Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Brexit such a Spain in the neck for us
Couple separated at airport over new rules
A NORTHERN Ireland couple were separated at a Spanish airport over the new Brexit rules – with one being deported and the other allowed to stay in the country.
Lucy and Adam Montgomery have been living in Barcelona for years and had returned to the UK for Christmas to be with their families.
The couple had taken steps to ensure they had all of the necessary paperwork prepared and ready with them for returning to Spain, fearing Brexit would cause difficulties, but even then Lucy still found herself being deported.
The couple had acquired an NIE number for British people living in Spain which would allow them to return to the country as it showed proof of residence.
However, on December 30 the Spanish Government said that a TIE number was required.
As Lucy’s TIE number was being processed, she was turned away and as Adam’s had been cleared, he was able to stay.
Lucy said: “On the morning of January 2, we both tried to return home to Spain.
“Our families had both been through a lot over the past few months and we had been unable to be there with them so we felt that we really had no choice but to be there with them at Christmas.
COMMOTION
“We boarded the flight from Manchester and landed safely in Barcelona. When the cabin crew of the Ryanair flight opened the doors, there was a commotion going on outside of the aircraft, with people shouting ‘get your passports out immediately’.
“The scenes that then unfolded were like something out of a horror movie.”
Lucy says the passengers were quickly put into lines of Spanish, EU and UK passports, with the UK ones having to stay and go through all of the paperwork they had with border officers.
She said: “As the border control officers went through each person, it was a yes or a no as to whether we were being allowed to enter. Adam was a no. I was a no. We tried to explain our situation but it was to no avail.
“Then they called to check if people had started the process to get their TIE numbers. When they checked their systems, they could tell that Adam’s had been accepted and mine was in process. They then said that he could enter and I could not.
“It was a moment of sheer disbelief. I had shown them my housing contract, work contract, tax payments etc but it didn’t matter, those were the rules.
“I wasn’t even allowed to bring my case back with me, which left us scrambling trying to pass each other essential items such as medicine.
“Adam couldn’t come back with me because he needed wee Frank and Luna our dogs and we didn’t feel he could justify it to work.
“At least I had my deportation papers, so I could prove why I was not there.”
Lucy ended up having
We tried to explain our situation but it was to no avail LUCY MONTGOMERY ON THE ORDEAL
to return to Manchester without any clothes, medicine or a phone charger.
Terrified about when she would see her beloved husband and pooches again, she went online to see what could be done to get back to the country and soon found
that hundreds of others had found themselves in the same position. Once she arrived in the UK, her real difficulties then began as she found there were no longer flights from Manchester to Spain, as the airport was being fined per passenger deported and she would have to fly from Gatwick Airport. She made sure she had all of the relevant paperwork for returning to Spain and, £600, two flights, three trains and a Covid test later, she was able to fly back on January 6. Over the course
of the five days, she spent £360 on Covid tests in order to show she did not have the virus before travelling anywhere.
Lucy said: “I set off on a 10-hour journey to get home with no idea whether it would work or not.
“Then to add insult to injury, even with all my additional paperwork I had got – nearly 50 pages worth – I was allowed entry with no questions asked and did not need to show any additional paperwork. I got in with the exact same paperwork I had on the 2nd.”