He said he was left distraught for five days after being denied boarding at the airport.
A 63-year-old woman who has lived in Wales for 40 years has told how she was stranded at an airport abroad because of a law change that came into force days before a flight back to the UK from Portugal.
Eliana Ferreira Keen, from Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, said she spent five days in Lisbon because she did not have an e-visa.
UK citizens without British citizenship are now expected to hold an electronic visa to prove their immigration status. As of February 25 this year, e-visas replaced immigration documents, although people with indefinite leave to use what is now known as a heritage document, such as an ink stamp in a passport, to prove their rights can continue to use those documents.
Ms Ferreira Keen said she flew to be with her mother Elza Ferreira on her deathbed in Brazil earlier this month and said she was unaware of the change and when she tried to board her connecting flight back to the UK in Lisbon she was denied boarding.
He says: “I was left stranded in Lisbon two days after I buried my mother. “The plane didn’t help me, the embassy didn’t help me, the consulates didn’t help me.
He moved to Wales in 1989, got indefinite leave to remain in 1991, and says he has never come across similar issues.
The change to e-visas does not affect a person’s immigration status and those with heritage documents like Ms Ferreira Keen can submit a free application called “no time limit” through the UK government’s website in order to be issued an e-visa.
Ms Ferreira Keen said she realized she needed an e-visa too late and the airport decided she did not have the necessary documents to return to Britain.
He eventually returned to Wales on a tourist visa, something he initially thought would undermine his immigration rights.
He said he spent days being “bashed by Homeland bots” before he decided to pay to speak to a human adviser and was told a tourist visa was his best option. In that time he said he spent around £800 on accommodation, flights and food.
He said: “I was walking around, I couldn’t talk to anyone. It’s all automatic. I’m 63 years old, I didn’t sign up to use this technology,” he said.
“I love Wales, I’ve lived in Wales longer than I’ve lived in Brazil. I take it as such a compliment when people tell me I speak English with a Welsh accent.”
Since moving to Wales she has become a consultant and author, writing about mental health and wellness. As a young woman she said she traveled to Europe to improve her language skills, inspired by her mother who she described as a “strong, hard-working woman”. Ms Ferreira died on Mother’s Day, aged 94, leaving “a legacy of five generations”.
“When I was born he could not read and write. He had the insight to go to Sao Paulo, a big city, to give his children the opportunities he did not have,” said Mrs Ferreira Keen.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We have worked with each individual to resolve the issue.” “Persons with indefinite leave to remain who use a heritage document, such as an ink stamp on a passport or a vignette, to prove their rights must take this with them when travelling, otherwise they may be denied boarding by the carrier.”
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