A 15-year-old British girl was stranded in Italy for six weeks after visiting her grandmother, unable to return to school in the UK due to a new Home Office policy.
The policy requires dual nationals to present a British passport, which the girl did not have.
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The incident occurred in April, causing her to miss six weeks of education.
Rowan Somerville, the girl's father and an author, criticized the Home Office and Foreign Office for their lack of assistance.
"The embassy, the Home Office and the Foreign Office bounced us from one to another," he said.
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Somerville expressed frustration over the bureaucratic handling, stating, "They are playing with people’s lives, a child’s education. It is loathsome."
He noted that the Home Office could not issue a temporary passport because his daughter lacked a British passport.
The girl's school also reached out to government departments for help. Local MP Joe Powell intervened, eventually securing an emergency travel document.
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Powell remarked, "Despite having a British parent, two valid passports, and having been at school in the UK since nursery, changes to Home Office rules resulted in her being stuck in Rome and missing six weeks of school."
