A Ukrainian grandmother was left stranded at Krakow airport after being stopped from boarding a flight to the UK over eVisa issues.
Liudmyla Karpenko, 78, had spent 25 hours travelling by bus from Kyiv to Krakow, from where she was due to catch a flight to visit her daughter in the East Midlands.
But she was not allowed to board the Ryanair flight due to a problem in her electronic visa account, which would not link to her old residency permit.
The government has been moving millions of foreign nationals from physical Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) to electronic visas. Ms Karpenko had confirmation from the Home Office that she had correct visa status in the UK but was denied boarding on her flight because of the eVisa issue.
Her daughter, Maria Bondarenko, who lives in the UK with her British husband, said the experience showed how difficult the new electronic visa system was for elderly people.
She said: “We tried to connect her BRP to her eVisa but we had problems with her photo, because her eyes were shut. The Home Office sent an email saying you need to do it again but it won’t affect your status in the meantime.
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“When my mother got to the airport, the staff just kept not listening when she showed them the email from the Home Office. They were just saying ‘it’s your problem’. We tried to call the visa centre that’s supposed to help with eVisa problems but they didn’t know what to do. They suggested getting a separate temporary visa, but she already had a visa for the UK.
“It’s so wrong, this system, especially for old people. For my mum, it was really hard even to sign in to the online visa account. You need to sign in with your email, and then get a code, and then put it into gov.uk – for older people it is hard for them to do. What would happen if you are without a phone?”
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She added: “My mother was crying when they refused her. She was at the check-in desk maybe for four hours. She was also worried about a place to stay. She said she would sit in the airport and she hadn’t slept the night before because she was on a bus. She was worried about money and I said, ‘No, don’t worry, we have no choice, we have to get a hotel’.”
Luckily a volunteer who was helping Ukrainian refugees at Krakow airport was able to help her mother try and link her BRP card with her eVisa account the next day. However, Ms Bondarenko estimates she had to spend an extra £600 on nights in the airport hotel for her mother, an extra plane ticket, and taxis to the UK consulate in Krakow, which turned out to be closed.
She also had to spend £16.56 on two calls to the government’s Ukraine visa helpline, which is operated by private company Teleperformance. The helpline is labelled as free on the government website, but can incur costs depending on where you call from.
Ms Bondarenko booked her mother on a new flight on 26 June to the East Midlands but Ms Karpenko had problems again when she got to the check-in desk. Her eVisa account had automatically translated to Ukrainian on her phone and the airport staff wanted to see it in Polish.
Ms Bondarenko, who was supporting her mother through speakerphone, said: “They refused to check her status, they kept saying ‘show it to us in Polish’. They refused to talk to me. They finally found some girl who was able to understand Ukrainian and they finally said it was alright.”
Andreea Dumitrache, a campaigner at the3million rights group which supports EU citizens in the UK, said: “This heartbreaking situation highlights the urgent need for the Home Office to recognise the disproportionate impact the eVisa system has on older and vulnerable people. Technology is failing many people like Liudmyla when they need it most.
“The shift to eVisas assumes a level of digital access, confidence and literacy that not everyone has. Even for those who can navigate the system, when errors occur, there is no safety net. People are left distressed, isolated and in limbo, despite having the legal right to return to their home in the UK.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “While it is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases, free and practical support is available for vulnerable individuals who need help creating a UK Visas and Immigration account and accessing their eVisa.
“Biometric Residence Permits are no longer valid for travel to the UK; however, they can still be used to create an eVisa account, even if they have expired.”
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “All visa-required passengers travelling with Ryanair must present the correct travel documentation for the country of destination as determined by that country. Ryanair must comply with these rules and airport agents are trained in these visa rules, however it is each passenger’s responsibility to carry valid travel documents.
“In this case the passenger was required to hold a valid UK visa which she failed to present to the agents at Krakow airport and she was correctly denied travel. Once this passenger provided the correct UK visa documentation, she was permitted to travel.”
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