Refused boarding for non-eu spouse without Schengen

Just a word of warning for those planning to travel with their non-eu spouses holding a residence permit under directive 2004/18/EC -
I am Irish & my husband is Nigerian & has a UK resident card. We were due to fly out to Amsterdam this morning, just in case of any issues I brought with me the print out from the Dutch embassy stating that as a holder of the resident card & travelling with me he did not need a visa and also our marriage cert.

However Easyjet refused to let us board & the reason given was that Ducth immigration said that this ruling only applied to certain nationalities & that Nigerian was not 1 of these. They did make me doubt myself at the time but deep down I knew I was right & after researching it again thoroughly it seems they were totally wrong.

I have reported this to Easyjet, the Dutch embassy & also to the European Commission & will be taking this as far as I can, however in the meantime we were left angry & humiliated, out a pocket from the flights & hotel booking & stuck at home for a weekend when we should have been off having fun - all because of ignorance!!

In this case, its not the fault of Dutch Embassy or the
European Commission.
This is the fault of Easyjet for not training and educating their staff.
The airlines have a manual called TIM, the online version is called TIMATIC
this manual details all legal visa and health requirements.

Here is what it says.
http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_w ... r=DELTAB2C

National Nigeria (NG) /Residence United Kingdom (GB)
Destination Netherlands (NL)

Visa required, except for A max. stay of 90 days, holders of a
"family member" residence permit issued by United Kingdom to a
family member of a national of an EEA Member State

I actually think now that i have calmed down i have realised their mistake. Even though we were both booked to travel on the same booking & both presented our passports together the women behind the check in desk couldnt find the book explaining about the regulations, thats why she went to her manager, who i then believe called the dutch immigration authorities, but refused to take my passport to her call & has likely gone without explaining properly that he was travelling with me, even though i explained that i was also travelling with him (as the EU spouse) & also printed off the page that explains the relevant directive - either way i will be taking this as far as i can as i was both extremely angry & humiliated!!

acme4242 wrote:In this case, its not the fault of Dutch Embassy or the
European Commission.
This is the fault of Easyjet for not training and educating their staff.
The airlines have a manual called TIM, the online version is called TIMATIC
this manual details all legal visa and health requirements.

Here is what it says.
http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_w ... r=DELTAB2C

National Nigeria (NG) /Residence United Kingdom (GB)
Destination Netherlands (NL)

Visa required, except for A max. stay of 90 days, holders of a
"family member" residence permit issued by United Kingdom to a
family member of a national of an EEA Member State

Which is exactly what it says on his residency, so what part of it did they not understand??

They have now replied to my email outlining why they refused him, saying that he needed a Schengen visa (which is nonsense) and that his residency had expired (which is total nonsense as it is valid until 2015) - after i mentioned that i will be seeking legal advice they are now carrying out a full investigation into it, should be fun

craftynick wrote:

acme4242 wrote:In this case, its not the fault of Dutch Embassy or the
European Commission.
This is the fault of Easyjet for not training and educating their staff.
The airlines have a manual called TIM, the online version is called TIMATIC
this manual details all legal visa and health requirements.

Here is what it says.
http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_w ... r=DELTAB2C

National Nigeria (NG) /Residence United Kingdom (GB)
Destination Netherlands (NL)

Visa required, except for A max. stay of 90 days, holders of a
"family member" residence permit issued by United Kingdom to a
family member of a national of an EEA Member State

Which is exactly what it says on his residency, so what part of it did they not understand??

They have now replied to my email outlining why they refused him, saying that he needed a Schengen visa (which is nonsense) and that his residency had expired (which is total nonsense as it is valid until 2015) - after i mentioned that i will be seeking legal advice they are now carrying out a full investigation into it, should be fun

When airline staff don't know about visas, they should check their TIM manual.

Now, they will either fabricate a story to fit, but a rather poor effort so far.
Or they will come out with their hands up and look for a closure settlement

they invented the story "the residence card was
expired" to distract from their original reason, not knowing their job.
This is a very poor distraction, because clearly, if that had been
the mistake, they would have mentioned it on the day, and you
would have pointed it out to them it was not expired.
Clearly this reason is a fabrication, a lie.

A solicitor should give an idea about compensation, I would
suggest the amount the airline would be fined for allowing
Illegals by the government which I think(not sure) is in the region of 3,000 euro

If you require any supporting documents, such as Dutch immigration
law or EU directives, feel free to ask.

But as stated earlier, its not the correct procedure for the airline to ring
someone or anyone in Holland, if indeed that is true, they are suppose to
check their own authorized reference manual. TIM, which they didn't.
Case closed.

Just on an update on this - Easyjet have come back & said that although it is still the fault of the Dutch authorities (no mention of his residency being out of date this time!!) they have offered -

To refund his flight
To credit my flight towards another Easyjet flight, as they cannot offer refund as they didnt refuse my boarding
& £250 compenstaion.

I have now replied thanks but no thanks!!

craftynick wrote:, as they cannot offer refund as they didnt refuse my boarding

Of course, they refused boarding. What else should we call it?? Who else has control of their planes?

They cannot hide between an alleged phone call to anybody. Also ask for a transcript of the phone call between them and the Dutch authorities, as well as for the original recording (assuming that this phone call actually took place, of which you have no evidence).

Find out which government agency is in charge to force airlines to comply with the Denied Boarding Directive (I suppose it is the CAA - Civil Aviation Authority - but I am not sure).

fysicus, this is not normal denied boarding, which occurs when a plane
is overbooked. There are aggravating circumstances, with personal
and public humiliation, and denial of fundamental EU citizen rights.

For normal denied boarding, e.g. plane over booked, its covered by
EU Directive 261/2004
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/ ... 173_en.htm
But the OP case is not that situation, But that is what Easyjet are trying to get away with, adding insult to injury.

The airlines must comply with Financial penalties on carriers, 2001/51/EC
this is the basis of the wrongful denied boarding, its much more serious.
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/ ... 139_en.htm

EU countries must impose dissuasive, effective and proportionate financial penalties against carriers in breach of their obligations. They must ensure that the:

maximum amount of the penalties is not less than EUR 5 000;
minimum amount of the penalties is not less than EUR 3 000;
maximum amount of the penalty imposed as a lump sum for each infringement is not less that EUR 500 000.

Acme,

Interesting idea!

fysicus wrote:Of course, they refused boarding...

I guess what craftynick means is that her husband was refused boarding, while she herself was not. Technically she would have been allowed to fly, leaving her husband behind.

Since her husband was legally allowed to board, but Easyjet refused, it´s a bit steep that they claim that she was "not refused"...

I´d fire back asking if they don´t respect the unity of the family? That should surely also be protected under UK-law somehow?

ca.funke wrote:

fysicus wrote:Of course, they refused boarding...

I guess what craftynick means is that her husband was refused boarding, while she herself was not. Technically she would have been allowed to fly, leaving her husband behind.

Since her husband was legally allowed to board, but Easyjet refused, it´s a bit steep that they claim that she was "not refused"...

I´d fire back asking if they don´t respect the unity of the family? That should surely also be protected under UK-law somehow?

Yeah i think thats exactly what they were getting at, that even though he had been refused I was still being allowed to travel - great holiday that would have been!!

I did reply to them & told them that i didnt think ther offer was satisfactory as I believed they acted in a dearly beloved manner, followed by their lies about his residency being expired & they have basically said sorry but thats all theyre offering

craftynick wrote:...they have basically said sorry but thats all theyre offering

Weren´t they offering to refund your husband´s flight before?

I´d still ask them to refund both flights, and additionally offer some sort of additoinal compensation for ruining the holidays.

Once they refuse your specific demand for something reasonable, you should take them to court. I think you should easily win the case!

please do not be afraid to send them a letter before action, basically a letter explaining the whole story and what you are expecting in compensation. Give them 21 day to reply with a solid and satisfactory offer. Then, if you are not happy with that offer, DO go down or fill out a claim form online. If you are claiming under £5,000 you should use the small claims court.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAnd ... /index.htm

Peruse this website and do go ahead with this as you have nothing to lose (apart from the initiation of proceedings fee, which you will get back after you are successful, which you are very likely to be!)

People, do NOT be afraid to contact courts and take matters to court if the other party simply refuses to cooperate. They ruined your Christmas in an illegal and dearly beloved manner, the judge may actually award aggravated/exemplary damages, depending on the story being proven the way you are saying it. Remember, the burden of proof is on the balance of probabilities- i.e. it is more likely than not that what you are saying happened (as opposed to criminal law where you would have to prove your story BEYOND reasonable doubt).

Anyway, good luck and update us on the story. I would take into account the "loss of enjoyment" element as per Jarvis v. Swan tours ltd.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/fo ... -enjoyment

Have a read here. Anyway, ALL the consequential losses following the breach of contract on their part should be included in your claim. Actual financial loss plus the loss of enjoyment from above and the especially nasty way they tried to avoid admitting liability may provide a nice post-Christmas present to you.

mcovet wrote:please do not be afraid to send them a letter before action, basically a letter explaining the whole story and what you are expecting in compensation. Give them 21 day to reply with a solid and satisfactory offer. Then, if you are not happy with that offer, DO go down or fill out a claim form online. If you are claiming under £5,000 you should use the small claims court.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAnd ... /index.htm

Peruse this website and do go ahead with this as you have nothing to lose (apart from the initiation of proceedings fee, which you will get back after you are successful, which you are very likely to be!)

People, do NOT be afraid to contact courts and take matters to court if the other party simply refuses to cooperate. They ruined your Christmas in an illegal and dearly beloved manner, the judge may actually award aggravated/exemplary damages, depending on the story being proven the way you are saying it. Remember, the burden of proof is on the balance of probabilities- i.e. it is more likely than not that what you are saying happened (as opposed to criminal law where you would have to prove your story BEYOND reasonable doubt).

Anyway, good luck and update us on the story. I would take into account the "loss of enjoyment" element as per Jarvis v. Swan tours ltd.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/fo ... -enjoyment

Have a read here. Anyway, ALL the consequential losses following the breach of contract on their part should be included in your claim. Actual financial loss plus the loss of enjoyment from above and the especially nasty way they tried to avoid admitting liability may provide a nice post-Christmas present to you.

good post mcovet, its a good way to proceed.

I have added some more info on the airline manual TIM
at the bottom of this post http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 287#571287

anyway please let us know how it works out, and hope the airline
don't issue a gagging clause in the settlement !

My husband and I live in France under freedom of movement, I am a British citizen, he is third country national.
We were due to fly to Birmingham International on Christmas Eve of 2010 and after checking in, going through passport control and passing the boarding gate, my husband was pulled aside and asked for his visa. I argued with them for ages, spoke to head of security for Charles De Gaulle Airport who informed me'I know my job madame'. Was put through to someone in UK who also said no but that they would call immigration at Birmingham airport to see if they would make an exception. All said he could not fly without a visa - which is obviously not true.
The security woman said to him "Your spouse can go but you can't, do you want her to go without you".

Humiliating, awful experience, ruined Christmas for everybody, things only got worse but I won't bore you with the details!

Anyway, wrote to UKBA four times via their website and never got a response and could never get through to anyone on the phone to complain either. As usual, EU not interested either.

Compensation would have been nice but we didn't have any money to go down that route.

skele wrote:My husband and I live in France under freedom of movement, I am a British citizen, he is third country national.
We were due to fly to Birmingham International on Christmas Eve of 2010 and after checking in, going through passport control and passing the boarding gate, my husband was pulled aside and asked for his visa. I argued with them for ages, spoke to head of security for Charles De Gaulle Airport who informed me'I know my job madame'. Was put through to someone in UK who also said no but that they would call immigration at Birmingham airport to see if they would make an exception. All said he could not fly without a visa - which is obviously not true.
The security woman said to him "Your spouse can go but you can't, do you want her to go without you".

Humiliating, awful experience, ruined Christmas for everybody, things only got worse but I won't bore you with the details!

Anyway, wrote to UKBA four times via their website and never got a response and could never get through to anyone on the phone to complain either. As usual, EU not interested either.

Compensation would have been nice but we didn't have any money to go down that route.

Technically, and for right or wrong, the UK does (kind of) require your husband to have a visa.

If you want to complain to UKBA, use http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/about ... complaint/

skele, the way UKBA play games with the law and bureaucracy would
make anyone's head hurt.

They officially break their own laws, meaning they do officially
demand that your husband has a visa.
So the Airline did follow the official rules, yet the official rules is
not the official law.

Summary, you can't pin it on the Airline,
but you can pin it on the UKBA, but they will ignore your
calls like a dodgy second hand car salesman

see Rules to be followed by Airlines, issued by UKBA e.g.
http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_w ... r=DELTAB2C

National Nigeria (NG) /Residence France (FR)
Destination United Kingdom (GB)

Visa required.

While at the same time, the UK have legislation in place to say he does not. see
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Although we prefer that they obtain one preentry in order to facilitate their
travel an EEA family permit is not mandatory. Regulation 11(4) of the
Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006 allows a person to provide other
proof of their right to enter the UK, if they do not have an EEA family
permit, residence card or permanent residence card

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006 ... on/11/made

UK Law
Regulation 11(4) of the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006

(4) Before an immigration officer refuses admission to the United Kingdom
to a person under this regulation because the person does not produce on
arrival a document mentioned in paragraph (1) or (2), the immigration
officer must give the person every reasonable opportunity to obtain the
document or have it brought to him within a reasonable period of time or
to prove by other means that he is—

(b)a family member of an EEA national with a right to accompany that
national or join him in the United Kingdom; or

The UK does not recognise other EU countries residence cards because the definition of one in their regulations is one issued under those same regulations.

There is documentation on their website that states a visa is required for those with other EU residence cards (visa nationals).

It would be difficult to appeal as no one is actually refused entry to the UK, but is denied boarding. If one boarded, one could not be refused entry!

Catch 22.

craftynick wrote:Just on an update on this - Easyjet have come back & said that although it is still the fault of the Dutch authorities (no mention of his residency being out of date this time!!) they have offered -

To refund his flight
To credit my flight towards another Easyjet flight, as they cannot offer refund as they didnt refuse my boarding
& £250 compenstaion.

I have now replied thanks but no thanks!!

thats quite good for easyjet. they closed the gate early and although i got there before push off they refused me boarding, made me pay a change fee and I had to find a hotel for the night. I made a complaint. Of course they will "investigate" but won't be able to tell me about the outcome. very convenient. At the end of the day, they refused to refund me.
Of course, their refund offer to you to refund just one person is ridiculous, you were traveling together and the basis of his ability to go was dependent on you so you needed each other, what were you supposed to do, go and tell him to follow when he needs you to go in the first place.
And EJ is so obnoxious in their attitude toward you in these issues that i have just stopped using them. I don't care how cheap they are, it is not worth dealing with their unprofessional demeanor when these go wrong.

This happens a lot, its best to apply for a free schengen visa for the non eu spouse instead.

skyepark wrote:This happens a lot, its best to apply for a free schengen visa for the non eu spouse instead.

Most of the embassies and consulates have sections detailing under what circumstances people can use their UK issued residence cards for visa-free travel. Some of them advise one to print the advice and to show to airline staff.

Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:

skele wrote:My husband and I live in France under freedom of movement, I am a British citizen, he is third country national.
We were due to fly to Birmingham International on Christmas Eve of 2010 and after checking in, going through passport control and passing the boarding gate, my husband was pulled aside and asked for his visa. I argued with them for ages, spoke to head of security for Charles De Gaulle Airport who informed me'I know my job madame'. Was put through to someone in UK who also said no but that they would call immigration at Birmingham airport to see if they would make an exception. All said he could not fly without a visa - which is obviously not true.
The security woman said to him "Your spouse can go but you can't, do you want her to go without you".

Humiliating, awful experience, ruined Christmas for everybody, things only got worse but I won't bore you with the details!

Anyway, wrote to UKBA four times via their website and never got a response and could never get through to anyone on the phone to complain either. As usual, EU not interested either.

Compensation would have been nice but we didn't have any money to go down that route.

Technically, and for right or wrong, the UK does (kind of) require your husband to have a visa.

If you want to complain to UKBA, use http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/about ... complaint/

skele, you don't mention that your hubby had a Residence card, which i know he does.

craftynick wrote:

ca.funke wrote:

fysicus wrote:Of course, they refused boarding...

I guess what craftynick means is that her husband was refused boarding, while she herself was not. Technically she would have been allowed to fly, leaving her husband behind.

Since her husband was legally allowed to board, but Easyjet refused, it´s a bit steep that they claim that she was "not refused"...

I´d fire back asking if they don´t respect the unity of the family? That should surely also be protected under UK-law somehow?

Yeah i think thats exactly what they were getting at, that even though he had been refused I was still being allowed to travel - great holiday that would have been!!

I did reply to them & told them that i didnt think ther offer was satisfactory as I believed they acted in a dearly beloved manner, followed by their lies about his residency being expired & they have basically said sorry but thats all theyre offering

Hi. Sorry to get in so late in this discussion. I am an Indian and I had the same problem two weeks ago by Easyjet. Just like your case, Easyjet is giving some false replies. I see that my case is same like your case and I would like to know if the Easyjet finally offered something that you asked for or rejected it? Please let me know. Advance thanks.

recently i was in contact with German mission in Pakistan to get information about Schengen visa as spouse
of EU national. entering a EU country by accompanying a EU national as spouse. they send me the following
reply which clearly says that if you are holding a resident card of a different EU country you can enter a EU
country visa free kindly read the email from German immigration office.maybe it will help most of you who asked for the same question.airlines and there staff doesn't know anything about immigration at all.as i have
worked myself for a international airline people working at airport as airport passenger service officers
are the most dumb people you have ever seen in your life and mostly they had old and outdated immigration
rules and regulations in there books. so kindly contact the relevant embassy and get information in a written form through a email or in hard copy to avoid any hassle and inconvenience,below is the reply from German immigration

your wife as a British national has the freedom of movement.

As an EU national your wife does not need a visa to enter Germany. Generally, she only needs a valid passport or identity card. Like everybody else in Germany, she has to register directly after entering at the Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt) at her new place of residence in Germany.

Entry of spouses
You as a spouse have the right to enter Germany together with her or subsequently. As you are not an EU national, you generally require a national visa in order to enter Germany (section 2 para. 4 sentence 2 Freedom of Movement Act/EU).
The application for the visa has to be handed in to the German mission in the country, in which you are residing.

Important hint:
If you already had a residence card EU issued by another EU Member State (section 2 para. 4 sentence 3 Freedom of Movement Act/EU), you can enter Germany visa-free.

The German mission abroad can provide you with further information.

In Germany you will get a residence card at the Foreigners Office (Ausländerbehörde) in your local area (sec. 5 Freedom of Movement Act/EU). You can find the corresponding Foreigners Office here.

Please note:
The here represented information is a general service offer. The German missions are solely responsible for deciding whether the legal requirements for granting a visa are fulfilled. The Foreigners Office is solely responsible for residence matters. For further questions please contact the corresponding office.


Please find all information here: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/index_en.htm

If you have problems with the Embassy, you might contact the Federal Foreigner Office for further assistance: http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Startseite_node.html

Best regards,

On behalf of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees
Janine Prager
_________________________________________
Information Service Migration
Frankenstr. 210 | 90461 Nuremberg | Germany
Phone: 0911-943 6390
Fax: 0911/ 943- 7000
Email: info.buerger@bamf.bund.de
Internet: www.bamf.de
www.wir-sind-bund.de