ISLANDERS with settled status have faced issues travelling back to Jersey as some international airport staff do not recognise their paperwork.
After Brexit, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals living in Jersey had to apply for the Island’s EU Settlement Scheme in order to be allowed to continue to live and work in Jersey. Jersey’s systems are separate from the UK’s, which operates their own Settlement Scheme.
However, some EU nationals have faced problems due to the paperwork they were carrying – which proved their entitlement to travel to the Island – not being recognised.
One woman said she was forced to pay to get an express travel visa to allow her to fly home from Thailand. She said she would have been stuck in Bangkok because airline staff didn’t accept her settlement status letter.
The Islander had been due to travel from Phuket to Bangkok followed by London Heathrow and Jersey, but said her problems started at Phuket.
When staff saw she had a Spanish passport, she was asked for her electronic travel authorisation, which the UK and Jersey give to visitors from the EU.
The woman added: “I have her my settlement status letter. However, despite discussing all of this with all their colleagues they could not figure out where Jersey was and whether other requirements would apply instead of an ETA.
“I spent an hour at the desk trying to explain to her where Jersey was, why ETA does not apply to us, showing her the gov.uk website and still [she] could not accept my letter.”
She eventually bought an ETA Express for £150 which allowed her to board her flight to the UK.
Though she spoke to Jersey Customs and Immigration, who said she should have been allowed to pass through, the woman added: “After being stranded in Thailand and then [spending] an hour explaining where Jersey was, I just wanted to go back home with no more hassle. So I paid and they let me pass.”
Another woman, a Polish citizen, said she had lived in Jersey for 18 years and may need to buy an ETA to be allowed to enter the Island.
She said there was concern among the Polish community that documents are not accepted by all airlines and that there was confusion as to what was needed. She added Jersey’s paper-based immigration paperwork caused “a problem” as she had only a letter to prove that she was allowed to enter the Island.
Her brother, she said, had also been affected. He was delayed by two days in March and eventually bought an ETA.
The situation was described as “shocking” by Polish consul Magdalena Chmielewska, who has been supporting those facing travel difficulties.
“People have lost business, people lost holidays,” she said, adding that although people were entitled to refunds, airlines “aren’t willing to compensate people who had to buy other flight tickets or couldn’t board”.
Ms Chmielewska stressed that Islanders’ immigration status “wasn’t visible” on the UK’s systems.
“All these people had relevant documentation, they were still not visible.”
