4.5 to seek work in the UK.
In support of his application, there was also stated that he has access to approximately 4500 euros. However, he couldn’t provide evidence of this. Given that, he added that he intends on staying in the UK for up to 3 months.
In the letter was also listed that D’Alberti does not have a return ticket booked as he has previously said, and does not have a hotel booking for his stay that would serve as evidence of where he is going and what he would be doing.
Chloe’s Story
D’Alberti’s story in Calais was followed by the story of Chloe, a chef from Denmark. She travelled for ten hours with her boyfriend before entering the UK.
Chloe has been refused entrances around two weeks ago when she agreed to return home because Calais’s border guards told her that her experience with them would not be registered if she agrees to leave voluntarily. They issued an IS81 stamp to her passport stating that she has applied for entry, but it was later removed.
When she tried to re-enter the UK on Sunday night, she found out all the effects of IS81, a sign of her past effort to enter the country, and had to wait another 5 hours at the airport.
Although her return ticket of June 16th and a request to exercise her right to enter the United Kingdom without a visa as an EU citizen, she was worried that border guards would consider deporting her and stop her from meeting her partner.
She was permitted to leave at 22:30 after a truly terrible experience. The leaders of the border troops could not clarify why it takes lots of time and why she has been imprisoned. The border troops also checked her suitcases and interrogated her about her parents and her work in Denmark.
According to Chloe, the border guards were saying that she was residing permanently and illegally in the UK. According to Chloe, the officer asked her why she came to the UK, to which she respond that she is there to visit her boyfriend. To this, the police officer asked once again whether she is there “to live with her boyfriend” with an intention to trick her and put words into her mouth.
In addition, D’Alberti said that being jobless has become a major issue for his travel plans to the UK as he is viewed with great suspicion by the UK officers.
Home Office Spokesman Responded
The Home Office spokesman said: “We expect Border Force to treat all arrivals with respect and consider each passenger’s situation on an individual basis. The British public expects us to check that everyone entering the UK has the right to do so, and passengers may be asked questions to establish the basis on which they are seeking to enter the UK.”
Immigration laws stated that in appendix V, 4.2, the tourist is obliged to convince the decision-maker that he is a real visitor.
This means that the visitors must convince the officials that they will leave the UK and go back to their home country after their trip. In addition, travellers should have enough money to cover their expenses during their stay as well as for their return tickets. The idea is to prove that they do not intend to permanently reside in the country illegally. Why the UK is that strict with EU citizens is still not known, however, it could easily be linked with Brexit and its current relationship with the EU.