A 78 -year -old Ukrainian grandmother was stuck at the Krakov Airport, since he refused to fly Britain on EVISA problems.
Liudmyla Karpenko was traveling to meet his daughter in Eastern Midlands and spent 25 hours in a bus from Kiev before arriving at Krakov Airport. He was denied boarding on a Ryanayar flight to the UK on 24 June as he had a problem on his electronic visa account, which would not be linked to his old residency permit.
Government is moving forward Millions of foreign nationals from physical biometric residence permit (BRPS) to electronic visaMs. Carpanko confirmed from the home office that she had a visa situation in Britain, but was refused to board the flight due to the EVISA issue.
Her daughter Maria Bondaranko, who lives in Britain with her British husband, said the experience showed how difficult it was for the elderly people. He said: “We tried to connect her BRP with her Evasa, but we had a problem with her picture, because her eyes were closed. The house office sent an email that said that you need to do it again but it will not affect your situation in the meantime.
“When my mother arrived at the airport, the staff just kept not listening to when she showed her an email from the house office. They were just saying that this is your problem. We tried to call the visa center, which is going to help with Avisa problems, but she did not know that she was suggested to get a separate temporary visa, but she was already a visa for UK.
“This is very wrong, this system, especially for older people, it was really difficult for my mother to sign in online visa account. You need to sign in with your email, and then get a code, and then put it on. gov.ukIt is difficult for old people to do this. What if you are without a phone? ,
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She said: “My mother was crying when she refuses her. She was probably at the check-in desk for four hours. She was also worried about a place to live. She said she would sit at the airport and she was not sleeping before the night because she was in a bus. She was worried about the money and I said” I don’t have any worry that we don’t have a hotel “.
Luckily a volunteer who was helping Ukrainian refugees at Krakov Airport, was able to try his mother and help to add his BRP card with his EVISA account the next day. Although Ms. Bondarranco estimates that she had to spend an additional £ 600-650 at nights at the airport hotel for her mother, an additional airplane ticket, and taxis for the UK consulate in Krakov, which stopped.
He had to spend £ 16.56 on two calls on the government’s Ukraine Visa Helpline, operated by a private company Taylorformance. The helpline is labeled as free on the government website, but you can carry out the cost based on where you call.
Ms. Bondarranco booked her mother on a new flight for East Midlands on 26 June, but her mother had a problem when she reached the check-in desk again. His EVISA account was automatically translated into Ukrainian on his phone and the airport staff wanted to see it in Polish.
Ms. Bondarranco, who was supporting her mother through speakerphone, said: “She refused to examine her situation, saying that it is showing us in Polish. She refused to talk to me. She finally found some girl who was able to understand Ukrainian and she finally said that it is fine.”
The3million Rights Group’s pracharak, Andreea Dumitrache said: “This heart -wrenching situation highlights the immediate need for the house office, which is to identify the uneven impact of the EVISA system on old and weak people. Technology is thwarting many people as they need the most.
“Changes for EVISAS have 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 security trap. There is no safety trap. People are left in distress, isolated and limbo, despite having legal rights to return home in Britain.”
A spokesperson of the home office said: “While not commenting on personal matters is our long -term policy, there is independent and practical support for weak individuals, which require help to create UK visa and immigration account and reach their EVISA.
“Biometric residence permits are no longer valid for a trip to the UK; however, they can still be used to create an EVISA account, even though they are finished.”
Ryanyar said: “All visa-necessary travelers traveling with Ryanyer should present the right travel documents for the destination set by that country. Ryanier should follow these rules and the airport agents are trained in these visa rules, although it is the responsibility of each passenger to carry legitimate travel documents.
“In this case the passenger needed to organize a valid UK visa, which he failed to introduce agents at the Craco Airport and was denied the journey correctly. Once the passenger provided the UK visa document, he was allowed to travel.”
