Refused boarding for non-eu spouse without Schengen

[garnsworthy1913]

Hi,
I am an Indian with Uk Biometric residence permit with indefinite leave to remain.i was refused boarding by Eurowings recently .my husband is British National.
They denied boarding saying that I need a Schengen visa.we shown our marriage certificate,directive 2004/38 freedom of movement but they just denied it on the basis that my brp does not state family member of eu.this is clearly violation of eu law and we got this confirmed by uk immigration officer and uk immigration solicitor.so we are in the process of filing a complaint for compensation with Eurowings and then taking it further if they don’t respond.any suggestions on how much we can ask for and if anyone has any success doing this?

[Caravel88]

Airlines can deny boarding. It is written in the book of rules they follow that a visa national must have visa. You probably won't get anything. If you do, congratulations.

If you need a visa, you should get your visa: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/t ... dex_en.htm

Hi,
I know this is an old post.
Same thing happened to us,I am an Indian with Uk Biometric residence permit with indefinite leave to remain.i was refused boarding by Eurowings recently .my husband is British National.
They denied boarding saying that I need a Schengen visa.we shown our marriage certificate,directive 2004/38 freedom of movement but they just denied it on the basis that my brp does not state family member of eu.this is clearly violation of eu law and we got this confirmed by uk immigration officer and uk immigration solicitor.so we are in the process of filing a complaint for compensation with Eurowings and then taking it further if they don’t respond.any suggestions on how much we can ask for and if anyone has any success doing this?

[CR001]

Hi,
I am an Indian with Uk Biometric residence permit with indefinite leave to remain.i was refused boarding by Eurowings recently .my husband is British National.
They denied boarding saying that I need a Schengen visa.we shown our marriage certificate,directive 2004/38 freedom of movement but they just denied it on the basis that my brp does not state family member of eu.this is clearly violation of eu law and we got this confirmed by uk immigration officer and uk immigration solicitor.so we are in the process of filing a complaint for compensation with Eurowings and then taking it further if they don’t respond.any suggestions on how much we can ask for and if anyone has any success doing this?

You hold ILR under the UK immigration rules which is why your BRP does NOT state 'family of EU citizen'. In the UK, your British spouse is considered British only and not an EU citizen.

Presumably you were only going on a short trip or holiday, you should therefore have applied for a visa, which would be issued for free as your spouse is British.

Unlikely you will get any compensation, they were within their rights to refuse you to travel. Their website clearly states they can refuse you carriage if you do not have the appropriate travel documents.

Which 'uk immigration officer' gave you advice on EU travel???

[MrClientServer]

Hi,
I am an Indian with Uk Biometric residence permit with indefinite leave to remain.i was refused boarding by Eurowings recently .my husband is British National.
They denied boarding saying that I need a Schengen visa.we shown our marriage certificate,directive 2004/38 freedom of movement but they just denied it on the basis that my brp does not state family member of eu.this is clearly violation of eu law and we got this confirmed by uk immigration officer and uk immigration solicitor.so we are in the process of filing a complaint for compensation with Eurowings

First of tell me which UK Immigration solicitor given you this stupid advise? I am trying to wrap my commons sense here ..you holding ILR means you are non british and non euro, then how can u enter europe ? If your husband or forefathers have British citizen doesn't mean you or your children allowed Europe. Forget how much get after filing definitely you will loose your vitam M after wasting court time and attorney time....Dont be silly billy

[acme4242]

yes, the denial is a violation of eu law, If you had made it to the Schenger Border, you must be allowed entry under Schengen Rules that apply to EU family members..
The Rules the airlines follow are given to them from IATA/TIMATIC, and IATA claim to provide these based upon EU law. But don't

What you have here is a deliberate policy to deny Lawful rights by making airline staff become immigration officers that don't follow immigration law. I raised this with IATA many years ago, and they ignore their wrong, and never reply.

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/doc ... 006%20INIT
Brussels, 06/XI/2006 C (2006) 5186 final
"Practical Handbook for Border Guards (Schengen Handbook)"
to be used by Member States' competent authorities when carrying out the border
control of persons

In case a third-country national, member of the family of an EU/EEA/CH citizen, is not in
possession of the required visa but can prove his/her identity as well as the family tie with
the EU/EEA/CH citizen, and if there is no evidence to establish that he/she represents a
risk to the requirements of public policy, public security or public health of the Member
States, a visa must be issued to him/her at the border. Such a visa must be issued for free

Airline Immigration Rules provided by IATA (TIMATIC)
Spain (ES)

Visa Exemptions:

- Passengers with a family member residence card issued by
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland (Rep.), Romania or United
Kingdom. The card must be issued to family members of a
national of Switzerland or an EEA Member State.
They are visa exempt for a maximum stay of 90 days and must
travel with or travel to join the national of Switzerland or
EEA Member State. This does not apply to passengers with a
different type of residence permit.

[Maruchita56]

yes, the denial is a violation of eu law, If you had made it to the Schenger Border, you must be allowed entry under Schengen Rules that apply to EU family members..
The Rules the airlines follow are given to them from IATA/TIMATIC, and IATA claim to provide these based upon EU law. But don't

What you have here is a deliberate policy to deny Lawful rights by making airline staff become immigration officers that don't follow immigration law. I raised this with IATA many years ago, and they ignore their wrong, and never reply.

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/doc ... 006%20INIT
Brussels, 06/XI/2006 C (2006) 5186 final
"Practical Handbook for Border Guards (Schengen Handbook)"
to be used by Member States' competent authorities when carrying out the border
control of persons

In case a third-country national, member of the family of an EU/EEA/CH citizen, is not in
possession of the required visa but can prove his/her identity as well as the family tie with
the EU/EEA/CH citizen, and if there is no evidence to establish that he/she represents a
risk to the requirements of public policy, public security or public health of the Member
States, a visa must be issued to him/her at the border. Such a visa must be issued for free

Airline Immigration Rules provided by IATA (TIMATIC)
Spain (ES)

Visa Exemptions:

- Passengers with a family member residence card issued by
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland (Rep.), Romania or United
Kingdom. The card must be issued to family members of a
national of Switzerland or an EEA Member State.
They are visa exempt for a maximum stay of 90 days and must
travel with or travel to join the national of Switzerland or
EEA Member State. This does not apply to passengers with a
different type of residence permit.

Thank you for your reply. Is there anything you recommend for us to do about this?

[vinny]

See also Denied boarding.

[fielddrive]

If you proved your status to them showing your marriage certificate, you should have been given the right to travel to the country. Eurowings were wrong and I hope you had something from them in writing to prove you were DB due to non visa.

I have travelled with my non EU spouse many times through rail / air / road and while it may take a short while to explain our travelling situation, we have never been denied boarding. ILR should have little/no bearing on your situation.

I say lawyer up...

PS: for anyone in a similar situation, always ask for the denying authority to write to you the reasons and state in the denial that you proved your relationship to your EU family member.

PPS: Read (7.10) of 'Practical Handbook for Border Guards'