Bolton family left stranded after mix-up in travel documents

Jose and Ornanjana Martinho along with their five-year-old daughter Alisha travelled to the tourist hotspot to see family for the first time since the pandemic.

They spent two weeks in the country, Jose’s homeland, having no issues at immigration, but have been unable to back to their home in Bolton because of a confusion over documents held by Ornanjana.

The couple met on a dating website and Ornanjana moved from Thailand to be with Jose. They couple have lived in Bolton for more than a decade.

A well-known face in Ciao Napoli in Bolton town centre, Jose, aged 47, said: “I had not seen my sister, who lives in Portugal, my nephews I haven’t seen them, for three years.

“I would be able to see my sister and friends I grew up with, had been looking forward for a long time.

“I was telling every customer who came in that I’m going back.”

The family have jobs and school that they need to get back into the UK for (Image: Jose Martinho)

He continued: “It was great, we had two weeks of sun, beaches, swimming pools, eating out, seeing family.

“My daughter was enjoying every bit of it, she loves water. Three years is a long time to wait, she was only two when she last came, met her cousins, not that she can probably remember it.

“Everything went fine, then we headed to the airport and the nightmare began.”

Now the couple are calling for clearer information about travel documents, especially as Ornanjana, aged 43, had no problem entering Portugal.

Jose and Ornanjana had applied for a Schengen Visa before going to Portugal, as they knew she would need it to get there.

Schengen is the EU passport-free zone that covers many European countries. The Schengen Visa is the short-stay visa that enables a person to travel to members of the Schengen Area, which Portugal is part of.

Jose said: “There was no mention of needing a different visa to get back.

“We had to show settlement approval to make sure she’s allowed to be in England.”

On the day of their planned departure, the family got to the airport in good time.

The family travelled to Portugal for a break, and to see Jose's family, who they hadn't seen for three years (Image: Jose Martinho)

Jose said: “My sister’s partner drove us over. We got there in plenty of time.

“Just as we got to the desk where you do the check in, we gave the lady our passports.

“I had the settlement ready on my phone. Then the lady on the desk sent us to the Ryanair desk where you check immigration status.

“We walked over and showed the lady our passports and showed the immigration status.

“She said no, that’s not enough and that they require a travel permit.”

He continued: “I stood there begging for her to check, she was on the phone, maybe to a manager, but came back and said no sorry, there’s nothing we can do.

“It makes you think, it’s okay to be in England working, but not to travel. It’s like letting someone live in your house but not giving them the key.”

Jose and Ornanjana have since had to apply for the visa in Portugal and will have to travel to Lisbon from the south of Portugal to complete admin.

Jose said: “That’s the problem, we have no idea when we’re going to get home. I don’t know how long the process will take.

“My wife has a shop, I’m going to have to use our money to pay her rent. I have a job to go back to.

“Our daughter has the same thing with the school.”

He continued: “I know the rules are there, but there should be more information, so people don’t find themselves in the same situation.

“We had the settlement, we thought that was it.”

A spokesman for Ryanair said: ““This passenger was correctly denied travel on this flight from Faro to Manchester (07 Sept) as she did not present a valid physical biometric residence card – a UK Government requirement for entry to the UK.”