Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi says Ryanair worker in Brussels wrongly took issue with her travel documents
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi won the Windham-Campbell literature prize in 2018 and the Commonwealth short story prize in 2014.Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi won the Windham-Campbell literature prize in 2018 and the Commonwealth short story prize in 2014.Last modified on Thu 2 Jun 2022 18.05 BST
Makumbi, who has been a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and Lancaster University, was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2012 and British citizenship this year. She applied for a British passport in April and was waiting for an appointment. “I tried to explain to this guy, but he just did not even look at me or give me a moment to explain. He just said we’re not going anywhere.”
“They told me: ‘You are absolutely right, you are a British resident and you should have travelled, but you have fallen between the cracks.’ The problem is that the person who stops you at check-in is not an immigration officer so they don’t fully understand the British system of visas,” she said.