Non EU Wife with UK husband & Netherlands Residence family permit refused entry into UK

Hello everyone

This is my first post here and I am very desperate for some advice on what I can only describe at a completely humiliating experience that my wife pexperienced last night.

My wife was denied boarding onto a flight to the UK.

I am a UK citizen who lives and works in the Netherlands with my UAE wife. We have been awarded the 5 year family reunification visa, we have the official acceptance letter from the IND but the IND have failed after 7 months to process/manufacture the physical plastic card. We call them weekly for an update and get the same 'itll be there next week'. We have also opened a solvit case to help resolve.

Last night we tried to fly back to Manchester from Amsterdam to visit my family for 4 days. We had return flights.
My wife brought our marriage certificate, letter of 5 year visa acceptance and she had a stamp in her passport that allowed her a return visa back to Netherlands incase immigration were unsure on her situation as we are still awaiting the card (after 7 months of waiting and calling).

My wife ALSO did the visa waiver that UAE citizens are entitled to for access into the UK (as a backup visa). Entitles to 6 months visa free entry. This was approved online.

So, we arrived at the airport with no problems and proceeded through all security. 10 minutes before departure we were literally waiting to get on the plane (right outside the plane) and the easyJet staff run over screaming out my wife's name, causing massive panic in the queue 'we know you're in there' was being shouted. It took around 15 seconds to realise it was my wife's name they were saying as they were pronouncing completely wrong. We only knew when they said the seat number.
We went over and they simply said UK immigration called and asked us to check your documents, they did this and all was fine in their eyes.

They said they're not sure the problem.this went on for 20 minutes until eventually UK immigration called the easyJet line and I spoke with him. At this point the plane was waiting for us but was ready to leave.

He said that my wife has previous 'bad' immigration history and would more than likely end up detained in a cell and sent back the next morning.

Now let me explain the 'bad' record. My wife applied for asylum in the UK over a year ago, to escape and abusive family. In complete honesty she was misinformed upon arrival Into the UK by the immigration staff. She had a legal 6 month visa and that's all she wanted to use but was asked questions such as 'do you want to stay here forever'. A non English speaker took this literally and obviously said she'd like to. She was then recommended asylum visa as a route to be able to live her, she didn't understand the complete repercussions of this.
She voluntarily revoked this application after a number of months at my advice, and left the UK with me off her own accord.
No bad mark should have been left from this. Shortly after we moved abroad and have been living in the Netherlands ever since and since got married. (Last january)

This left my wife completely in tears in the airport in front of a hell of a lot of people and feeling very humiliated. The staff were cold and treated her like a criminal from start to finish. They were having to reassure other passengers nothing was going on.

Is there any option for me to pursue legally or to find out how or why they can deny access and detain my wife?! She HAS an EU residence granted for 5 years and this was granted almost 5 months ago now.

I would really appreciate any advice on this.

Also to note, I recorded the situation on my phone and was told to delete it. Which I did because there was the threat of security bearing down on me. I also requested written confirmation and this was refused. I was told to leave and my bag was on belt 20.

Many thanks in advance and I apologize for a very long story. I just want to paint a full picture.

Thanks

Oliver

Hello Oliver

If you deleted the footage from your i Phone, it must be on your "Deleted" items folder. No idea how it works on Android.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Airline staff is not particularly nice when it comes to handle particular situations.

The decision is not theirs. For each inbound passenger to the UK, the Home Office receives some details through the Advance Passenger Information system. If someone is unwanted for any reason: bad immigration history, cancelled visa, previous deportation... the airline staff is informed and they have no choice than to remove the person from the flight. Otherwise, they risk a fine. So for them, it's a no brainer but still they have the duty to handle situations like these humanly and professionally. There is no reason to scare people or humiliate them over this kind of incidents.

No foreign national has an absolute right to enter the UK. Everyday people coming from VISA free countries such as USA, Australia or Canada are denied entry at UK airports and put in next flight back home. It's enough to give suspect or inconsistent answers the Immigration Officer to risk being denied entry. It's the same if someone is coming on visa waiver or similar. They are more cautious with EEA nationals and their family, because they are offered more protection against removal and refusal of entry, but it's not absolute.

Your wife applied for asylum in the UK at one point. Even if the process is confusing, Home Office don't accept excuses as people are provided with translators if they request it. The problem is usually any failed attempt to stay permanently in the UK means the person is no longer allowed to visit in the future. There are plenty of people who applied for residences on family or other grounds and failed, they can't later obtain visitor visas as this attempt is recorded on their immigration history and triggers systematic refusals. Actually it's one of the major risks of trying to stay in the UK, even by lawful means, because failure means no visits in the future.

You can see with your MP. Where you used to vote before when you were in the UK.

Thank you for your response I appreciate it.

Thanks. I managed to recover the video so at least I have that.

Does the fact that she never had any decision on her asylum case, ie she voluntarily revoked it not make a difference? There was no 'failed' attempt to stay permanently in the UK.

And I fail to understand why they can refuse her still now even with a previous asylum case on her record. How can she be a risk to claim asylum again when she's travelling with her UK husband on the family visa under EU law. Why would one ever need to apply for asylum in this situation it's just not logical. I understand asylums can be abused, but there are still people who genuinely use the system because they have no place safe to go.

I just really don't see how they can judge her as any kind of risk worth enough to deny access with family. Because of this I've not been home much at all, missed countless birthdays, Xmas etc because I was too scared of this exact thing happening.

I have reached out to a couple of lawyers in the hope I'll get something definitive back as I thought from previous research into this I gathered the impression that to deny an EU family member access to the country the immigration officer would have to do so because of 'extreme public safety concerns'. Is this not the case?
I saw so much literature on this and will work on gathering it together but I'm sure most people here have seen it before.
I also saw that I was entitled to the refusal in writing. This was refused too by easyJet and the immigration officer on the phone.

Usually I'm the kind of guy that says whatever will be will be. But in this case, it's really effecting my wife's mental state, she's been through a hell of a lot of bad times where she came from (as have many on these boards) & I hate how she still can't get on with things the way she should be able to.

Thanks again

Oliver

I should add: the main reason I've reached out to a lawyer is to understand HOW to get my wife Into the UK in the future.

What happens when we have kids, or we wanted to move back to the UK for any number of potential reasons.
I just don't understand how it can be made this hard when she has an EU residency and I'm British yet can't bring my wife who's never commited any offence into the UK, all because she *Luckily* got away from her horrific family (mum and dad have passed away years ago - step brother was her legal guardian, which spells trouble in some Islamic families where she lived. They are subject to horrific and well hidden domestic abuse) and used her human right of an asylum visa (until a better option became available which was move abroad with me). She Never abused the system and was only ever interested in getting her head down and working and actually having a life.

1.<<She HAS an EU residence granted for 5 years and this was granted almost 5 months ago now. >>;
2.<<We have been awarded the 5 year family reunification visa, we have the official acceptance letter from the IND but the IND have failed after 7 months to process/manufacture the physical plastic card>>,

Which of these statements is true?
Your wife couldn't claimed asylum on the basis of domestic violence. I hope you understand this. I think she told the truth when she said she wanted to stay.
Because you are British, living in the EU, your wife has the right to apply for EEA family permit using Surinder Singh route, providing you are qualified person (working, studying, or self-sufficient). You need to have proof of this.
Obviously, you are not telling the whole story.
When she first came to the UK where was she going to stay? Has she got any relatives here?

The whole application has now taken 7 months from submitting until now.
The letter of acceptance was issued 5 months ago stating we would receive a letter in a number of weeks stating the card is ready to collect. Both statements are true, it was misworded/ understood.

I'm not going to go into exact details as to the reason behind her asylum claim. What's important is she claimed it, and revoked it after a few months of being in the UK.

'obviously not telling the full story'. - what part do you feel as though you're missing? as I can assure you I'm painting the whole picture.

I'm not trying to live in the UK so do not need the exercise the Singh route. I was visiting my family for a weekend. We live in the Netherlands and have no desire currently to live in the UK.

Where was she planning to stay when she first arrived? - maybe you think it's glamorous to claim asylum, I don't know. But they often have nobody at all, as hard as that is to comprehend for others. She had no plan except get to safety and She had nobody here, she saw it as a place that her brothers wouldn't find her.
She was effectively homeless for 2 months after arriving, and no, she has no family.
Mother and father both passed away, she has half brothers in the UAE who would rather see her rot than help.

I don't really see how the reason behind the asylum application is relevant apart from you to pass your judgement. Unfortunately some people aren't lucky enough to choose the land they were born on or family born into.

I do apologize if anything I say is coming across direct or rude. I just want it to be known that not a word I am saying is a lie or misrepresented to make things look more in my favour.

It's just been a very stressful time with immigration and my wife's situation in the last year or so. Examples such as obtaining a new passport as a female UAE national.. is near enough impossible without your male guardians presence. Of which we simply cannot get.
It's not even safe for my wife to return to UAE as She's married a non muslim, and renounced her Islamic religion. which is still a serious crime there.

So amongst other things This has just been the icing on the cake so to speak and pushed things over the edge as I always assumed bringing my wife to the UK for a weekend would be the more simple of issues she faces. And it turned out a massive palava with her being screamed at by easyJet staff like she was some kind of terrorist.

There are a mountain of examples but my only focus is on how I can bring her to the UK to visit my family, without causing that level of stress and humiliation to her again.

Hello

When I travel with my wife, she has a green passport written over it all in Arabic.

Travelling with these passports is always a challenge. Even when you are 100% legal, you still get suspicious stares, double checks, escalations...

Last time at Heathrow, it was like: "Sorry, you have been picked up randomly by the system for secondary check. Please follow us". And rather than spending 30 minutes shopping or sitting in a restaurant, we spent it with security.

When I travel alone, I just flash my EEA ID and they let me go without question. With her, there is always a story to tell later.

She going to apply for British citizenship; when she gets her British passport, the passport from her original country will be passed in the shredder.

If possible, get your wife to apply for the NL citizenship.

I don’t know if my answer will be any help but have you tried getting a visit visa? I know it is a stressful procedure to apply but if you can obtain a visit visa it may be an easier journey for your wife.

I’m married to a British citizen and lived in Cyprus for many years, I applied for visit visa on my 1st visit here even though I know I can travel with him through Surinder Singh Route.

I’m so sorry to hear about what happen to your wife. Unfortunately this happens almost everyday to non EU family members. I hope she feels better soon xx

Hi Zerubbabel, thanks for your response.

in the UAE you a born into Islam and it is illegal to renounce/ woman to marry non muslim man. This is the reason we cannot live there safely together as I am non muslim. My wife is not Islamic by practice but in the eyes of the UAE, she has to be. This makes things way more difficult, she has no living father and her legal guardian is her half brother who has completely disowned her years ago since she fled. This is making getting a new passport of birth certificate next to impossible as you need the guardian to authorize, which he wont. This situation is stressing us out further as once the passport expires we are stuck.

Totally agree with shredding the old passport though once getting an EU / UK one. I have spent the day today learning the requirements of Dutch naturalisation. It'll take 5 continuous years and a Dutch language/ integration test. That is definitely the long term aim.

Our immediate issues are
1. Getting into UK for short visits
2. Getting hold of a new UAE passport for my wife, safely as possible for her. As she at a genuine risk of prosecution if the government new her whole history.



ljdebenedictis

Thank you for your reply, I think next time I will try the visit visa. Although my wife also had a back up as you did. She had an electronic visa waiver that was valid for 6 months that grants UAE national access Into UK. Neither of these worked unfortunately but perhaps applying for a visit visa is going to be the only option.

I'm aware ive generally gone way off topic but thought I'd relay more back ground information incase anyone had anything similar or who genuinely understood the difficulty of the situation for my wife.

Many thanks

Oliver

She needs to register with the Embassy. She doesn't have to tell them she is married or something. Just as being legally resident in the Netherlands, she can register and access consular services.

There are a few Arab countries with more relaxed rules their in Consulates then in their local authorities. Often they do it not to cause issues in the host country and be perceived as backward or something.

I know it can be a long shot, but don't assume that local processes/laws are applied blindly the same way in their foreign representations. Most often than not, they work based on modernized rules.

Thank you Zerubbabel,

Will register her at the embassy in Netherlands (the Hague I think).
Hopefully they can accomdate a renewed passport and birth certificate request more liberally.

All attempts prior have failed at the point of needing male guardian approval as she can't get this. Also the requirement to show your 'family book' when getting a renewed passport isn't possible for my wife, only one is issued per family and my wife has no way to get hold of it.

Hopefully the embassy will help, but up to now every solution anyone from the UAE governmeny gave was for her to simply attend with her brother. Again, not humanly possible but they just don't/won't try to understand her situation.

We will see what happens. But I can see this ending up with her having no valid passport and no birth certificate in a years time.

Many thanks everyone.

Yes, that's the risk indeed. As time passes, her passport would expire and then she will be in dire situation.

However, when times comes to apply for NL citizenship, she can request an emergency passport from UAE embassy. I checked there and it's a passport valid 6 months. The list of documents required doesn't including anything more than the classic documents.

https://www.uae-embassy.org/services-re ... ls-english

If that passport is accepted for applying for NL citizenship, it can be requested when she is ready to apply.

Hello,

Apologies for the late response, i have been busy with work.

The initial headache caused from this flight situation has died down but the continous problems will not go away on their own.
I had a look at the link you provided for the 6 month emergency UAE passport for my wife. Unfortunately, you still need to provide a copy of your family book. As crazy as it seems, there is no way to get hold of this book, this isn't a case of not wanting to pay for a flight to the UAE, it's a genuine case of safety and moreover, physically not knowing where the family book is (mother, father etc deceased and half brothers haven''t ever been in her life & have no contact).
We tried to get her a birth certificate a year ago (from ministry of health UAE) they denied this request due to no presence of family book, of which we still have the proof.

Literally running out of ideas on how to renew the passport, and also running out of patience with the IND. The EU residence application was accepted in April 2019, i call them weekly and they tell me they have no idea when they will send the card because of an 'external issue with the card manufacturing'. I've made an official complaint and was told to basically stop whining.

My wife has already been asked to present this card twice, for a potential job, once for the airport. So we do need this card to:
1. Travel
2. Get employment easier (i know she is legally allowed to work but it seems employers don't want to take the risk of employing a non-eu national with no card to prove she is legal.

Thanks for all your help.

Oliver

Provided your wife does not plan to travel to the UAE, have you looked at applying for an alien's passport (Vreemdelingenpaspoort)?

Dutch govt. website > Passports, identity cards and Dutch nationality certificates wrote:Non-Dutch nationals who have a Dutch residence permit and who are unable to obtain a passport from their country of origin sometimes qualify for an alien’s passport. You can apply for an alien’s passport to the municipal authority where you are registered.
...
You can use your alien’s or refugee passport to travel to all countries except your home country. Both can be used in the Netherlands as proof of identity.

Also see the Helmond municipality website and the Den Haag municipality website for more details.

As this topic has veered from entering the UK towards a more general discussion of your wife's general travel condition from the Netherlands, I'm inclined to move it to the Europe Immigration forum.

Thanks for your response,

Actually I never have considered that option but after taking a look at it briefly just now, that will definitely be something to try.
I suppose the burden of proof is on ourselves to show that the UAE won't grant a new passport.
UAE government seems to try to portray to Western society that it's become more liberal and easier for women to attain their own freedom, in reality its not. Vital documents are not attainable completely solo, as a woman. If you hold the one 'family book' issued per family then it's slightly easier.

I'll do some research into what items of proof are required for an aliens passport.
Up to now we have no official document refusing the passport (just whatsapp messages - from the official ministry of health UAE. Kind of odd the way they replied to the online passport portal).

Just really don't want to put my wife at risk by attempting to return to UAE.

Thanks for the input!

Regards

Oliver

Try contacting your local municipality and see what they say about what proof they require for issuing an alien's passport.

Note that on an alien passport, she will have much less visa free access as compared to an Emirati passport.