EU family member- issues at airport

Hello

My husband is an Indian national and has residence card of EU family member issued in the UK. We have not had many issues travelling together to Europe using our passports and his EU family member residence card. However, recently at the Luton Airport my husband was threatened that he would not be allowed to board a flight as he did not have his boarding card stamped at the check-in desk. I was travelling with him and there was no requirement for me to get my boarding pass stamped. I believe he cannot be treated in any different manner than EU citizen so this additional requirement is a breach of the EU directive. Am I right?

Thank you in advance

I think you are right but let's see what gurus will reply.

If only airline's personnel would be familiar with EU directive.

I assume what they meant is they wanted someone at check in to validate the fact that your husband can travel without visa to EU country. I assume they didn't know it at the gate.

Did you ever traveled from outside the EU not to UK directly? Say from India?

According to the EC Directive (2004/38/EC), the passport of your husband shouldn't be stamped during his trips within EEA countries:



But the Boarding Pass is not concerned by that. It's not an official document but merely a ticket entitling him to a service. They can stamp it, cut it or write observations on it according to their own process.

Most often than not, the stamp is to make your life easier down the line. Because there are many controls before you board and the last thing you want is an extensive check at each. When the first agent stamps, it means it has been checked and no visa is required.

Even if the Directive came into force more than 10 years ago, many airlines, immigration officers and other professionals are not aware about its existence.

I traveled a lot with my wife (she has an EEA family member card) and we have been denied boarding a few times including at London Heathrow and we managed to get in only after escalating the situation.

Even her passport is stamped by the immigration. I am happy they do because I leverage these stamps every time someone tells me she doesn't have the right to travel to EEA without specific visas.

Zerubbabel wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:54 pm

Even if the Directive came into force more than 10 years ago, many airlines, immigration officers and other professionals are not aware about its existence.

I traveled a lot with my wife (she has an EEA family member card) and we have been denied boarding a few times including at London Heathrow and we managed to get in only after escalating the situation.

Ow, well.. as I expected When you say escalate, how long is it? I mean when do you normally arrive to the airport?

agakuchta wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:25 pm

Hello

My husband is an Indian national and has residence card of EU family member issued in the UK. We have not had many issues travelling together to Europe using our passports and his EU family member residence card. However, recently at the Luton Airport my husband was threatened that he would not be allowed to board a flight as he did not have his boarding card stamped at the check-in desk. I was travelling with him and there was no requirement for me to get my boarding pass stamped. I believe he cannot be treated in any different manner than EU citizen so this additional requirement is a breach of the EU directive. Am I right?

Thank you in advance

I don’t see any issues with stamping boarding cards/pass. Even date stamping passports may be beneficial to the passport holder when establishing proof of residence.

vinny wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:01 pm

agakuchta wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:25 pm

Hello

My husband is an Indian national and has residence card of EU family member issued in the UK. We have not had many issues travelling together to Europe using our passports and his EU family member residence card. However, recently at the Luton Airport my husband was threatened that he would not be allowed to board a flight as he did not have his boarding card stamped at the check-in desk. I was travelling with him and there was no requirement for me to get my boarding pass stamped. I believe he cannot be treated in any different manner than EU citizen so this additional requirement is a breach of the EU directive. Am I right?

Thank you in advance

I don’t see any issues with stamping boarding cards/pass. Even date stamping passports may be beneficial to the passport holder when establishing proof of residence.

I assume the main concern was about being able to board at that stage. I also assume that OP didn't really go through check-in (ie did it online). So from how I read it, it's not about the stamp itself. It's about being able to travel.

iwolga wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:07 pm

vinny wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:01 pm

agakuchta wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:25 pm

Hello

My husband is an Indian national and has residence card of EU family member issued in the UK. We have not had many issues travelling together to Europe using our passports and his EU family member residence card. However, recently at the Luton Airport my husband was threatened that he would not be allowed to board a flight as he did not have his boarding card stamped at the check-in desk. I was travelling with him and there was no requirement for me to get my boarding pass stamped. I believe he cannot be treated in any different manner than EU citizen so this additional requirement is a breach of the EU directive. Am I right?

Thank you in advance

I don’t see any issues with stamping boarding cards/pass. Even date stamping passports may be beneficial to the passport holder when establishing proof of residence.

I assume the main concern was about being able to board at that stage. I also assume that OP didn't really go through check-in (ie did it online). So from how I read it, it's not about the stamp itself. It's about being able to travel.

Yes, it is about being able to travel but also, whether can my husband be treated differently to me or any other EU citizen?

On a similar topic, can he be asked to leave the EU line at the UK Border Check and be moved to an Non-EU line even he had EU family member residence card.

vinny wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:01 pm

agakuchta wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:25 pm

Hello

My husband is an Indian national and has residence card of EU family member issued in the UK. We have not had many issues travelling together to Europe using our passports and his EU family member residence card. However, recently at the Luton Airport my husband was threatened that he would not be allowed to board a flight as he did not have his boarding card stamped at the check-in desk. I was travelling with him and there was no requirement for me to get my boarding pass stamped. I believe he cannot be treated in any different manner than EU citizen so this additional requirement is a breach of the EU directive. Am I right?

Thank you in advance

I don’t see any issues with stamping boarding cards/pass. Even date stamping passports may be beneficial to the passport holder when establishing proof of residence.

It is not about stamping the boarding card/pass. It is about EU family member being treated differently to EU citizen and being refused travel just because internal company policy allegedly require him to stamp the boarding pass.

iwolga wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:41 pm

I think you are right but let's see what gurus will reply.

If only airline's personnel would be familiar with EU directive.

I assume what they meant is they wanted someone at check in to validate the fact that your husband can travel without visa to EU country. I assume they didn't know it at the gate.

Did you ever traveled from outside the EU not to UK directly? Say from India?

We did travel in the past from outside EU to UK and didn't have this problem before.

Ow, well.. as I expected When you say escalate, how long is it? I mean when do you normally arrive to the airport?

I travel a lot of work. A few times a month. When I travel alone, I manage to get at the airport 2 hours to 1 hour before. For smaller airports, last minute arrival is ok.

When I travel with my wife, I am at the airport 3 hours before the flight. Most often than not, the person a the check-in desk never heard about the Directive. So I bring a copy with me. If they don't want to listen, I ask for a manager. We are then put aside and we wait while the manager comes in.

During our last trips, there wasn't a single case where we manage to fly without being challenged. People who know about the Directive aren't the norm.

It is not about stamping the boarding card/pass. It is about EU family member being treated differently to EU citizen and being refused travel just because internal company policy allegedly require him to stamp the boarding pass.

It's not normal, but it will always happen sadly. Hopefully, at one point he will be able to apply for British citizenship and this will change the attitudes towards him. At the moment, there isn't much you can do.

Myself, when it gets over the top, like if someone is rude or disrespectful, I always lodge a proper complaint by email or letter. They will get a serious "beating" and my wife apologies. She even got a call and a letter of apologies from the boss of immigration control at one of the major EU airports due to the horrendous attitude of one of his agents.

But still, you can't change the world as a whole. Know your rights. Be able to stand for them politely and firmly but don't give them any option to mistreat you. If you feel you can't win that day, leave it then fill complaints and cc the EU Ombudsman for the country. They are scared of him!

Zerubbabel wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:16 pm

When I travel with my wife, I am at the airport 3 hours before the flight. Most often than not, the person a the check-in desk never heard about the Directive. So I bring a copy with me. If they don't want to listen, I ask for a manager. We are then put aside and we wait while the manager comes in.

During our last trips, there wasn't a single case where we manage to fly without being challenged. People who know about the Directive aren't the norm.

Well, this is a hmmm challenge. I don't know how your wife reacts to this, I would most certainly stress out.

I remember that Easyjet and Ryanair write clearly that you must stamp your boarding pass at the check-in desk if you are a non-EEA national, even if you are travelling only within Schengen area.
Probably same policy for all other airlines too.

Hi,
Wizzair and I think Ryanair do visa checks at check-in desks in some airports. Always double check it with them in Luton. I also had same issue once in Krakow (Poland). I think it's their policy. Never had this issue with any other airline and I'm flying quite often

agakuchta wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:25 pm

I believe he cannot be treated in any different manner than EU citizen so this additional requirement is a breach of the EU directive. Am I right?

Not entirely correct. Non-EEA family members have rights that are dependent on the freedom of movement of the EEA citizen that they are related to. Their EEA citizen family members have rights that are independent of anybody else's and are directly based on their status as EU citizens. So, while they have similar rights, they are not same in every respect.

For instance, the right of a non-EEA citizen to travel within the EEA is not based only only their having an Article 10 Residence Card, but also their either joining or being accompanied by their EEA citizen family member. The EEA citizen, by contrast, has an independent freedom of movement.

In the case of getting the boarding pass stamped, the EEA citizen's rights to board the plane can be demonstrated directly by their passport.

The right of a non-EEA citizen to board a flight to an EEA country can vary, based on whether they are related to an EEA citizen or not, whether the EEA citizen is travelling with them or not, whether they have a different visa in a different capacity. It is the duty of the airline to verify the right of the passenger to board the flight as otheriwse the airline not only has to fly the person back, it may be subject to fines and other penalties.

The airline can therefore decide that it may make sense for the right of non-EEA citizen passengers to be assessed at their check-in desks, rather than at the boarding gates, as the boarding gates could get busy and assessing the right of a non-EEA citizen passenger may take time or require escalation to higher authorities. Therefore I do not think that there is any breach of EU law in this regards. iwolga below has got it absolutely spot on.

iwolga wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 12:41 pm

I assume what they meant is they wanted someone at check in to validate the fact that your husband can travel without visa to EU country.

agakuchta wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:11 pm

On a similar topic, can he be asked to leave the EU line at the UK Border Check and be moved to an Non-EU line even he had EU family member residence card.

The policies regarding lines at the UKV&I checkins seem to vary from airport to airport (also see this similar thread) and is primarily for the convenience of the immigration staff. For instance, some airports allow ILR holders to use the British/EEA citizens queue, while others don't.

Again, the main difference between the lines seems to me to be, does the person have a right that needs to be assessed at the time of entering the UK? A British citizen (and for now, an EEA citizen) does not need to demonstrate any right further than a passport or an EEA national identity card. A non-EEA citizen, on the other hand, does.

I would work on the basis that if the non-EEA citizen is travelling with his EEA citizen family member, they can both go through the EEA citizens queue together (as the EEA citizen family member is literally the basis of the non-EEA citizen entering the UK).

To summarise, it is an airport-by-airport policy. And the non-EEA family member of an EEA citizen has similar, but not identical, rights to that of the EEA citizen.