A woman claims that after airline employees rejected her eVisa, they refused to allow her board her trip back to the UK, leaving her stuck in Brazil.

According to 29-year-old Maria Juliana Marquez Monsalve, Belem International Airport employees informed her that she need current, hard copy documentation of her immigration status in order to fly, not an electronic visa.

As the Home Office transitions to a digital system, millions of people's physical immigration documents expire on December 31, 2024. In order to establish their eligibility to live and work in the UK, foreign nationals now rely on eVisas, which are connected to their passports. Some visitors, however, have encountered issues with international airport employees who are not aware of the modifications.

The Home Office has introduced a grace period of three months to allow travellers to fly on their expired British Residence Permits (BRP), but Ms Marquez Monsalve says she was not allowed to board her flight on 28 December.

She told The Independent the experience was “horrible”, adding: “I couldn’t breathe, I nearly collapsed.” She says she was forced to spend over £750 on alternative flights back to the UK with a different airline, and claims she has so far been denied compensation from the original airline Tap Air.

She said airline staff told her that she couldn’t travel on her BRP card because it was about to expire and instructed her to go to a UK embassy in a different city to get an up-to-date visa, despite Ms Marquez Monsalve explaining that she already had an eVisa.

Ms Marquez Monsalve, who is Colombian but lives in the UK and is married to a Briton, said: “I was in Brazil for a friend’s wedding. I had gone through security and immigration, had got a stamp in my passport, and had already checked-in online. I was waiting with two of my friends, who were on the same flight, outside the gate when I heard my name.

“The girl at the desk by the gate asked for my passport and my boarding pass and so I showed it to her. She checked my boarding pass and then the size of my luggage but said both were fine.

“Then she came back to ask again for my passport and my BRP card. It was very weird. My British friend came with me to ask her what the problem was and she said something was coming up in the system, that my information was not right. I was worried but she said I would be able to fly as normal.

“Finally it came to boarding and my friends went on first because they had premium class, but they were waiting by the door for me,” she continued. “I was in the queue and the lady checked my passport again, and by this point there were about five people checking the computer. The girl said you can’t take this flight and I was so shocked.

“They are closing the gate and I’m asking why, can you tell me why. I was really anxious, I couldn’t breathe, I nearly collapsed. I got on the phone to my husband because I was so stressed. My friends were trying to come back and help me but they weren’t allowed.

“Finally they said it was because my British Residence Permit would expire on the 31 December, and it was the 28 December. I said ‘but I have an eVisa’ and I was starting to cry. I got up the UK website, I logged in and showed them my eVisa. I was saying ‘look this BRP expires but is replaced by the eVisa’.

“I told them that even if I didn’t have an eVisa I can still travel on the expired BRP until March, but they didn’t care about that. They said ‘no you need a visa, you need to go the UK embassy and ask for a visa’.”

Ms Marquez Monsalve says she was told to leave the gate and border officials had to cancel the stamp in her passport. She was able to stay with her friend’s mother until she could book another flight.

She decided to buy new flights with a different airline on the 30 December and faced no problems with her eVisa or passport on this journey. She said she had got her eVisa far in advance of the 31 December deadline and had already travelled to Egypt with it earlier in the year.

Her husband Andrew said they had paid £763 for new flights to get his wife home, adding: “She had no issues at all with the different route. UKVI and the passport control confirmed she should have been allowed to fly”.

Speaking about his wife’s experience, he said: “The way she was treated was a disgrace, she felt like a criminal”.

The Independent has contacted TapAir for comment.

A Home Office spokesperson said:“We are listening to concerns people might have and are working closely with carriers and international stakeholders to ensure the rollout of eVisas is smooth. eVisas bring significant benefits, and many thousands of passengers have travelled successfully since most physical documents expired on 31 December 2024.”

Source: The  Independent