Still in limbo…

I went to Paris in June for 3 days and on the day of my return,  I was denied boarding at the airport by Easyjet claiming that they got instructions from the Home Office not to let me return. I asked why and they said they don’t know.

I panicked and called the UK Borders in Edinburgh where I lived and explained my situation and they told me to call back whilst they make enquiries. After getting back to them they claimed that I was deported from the UK in 2019 which was not true. I’ve not travelled outside the UK since 2018 when I went to the Gambia with my family and that was it.

I had to spend the night in Paris in a very bad hotel and then took the bus to Calais to meet the Immigration officials since I’ve no one to speak to. After arriving in Calais, I presented my passport and was given a white paper which indicated that I was detained and would be deported.

They took my passport away and after a couple of hours in detention, I told them to take my fingerprint and they did that. Checked my bank statements and pictures to see I lived in Scotland. Later on, their boss came out and apologised and handed me my passport and told me that it was a case of mistaken identity because the person have the same date of birth with me and I have to contact the Home Office to clear that.

I contacted the Citizens advice bureau and I wrote to the UK Borders for a complaint. They replied that they will make sure I don’t go through all this again but now I’m even scared to travel. My sister is sick in Sweden and I can’t even travel for fear of getting stranded again. I’ve lost a lot of money in Paris for transport and getting a flight back from London to Edinburgh.

I’m also waiting for my EU Settlement which I applied since two years ago with my daughter who’s a German passport holder as well. I’ve got no response from the Home Office and anytime I contact them they’ll say they’re waiting for a decision. My wife who’s from the Gambia got her Indefinite Leave to Remain and her Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme because of me but both me and my daughter are still in limbo.

Dawda, 52, German, in the UK since 2008

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