Almost eight weeks after a blameless British tourist was detained and then deported because Norwegian border staff and a lawyer did not understand the rules on passport validity, police have acknowledged making “a procedural error”.
But the authorities have so far failed to apologise to the victim, who will pursue recompense for the costs of her cancelled holiday – in addition to the emotional ordeal.
The traveller holds a senior administrative role in a higher education institution in Glasgow and does not want to be identified. But she has told The Independent about what she says was “one of the most frightening and bewildering episodes of my life”.
The visitor, holding a UK passport valid for anywhere in the Schengen area, including Norway, boarded a flight on the Norwegian airline from Edinburgh to Oslo on 22 February. On arrival she was told, incorrectly, that her passport was not valid and she could not enter the country.
Frontline passport staff consulted a lawyer, who sided with the officers – even though they were wrong. The shocked passenger did not accept the offer of an appeal through a different lawyer, fearing that if she lost the appeal she could be barred from Norway in future.
She was frisked, then detained for three hours in a holding cell with no access to the outside world. Her phone and laptop were confiscated, so she was unable to check the Schengen area rules – which would have confirmed her passport was valid.
Officers told her she would be deported the next day, and that she might be taken to a detention centre. They later relented and allowed her to stay overnight in a hotel, but she had to report back to the police during the evening – when she was fingerprinted and photographed.
“I spent the first day of what was supposed to be a holiday, scared, bewildered, and crying,” she told The Independent.
The following day she was marched on to the deportation flight – a scheduled service – by three officers. Her passport was handed to the captain and not returned until all other passengers had left the aircraft.
Since learning of the case, The Independent has made repeated representations on the traveller’s behalf to the Norwegian Embassy in London, Norway’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the UK Foreign Office.
The only substantive response has been a terse statement from the Øst Police District, covering Oslo airport.
It read: “The police acknowledge that a procedural error was made in the case you mentioned. We have reviewed our procedures to ensure this does not happen again.
“In order to enter Norway/the Schengen area, a third-country national must hold a valid travel document that entitles the holder to cross the border. Entry into the Schengen area may only take place if the travel document is less than ten years old from the date of issue.
“Furthermore, the travel document must be valid for at least three months beyond the planned date of departure from the Schengen area, cf. Article 6(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of the Schengen Borders Code.
“We assess that, at the time of entry, the conditions for entry were fulfilled. “
There is no word of apology to the visitor. In response, The Independent has asked if Norwegian authorities will do anything to compensate her for the ordeal they perpetrated.
The police have yet to respond.
The tourist’s airline, Norwegian, has no obligation under European air passengers’ rights rules as they legally flew her to Oslo. The flawed decision by border staff was not the carrier’s responsibility.
Norwegian was expecting to be fined for bringing someone to Norway who was not eligible – but since the passenger was entitled to enter the country, that will not take place.
The Norwegian airline will now, though, need to pay out to passengers who it wrongly turned away, using the deportation as a reason for doing so. The expulsion came to The Independent’s attention while investigating an unrelated case where a passenger was denied boarding on a Gatwick-Bergen flight.
Source: independent.co.uk
