AN 80-year-old man who has lived in the UK for 60 years was told he can stay for only six more months unless he proves his right to live here.
He was told to do this via a smartphone app he is unable to access.
And the paper version of the application for EU settled status that he requires will take six months to process, he was told.
Neville Pullicino, above, who has lived in Eastbourne for 40 years, is originally from Malta but came to the UK in the early 1960s to work in restaurants and hotels.
When he arrived, Malta was still a British colony. Now, he faces a labyrinth of bureaucracy which does not appear to allow for older people without internet access.
Mr Pullicino said he felt “like a criminal” after he was made to wait at Gatwick’s passport control in April and given a visa stamp allowing him to stay for only six months. He was unaware he had to take any action, having lived in the UK so long.
He returned to Gatwick from a trip to visit family in Malta on 20 April this year and was kept waiting for an hour and a half at passport control.
He was given a passport stamp (above) by Border Force staff allowing him only six months and “no recourse to public funds”. He is eligible for and receives pension credit.
“I told them I had all the right papers, but she didn’t take any notice – she was quite arrogant about it. She made me feel like I was a fugitive,” he said.
“I felt terrible. You feel you are being treated like a criminal. I have never been mistrusted like this.”
He was told he had to get help from a charity in Kent – a four-hour round train trip – to get help with applying for settled status.
Mr Pullicino has tried to seek help, but his Android phone will not work with the app he is required to use. He does not have a computer or internet access at home.
The retired hospitality worker, who lives in Eastbourne town centre, said he frequently visits family in Malta; he has never previously had problems nor been told he must apply to stay.
He previously returned from Malta in January 2023 after Christmas and New Year away and had no problem at passport control.
Mr Pullicino has worked at many of the big Eastbourne hotels, saying he remembered when they were busy all the year round with conferences and visitors. He was head wine waiter at the Cavendish Hotel and a silver service waiter at The Grand.
He is one of ten surviving siblings, six of whom still live in Malta and who he visits. He is the only family member in the UK.
Despite being told using the ‘EU exit: ID document check’ app on his smartphone was easy, his Android phone says it “will not work on this phone”. He said he did not know anyone with an up-to-date smartphone who could help him.
Mr Pullicino was put in touch with Compaid in Paddock Wood, near Tonbridge in Kent, a charity which helps older and disadvantaged people with technology.
But he faced having to attend in person with his paperwork, a journey involving a four-hour round trip and two changes of train each way.
However, Compaid obtained his details over the phone and a volunteer with an IT scheme run by East Sussex County Council helped by sending photographs. The volunteer also helped Mr Pullicino make a further application to the Windrush Scheme.
This was introduced in 2018 to allow Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 an opportunity to have free British citizenship without the requirement to pass a test or attend a ceremony.
Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964 but its citizens living in the UK had favoured status and full voting rights due to their status as both Commonwealth and EU citizens.
Since the UK left the EU in 2020, the situation for people from countries such as Malta and Cyprus is more difficult to ascertain.
The Citizens’ Advice website says of people originally from those countries:
“If you were living in the UK on or before 1 January 1973, you might not need to apply to stay in the UK. You might [our emphasis] have been given indefinite leave to remain without applying for it.
If you have indefinite leave to remain, you’ll usually have:
- a stamp or document in your passport
- a letter from the Home Office
- a residence permit with a biometric chip (known as a ‘biometric residence permit’)”
Mr Pullicino said he does not have any of these documents and said he has never been told he needs anything more than his Maltese passport.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”
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