From October 1, travelers to the UK will need an international passport as the country stops recognizing Bulgarian ID cards. The change is part of new immigration rules introduced by the British authorities after the UK left the EU and stopped complying with European law on the free movement of people.
An exception will be made only for Bulgarians who live permanently on the Island and have the status of settlement. They will be allowed to enter with an ID card until the end of 2025. However, the British authorities advise to travel with an international passport, as this facilitates border checks.
Border control or discrimination?
In addition, holders of biometric documents go through electronic counters at major British airports, which prevents them from colliding with border guards, who have become much more in-depth in their checks on those entering the UK during Brexit.
In the first 6 months of the year, 7,249 people were stopped at British airports, ports and stations, which is 5 times more than in the same months of 2020. 60% of those checked are Romanians, and in second place are Bulgarians, according to data from the Interior Ministry. London provided to the Guardian newspaper.
600 of our compatriots were asked why they come to Britain, how long they plan to stay and where. The reason is that since January, those wishing to work in the country are required to have a work visa, which is difficult to obtain. You can enter visa-free for tourism or visiting relatives, but only up to 6 months a year.
In comparison, such checks were carried out on only 144 citizens of France and 59 – of Belgium, although the two countries are much closer to the Island and it is assumed that there are far more travelers. “These types of checks can be traumatic and there is a risk that immigration officials will select innocent people. Racial profiling is discriminatory and should be stopped immediately if this happens,” immigration lawyer Chetal Patel told the Guardian. He added that it is legal to conduct general checks to control illegal immigration, but the data released by the publication raises many questions as to whether there are other reasons behind this.
The British Interior Ministry categorically denies that border guards target people from certain countries. The control rules are applied fairly and only on the basis of certain circumstances. If someone arrives at our borders intending to work here without the right to do so, the public expects us to prevent them from entering regardless of their nationality, a ministry spokesman said. In addition, the exported statistics refer to a period when coronavirus restrictions were still in force for entrants and border guards were tasked with monitoring compliance.
Immigration troubles
On social networks, a Bulgarian family says that it was stopped at the end of August, when most of the restrictions have already been lifted, and Bulgaria is on the UK’s green list of travelers in a pandemic. They have been living on the Island since 2017 and have a temporary residency status, which entitles them to enter the country freely. They travel in the summer to their homeland, where they marry their eldest daughter. Her new husband applied online to join his wife’s status, which is the procedure, but as the processing of such applications took months, he decided to travel with her family and wait for a response from the British Home Office in Britain. Moreover, European citizens have the right to enter the country for the purpose of tourism and visiting relatives and to stay up to 6 months within a year.
During the border check, however, the man sincerely admitted that he intended to settle permanently in England with his wife, but as there was still no response from the British authorities to his request to do so, he was detained and extradited on the next ferry to Europe. . His wife has to urgently buy tickets to return to Bulgaria with him. Although traveling in a ship, he was isolated alone in a cabin. His phone, ID card and driver’s license were confiscated. The two are now in Bulgaria and fear that his extradition could affect his status application.
According to NGOs working to protect the rights of European citizens on the island, 90% of those returned from the British borders in recent months are close to Europeans who have settled permanently in the United Kingdom. The reason is that most of them do not know that they have to wait for their applications to be granted relative status outside the UK. Or, if the response is delayed too long, as often happens, to arrive in the country temporarily as tourists, and then leave it again to enter legally on the basis of status. During these 6 months of temporary stay, however, they are not allowed to work and rely on free British healthcare.
Romanian MEP Victor Negrescu has asked the European Commission to check that British border authorities do not discriminate in control of entry.
Local authorities in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have demanded that European citizens obtain a paper document for their residency status, as the existence of an online version alone makes it difficult for many people to present it when needed. The most affected are those who do not speak English and do not have constant access to the Internet.
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