‘I couldn’t breathe:’ Woman stranded in Brazil as airline refuses to let her fly to UK on eVisa

A woman says she was left stranded in Brazil when airline staff refused to let her board her flight home to the UK after refusing to accept her eVisa.

Maria Juliana Marquez Monsalve, 29, claims staff at Belem International airport told her she needed in-date physical proof of her immigration status to travel rather than an electronic visa.

Millions of people have had their physical immigration documents expire on 31 December 2024 as the Home Office transfers to a digital system.

Foreign nationals are now dependent on eVisas, which are linked to their passports, to prove their right to live and work in the UK. However, some travellers have been facing difficulties with foreign airport staff who are unaware of the changes.

Grace period

The Home Office has introduced a grace period of three months to allow travellers to fly on their expired British Residence Permits (BRP), but Marquez Monsalve says she was not allowed to board her flight on 28 December.

She told The Independent the experience was “horrible”, adding: “I couldn’t breathe, I nearly collapsed.”

She says she was forced to spend over £750 on alternative flights back to the UK with a different airline, and that she has so far been denied compensation from the original airline TAP Air.

'About to expire'

She said airline staff told her that she couldn’t travel on her BRP card because it was about to expire and instructed her to go to a UK embassy in a different city to get an up-to-date visa, despite Marquez Monsalve explaining that she already had an eVisa.

Monsalve, who is Colombian but lives in the UK and is married to a Briton, said: “I was in Brazil for a friend’s wedding. I had gone through security and immigration, had got a stamp in my passport, and had already checked in online. I was waiting with two of my friends, who were on the same flight, outside the gate when I heard my name.

“The girl at the desk by the gate asked for my passport and my boarding pass and so I showed it to her. She checked my boarding pass and then the size of my luggage but said both were fine.

'I nearly collapsed'

“Then she came back to ask again for my passport and my BRP card. It was very weird. My British friend came with me to ask her what the problem was and she said something was coming up in the system, that my information was not right. I was worried but she said I would be able to fly as normal.

“Finally it came to boarding and my friends went on first because they had premium class, but they were waiting by the door for me,” she continued. “I was in the queue and the lady checked my passport again, and by this point there were about five people checking the computer. The girl said you can’t take this flight and I was so shocked.

“They are closing the gate and I’m asking why, can you tell me why. I was really anxious, I couldn’t breathe, I nearly collapsed. I got on the phone to my husband because I was so stressed. My friends were trying to come back and help me but they weren’t allowed.

Passenger began to cry

“Finally they said it was because my British Residence Permit would expire on the 31 December, and it was 28 December. I said, ‘But I have an eVisa’, and I was starting to cry. I got up the UK website, I logged in and showed them my eVisa. I was saying, ‘Look this BRP expires but is replaced by the eVisa’.

“I told them that even if I didn’t have an eVisa I can still travel on the expired BRP until March, but they didn’t care about that. They said, ‘No you need a visa, you need to go the UK embassy and ask for a visa’.”

Marquez Monsalve says she was told to leave the gate and border officials had to cancel the stamp in her passport. She was able to stay with her friend’s mother until she could book another flight.

She decided to buy new flights with a different airline on 30 December and faced no problems with her eVisa or passport on this journey. She said she had got her eVisa far in advance of the 31 December deadline and had already travelled to Egypt with it earlier in the year.

My wife felt like a criminal, says husband

Her husband Andrew said they had paid £763 for new flights to get his wife home, adding: “She had no issues at all with the different route. UKVI and the passport control confirmed she should have been allowed to fly.”

Speaking about his wife’s experience, he said: “The way she was treated was a disgrace, she felt like a criminal”.

The Independent has contacted TAP Air for comment.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are listening to concerns people might have and are working closely with carriers and international stakeholders to ensure the rollout of eVisas is smooth. eVisas bring significant benefits, and many thousands of passengers have travelled successfully since most physical documents expired on 31 December 2024.”

The Independent