Stranded in Dusseldorf: Home Office Error Separates Mother from Child

A Home Office administrative error has left a German woman, Liza Tobay, stranded in Dusseldorf, separating her from her two-year-old daughter in Edinburgh. Tobay, who has lived in the UK for 15 years, had taken her six-year-old son to visit his grandfather and relatives over Easter when she encountered the issue.

As one of the millions of EU citizens who must now prove they have "settled status" to enter the UK, Tobay was blocked from boarding a connecting flight from Munich to Edinburgh during a layover in Dusseldorf. A border official informed her that her settled status had been "red flagged," preventing her and her son from continuing their journey.

Tobay explained that she could prove her settled status via an email but was told she could only do so through a phone app, which she did not have. She said, "I started to panic and my son started to cry. It is the first time he’s been away for five days without his dad, so he’s been homesick already and could sense something wasn’t right."

After researching the issue, Tobay discovered that the passport number recorded for her on the Home Office website was incorrect. She contacted the Home Office EU settlement scheme resolution centre, which revealed that a "ghost number" had appeared on her account. An official told her that they could see the photo of her passport but that the system had generated a completely random passport number, different from the one in the picture.

Tobay has been told that resolving the issue may take up to three weeks, potentially keeping her away from her two-year-old daughter for a month. She expressed her distress, saying, "This situation is extremely distressing for our family. It is just awful. I haven’t slept, I haven’t eaten, I am just in shock, in autopilot trying to stay calm and do what I can to get home."

The grassroots campaign group the3million has highlighted that Tobay's case is not isolated, criticizing the length of time the Home Office takes to resolve such issues as "unacceptable." The group advocates for EU citizens living in the UK to have a physical card or stamp on their passport to prove their immigration status, rather than relying on a digital-only verification system.

Monique Hawkins, head of policy and advocacy at the3million, stated, "The Home Office insists a digital status cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with. We have long objected to this empty catchphrase as we keep being contacted by people suffering serious impacts from non-functioning eVisas."

Call for Change

The Home Office has been approached for comment on the matter. Tobay's case has sparked concerns about the reliability of the UK's digital-only verification system for immigration status, with many calling for a more secure and efficient method to be implemented.