A 34-year-old Spanish woman was forcibly removed from the UK after returning from a Christmas holiday near Málaga despite presenting Brexit paperwork to border officials showing she has a right to live and work in the country.
She was flown back to Spain after being detained overnight in Luton airport on 26 December and told she was “wasting her time” if she thought the Home Office documentation she had showing her right to live in the UK was valid.
“I went home because my sister had a little baby girl, and literally four days later in Luton airport they took me to the detention room, took my stuff and my phone and told me to wait there.
The removal has left her in shock but also illustrates the jeopardy facing EU citizens whose applications to remain in the UK under the Brexit withdrawal agreement are yet to be concluded.
Maria, a Spanish designer who is in the middle of a career change to a job working with animals, had made a late application for the EU settlement scheme in 2023 and was living with her husband and parents-in-law in Bedfordshire.
Maria, who is now taking legal advice, rejects this version of events, arguing her certificate of application makes plain her right to work in the UK while her case is still being reviewed.
The original article contains 883 words, the summary contains 223 words. Saved 75%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
This summary is woefully incomplete - people should really read the original article. For instance, the summary retains "... rejects this version of events" without including the version of events in question.