‘It was a big shock’: new border rules left couple stuck in Kraków after living in UK for 80 years | Brexit

T.Two Polish nationals who lived in the UK for nearly 80 years after their parents fled the second world war have described their terrifying experience after being told they did not have the right to return to the UK after Brexit.

While visiting Poland in May, they learned that although they had been accepted as refugees after the war, they now needed special post-Brexit paperwork to return to their home in Bury, Greater Manchester.

To 85-year-old Maria Krupa and her 92-year-old husband Czeslaw, who met in the United Kingdom, got married and settled in Bury.alien registration cards” and as adults, they traveled extensively without anyone ever asking them about their immigration status.

Czeslaw, who hails from Lviv, then part of Poland, and Maria, who left her hometown in what is now Belarus as a baby, had traveled to Poland in May to meet surviving family members.

But Ryanair refused to allow them to board for their return journey on the grounds that they neither had proof of their right to live in the UK nor the new electronic travel authorization (ETA) now required for foreign tourists entering the UK.

“It was a big shock,” Maria said. “We are very, very disappointed and a little saddened that my husband is taking so much medication for his spinal cord paralysis.”

They had arrived in Southampton in 1947 and 1948 as young dependents of displaced Polish soldiers who had been evacuated from their homes in 1940 and were later part of General Władysław Anders’ Polish army, serving in Iran, India, the Middle East and Africa.

Anders’ army played a key role in the defeat of the Third Reich and was integrated into the British military command structure following friction with the Soviets in 1942.

“We tried to explain to Ryanair that our fathers fought for Poland and England in the war, but they wouldn’t let us on the plane because they said they would have to pay a big fine,” Maria said.

“My husband was really upset,” she said, explaining that Czeslaw used a scooter for mobility after his stroke and was on a lot of medications. He said he had difficulty getting in and out of cars and “just wanted to get home.”

They speak out to help others who may be in the same situation. “It was such a shock because we had never heard of it and we never thought for a minute that nearly 80 years later someone would tell us we couldn’t go home,” Maria said.

Kate Smart, chief executive of Settled, which helps the Krupas, said the charity had seen “thousands of cases” like the Krupas. “This is a really common occurrence that happens almost every day,” he said.

The EU settlement scheme was launched in 2019 to provide EU citizens living in the UK with the documentary evidence needed to travel as they did under pre-Brexit free movement rules.

Most of the people Settled sees are older people with British children and grandchildren. “They don’t talk about things like ‘settled status’ because there is no one in their family circle who thinks like an immigrant,” Smart said.

Maria said she had never considered getting a British passport because she had never needed one in the past 80 years and it had never even crossed her mind. “It was really important. I didn’t think it was something that would undermine my identity. I love England. I mean, I always say, I’m grateful to England for taking in so many people, you know, thousands after the war. But I thought it was important that we remained Polish,” he said.

After having to leave the airport late on a Sunday night in May, they returned the next day with an ETA but the couple had to pose as tourists, claiming to live in Poland because the online form did not accept British addresses.

Maria said: “When we arrived in England we were very scared. We had to be careful what we said. We were very scared because they started asking questions and we thought we would tell the truth, not lie again.”

They contacted Resident after going to the Citizens Advice Center in Bury. Smart praised the Home Office resolution center for its swift action that resulted in the status of the Krupas being finalised, after the charity submitted a time-limited application for the Krupas last week.

He called on the government to take into account issues with the EU solution plan, arguing that when an issue like this arises “a process needs to start at the airport”.

A spokesman said the Home Office would encourage people to check their immigration status before travelling, but anyone in a similar situation to the Krupas should do so. An application with no time limit to obtain the documents they need to enter and exit the country.

“Anyone relocating to the UK without current proof of their status is encouraged to submit a time-limited application. This will give them access to an e-Visa and facilitate hassle-free travel in the future,” they said.