Marta, detained at the airport in London and repatriated because without a visa

It seemed to her like the plot of a movie: the airport check, the searches, the solitary confinement in the cell. Instead, that’s what really happened to her: Marta Lomartire, from Puglia, a 24-year-old recent graduate, who had flown to London to be an au pair at the home of her doctor cousin, was detained at Heathrow airport and is ended up in the cell for a whole night, before being sent back to Italy. His “fault”? Having forgotten to have a visa to enter the United Kingdom.

It happened to several European citizens: about a dozen, according to Guardian.

What happened?
“Once I arrived at Heathrow airport, elated and happy, around 6.30pm, I presented the documentation I had prepared based on the information I had gathered. But apparently a visa was missing. And I was taken to the Border Force offices at the airport. ‘

Did they explain to her why they were holding her?
“At first I spoke to an officer who seemed annoyed that I didn’t understand everything he was saying, then I met other guards who helped me, speaking more slowly. I also asked for a Google translator ».

Did he call home?
“Not right away: they removed my suitcase, which they searched very carefully, and my bag. They also stole my cell phone. I then managed to talk to my parents asking to be able to call from a pay phone, under the surveillance of the airport agents. I’ve been searched countless times, fingerprinted and mugshots taken. And I, who previously thought that the situation could be resolved quickly, I began to be afraid ».

Then?
«They gave me an old phone, with an English Sim that did not allow international calls: I used it to notify my cousin. I stayed in the Border Force offices until 4 am, in a guarded room. There were mattresses for bed, but I, who was very tense, remained seated on a chair. Then a guard told me they would take me to a detention center. Well, they called it a prison. ‘

What happened in the detention center?
“They put me in a cell with three beds, a small window with bars and an armored door. I begged the officers not to close the door: I suffer from claustrophobia, I couldn’t have endured this too. And, fortunately, I was listened to ».

Didn’t he still have his personal effects?
“No: they gave me sheets to sleep on, but I would never have been able to. The next morning I discovered that there were other girls blocked because of the visa. I met them in a common room. To go out into the garden, however, we had to be escorted by the guards ».

There was also a compatriot.
“Yes, a girl who had been there for four days, and who was really tried. She then returned to Italy the day after me ».

She returned home that day.
“Yes, at 3 pm I left the detention center and my plane took off at 7 pm”.

Why didn’t he have that visa?
“Because I didn’t know it was needed. I had the passport, a negative swab result, the passenger locator forms and the reservation for two swabs that I would do once in London, the second and eighth days of quarantine. I wouldn’t have delayed getting another document too, if I’d known it was needed. ‘

Will he return to London?
“On the one hand I am still traumatized, but on the other I would like to go back to England because I have done nothing wrong, and I cannot accept being treated like a criminal.”