David Toropu and his mum Christina have been stuck in Romania after UK border officials refused to let him board a flight home from Italy due to post-Brexit residency documentation issuesOlivia Bridge Reporter in Live News Network, Bryana Francis Reporter and Emma O’Neill Content Editor
13:20, 09 Apr 2026
(Image: Chris Baker/Walesonline)
A nine year old boy from Cardiff has been stranded abroad for several days after UK border officials prevented him from boarding a flight back home.
David Toropu and his mother, Christina, have since remained stuck in Romania, unable to return due to a recent change in regulations.
Making the most of the Easter break, David, Christina, her husband and her stepson enjoyed a four-night trip to Venice, where they took part in a rugby tour. The family then made their way to Milan airport for the return flight home to London Gatwick on Thursday (April 2) when David was told he would not be permitted to board.
Christina says she was informed that UK border control had no record of David’s UK residency, despite him having been born in Wales and attending school there, reports Wales Online. The issue appeared to stem from a Brexit rule change and confusion surrounding David’s residency status.
The Welsh schoolboy holds a Romanian passport, with his parents having relocated to the UK a year before he was born. His mother explained how both she and David’s father are Romanian nationals – his father has settled status while his mother has pre-settled status, reports the Liverpool Echo.
(Image: Chris Baker/Walesonline)
Christina explained: “I wasn’t aware that I needed to apply for his own status because since he was born in 2016 after seven years of continuous residency he was supposed to get automatic British citizenship.
“Because I thought that was given automatically to him he wouldn’t need to have his own settled or pre-settled status since he would have dual citizenship. However, the rules have changed since Brexit and I wasn’t aware of that.”
With her son unable to travel home, Christina was forced to remain in Italy with him while her stepson and husband returned to the UK to enable him to attend school and her husband to resume work. The mother and son spent two additional nights in Italy but have since travelled to Romania where they are staying with relatives until David is able to return home.
The family, who have been separated across the continent, have no idea when they will be reunited.
Christina said: “The UK border said they didn’t hold any record of David ever being in the UK but he goes to school, he’s enrolled in many public things like football, his GP is in the UK, his whole life is over there. He’s only left the UK once when he was two years old for two weeks.
“Since he was denied I’ve had multiple panic attacks, I’m losing my head and I can’t stop crying. He’s used to his routines, his comfort in his house and everything that is his normal life.
“He heard the whole conversation of him being refused at the border and he was asking what was going to happen to him. In his mind he was thinking they were going to take me back to the UK and leave him in Italy.” At the airport, Christina attempted to resolve the situation by applying for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), but as the visa is intended for travel to the UK rather than residency, and his registered address is within the UK, immigration control maintained that he was unable to travel back.
She is now concerned that resolving the situation could result in David missing significant amounts of school and her missing vital health appointments back in the UK.
Christina is also troubled by the considerable costs she has incurred as a result of the mix-up, having spent around £2,000 on hotel rooms, flights and applications in under a week.
She said: “We have made a really big dent into our savings and the rugby team my stepson plays for has created a gofundme to try and help us with the costs. In the Italian hotel we had the cheapest and smallest room and it cost £157 a night by itself.”
David’s constituency MP, Alex Davies-Jones, told WalesOnline: “I’m really concerned to hear about David’s situation, and I’ve been in contact with his family to offer support. This is clearly a very distressing experience for both David and his mum.
“My office is doing everything we can to assist the family in resolving this as quickly as possible, and I will continue to support them in any way I can to help bring David home safely.” In February, the UK government launched a new travel system that altered the rules for numerous visitors and dual nationals entering the country. Under the system, dual nationals are now required to present either a British passport or a new digital version of the certificate of entitlement to the right of abode, or they risk being refused entry.
Previously, dual nationals were able to travel to the UK without such a certificate, using their non-British passport. Certificates of entitlement are not automatically issued, meaning some individuals have spent decades living in the UK and have never previously needed to apply for one.
The government is therefore urging dual nationals to either apply for a British passport, which costs approximately £100 for an adult, or a certificate of entitlement, which costs £589.
A spokesperson from the Home Office said the necessary documentation has now been granted.