EU nationals living in Jersey reminded to carry letter to avoid travel "horror stories" - Jersey Evening Post
by Julien Morel · Jersey Evening PostPosted inNews
EU nationals living in Jersey reminded to carry letter to avoid travel “horror stories”
by Julien Morel 3 August 202631 July 2026
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ISLANDERS who are not British nationals but have the right to live in Jersey are being reminded to take practical steps to avoid potentially being refused boarding after several “horror stories” following the introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisation.
More than 17,000 Islanders have ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status, meaning they are EU citizens but have permission to live and work in Jersey. This came out of Brexit, before which EU citizens had the automatic right to live in the Island.
However, their ability to return home unhindered took an unhelpful twist in March when the UK ETA was introduced. EU nationals travelling to the UK’s Common Travel Area, which includes Ireland and the Crown Dependencies, now need an ETA but those with settled status do not.
The UK is issuing digital immigration permissions to its 6 million settled-status residents, but Jersey and the other Crown Dependencies are not yet part of that system.
With the arrival of ETAs, check-in agents at ports and airports are now liable to a fine if they allow a passenger to travel into the CTA without permission.
With many staff oblivious to the quirks of Jersey’s relationship with the UK, some Islanders have been refused travel when they try to check-in – despite their protestations that they have the right to travel without an ETA.
Jersey Customs and Immigration head Rhiannon Small told the JEP that her team was working hard on finding a solution – but non-British EU citizens with settled status could help mitigate any complication with a few steps.
These include making sure they carried the letter, issued by her office, to present to check-in staff should they question their right to travel; informing JCIS if they have a new passport – so that number matches the details on its database, and the letter; always checking in with a person rather than electronically so any issues are flagged as early as possible; and to give yourself plenty of time at the port for issues to be resolved.
Mrs Small said: “We are still hearing reports of people encountering difficulties returning to the Island, where they have an immigration permission that is issued in a different way to the UK’s digital version.
“We are advising people to travel with the letters we have given them, which demonstrates that they have been granted settled status by us.
“The issue is that the ground handling staff of airlines are not always recognising those letters, even though they are valid and widely recognised. We have engaged at length, and for a considerable period of time, with the UK Home Office and with airlines to make sure that people are aware that Jersey immigration permissions are valid for travel into the CTA.”
Mrs Small said that JCIS and new Home Affairs Minister Helen Miles, like her predecessor, were treating this issue as a top priority. She added that Jersey intended to join the UK’s digital immigration system but the integration of the Crown Dependencies “was on a slightly different timeline”.
Mrs Small said that there were no official figures on how many Islanders had been refused boarding but she, like many, had heard “horror stories” of people having to buy new flights and stay extra nights away, with little or no help from their airline.
As an example, one Islander commented on Facebook recently: “Try explaining to the airport staff in Bodrum, Turkey, who have never heard of Jersey and completely ignored settled status emails and printed confirmation.
“We have only just returned after being initially denied boarding, having to purchase new flights and being bullied into buying ETAs. No one in [the] consulate or immigration was able to help or respond to our emails either, leaving us practically stranded and totally up to our own devices.”
The Customs head said that the service was working on a long-term solution with the Home Office, as well as seeking an interim technical solution, and, thirdly, talking to as many carriers as it could about the valid Jersey permissions.
She added that people being refused entry should ask their carrier to contact the 24/7 UK Border Force ‘carrier support hub’, which is able to check immigration status at any time.
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