‘Horrendous’ British woman allegedly detained overnight in Spain over Brexit rule

Brexit: British expat discusses difficulty of living in Spain

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Sonia Steptoe regularly visits Spain on holiday as she has a house there. Her stepmother who lives in Spain is unwell and Sonia often travels to take care of her.

Sonia told Express.co.uk she initially travelled to Spain in August for a short holiday at her Spanish home.

However, after catching Covid she became unwell and was unable to travel back to the UK until November.

Unknowingly, Sonia had stayed in Spain for longer than 90 days. Since Brexit, British citizens are only allowed to be in Spain for 90 days out of every 180.

Sonia said: “I was obviously a bit naive but I wasn’t aware that I’m only allowed to stay in Spain for 90 days. I didn’t know anything had changed.”

Sonia said that her passport was stamped at border control when she entered Spain and stamped when she left in November.

She said: “When I left in November, nobody made it clear to me that I’d overstayed despite having to stamp my passport.”

Sonia said she had decided to travel back to Spain for Christmas. As her stepmother is unwell, Sonia intended to care for her and recuperate a little from her own struggle with long Covid symptoms.

She said: “I’d booked my flight home for January 20 and filled out all the various forms you had to do to travel now.”

As soon as she reached border control at Madrid airport, Sonia said border guards told her to wait.

She told Express.co.uk: “They said there was a problem and I would have to go back to England.

“They said I’d stayed longer than 90 days. That was the first time I’d heard about that rule. I told them I wouldn’t have travelled if that had been highlighted to me.

“I told them I’d had Covid and been too sick to travel and I didn’t know I needed to do anything.

“I was interviewed by the Border Police a couple of times and I was then taken to an interview situation where I was given a lawyer and a translator.

“And the lawyer said to me I should file an appeal. He said the situation was really ridiculous and I would find out about the appeal in the morning.”

Sonia said she was then told she would have to be taken to a Spanish detention centre overnight.

She claimed: “That was absolutely horrible, horrifying. I’m a professional person, I’ve never been in a situation like that ever. I was just treated like a criminal.

“Everyone just thought it was really hysterical that someone from the UK was being detained.”

At the centre, Sonia said: “They take everything off you and electronics aren’t allowed, even a mobile phone. Perfume, everything was taken. You sleep in bunks.”

Sonia said most of the people detained at the centre were South American. She said: “They were very pleasant but obviously as none of them spoke English we couldn’t really communicate.

“I think the guards said I was the first person they’d had who was English.

Sonia said she takes daily medication due to health issues which she had packed in her suitcase.

She told Express.co.uk she was told she would have to go without her pills for the day.

She alleged: “I told them I can’t do that because it’s not safe for me. They said I couldn’t have my suitcase but I would get medical attention.”

After arriving at the centre, Sonia said she asked about seeing a doctor a couple of times but no one could give her a firm answer.

She said: “By then it was about 12 o’clock so I went to bed because I was so tired.

“Then at about two in the morning, I was driven halfway across the airport to talk with an emergency doctor.

“He could only prescribe emergency medication and I wasn’t sure if that would be safe for me or not due to possible allergies.

“I speak Spanish but it was all so confusing and since I’ve had Covid, my cognitive abilities have been a bit slower than normal.”

Sonia said she asked staff about her appeal and requested to have something in writing.

She said: “In the morning no one said anything about my appeal even though I was asking.”

“If I’d known I was doing something wrong, I would never have gone back into Spain at all.

“I’ve got nothing in writing from them. I haven’t even got a number for the lawyer that they gave me.

“I can travel back 90 days after the date that I left but it is a bit nerve wracking getting on a plane to Spain again.

“I’m sure I’m not going to be the first or the last person because I expect other people also don’t know about the rule. It was absolutely horrendous.”

Express.co.uk had contacted the Spanish Interior Ministry for comment on Sonia’s case.

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