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I have a Vietnamese passport and I hold an EU residence permit (I am married and my husband is Belgian, so I have an F+ card: family of EU). Last Sunday in Brussels airport they did not let me check-in because they said my F+ card is not valid for the UK and I need a transit visa for London. I explained that two years ago I passed through London and I did not need a transit visa. They told me it changed a few months ago (with Brexit). Is it true?

I have read on the website of the government of UK that I do not need a transit visa for the UK (in my case). I also read on the website of a travel agency (www.immihelp.com) that it's clear I do not need a visa for a 3-hour transit in London.

I paid for two tickets and they were expensive. And now I cannot see my family. Can someone help me to answer my question please? I was shocked and sick. It was terrible. I do not know what I have to do now.

Hien Nguyen
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    @HienNguyen: which airline were you flying on? What was your final destination? Did your itinerary require changing airports in London, or passing through UK border control for some other reason? – Michael Seifert Feb 04 '18 at 20:08
  • @MichaelSeifert both questions asked are answered by the duplicate. The actual question that needs to be asked is "was I wrongfully denied boarding, and if so how do I rectify that and claim due compensation?" –  Feb 04 '18 at 20:16
  • @Moo: Yeah, the question actually asked isn't the interesting one. (And upon further examination, I'm not sure that the OP was wrongfully denied boarding; but I'm also not sure how they managed a transit two years ago.) As far as the duplicate question goes, I can see your point (and have deleted my comment). However, note that this question does ask "have things changed since Brexit?", which isn't directly addressed over there as far as I can tell. – Michael Seifert Feb 04 '18 at 20:20
  • @MichaelSeifert the UK government website would have shown any change, and it isn't, so.... Brussels are talking out of their arse here, even Timatic says no visa is required in this instance. –  Feb 04 '18 at 20:24
  • The only possible situation here is if the op was not travelling with their EU spouse, as that's the requirement for a family member residence permit. But that's not a new change. –  Feb 04 '18 at 20:27
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    @Moo: Even so, having any EEA residence permit, for any reason, should exempt the OP from needing a visa for airside transit in the UK. Whether the spouse is also traveling would only be relevant if they're trying to enter the UK. My best guess right now would be that perhaps it was a landside transfer between separately booked flights and the inbound airline did not want to rely on the rules for landside transit-without-visa. – hmakholm left over Monica Feb 04 '18 at 20:47
  • @HenningMakholm I agree, but even landslide transfer has the same requirements as transit (I've done multiple Timatic searches on this, with loads of options - they are all the same with the Family Residence Card option). I think this is a wrongfully denied boarding incident and should be taken up with the airlines customer services team, and if that fails then a complaint to the Belgium aviation authority will certainly have a reaction. –  Feb 04 '18 at 21:03
  • Note that in my earlier comment about not travelling with the EU spouse was slightly wrong, they are also permitted under Timatic information to be travelling to meet the spouse. –  Feb 04 '18 at 21:04

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