I wonder if using his Aust passport to enter instead of the UK passport would have made things easier. I speak as someone in exactly the same position, and have considered doing just that but am yet to do so. Given that I may be able to use the EU's e-gates more regularly with an Aust passport makes me wonder I am yet to do this.....

There will also be a lot of annoyed British people travelling with under 12s in the queue.

I had similar in Prague last month. On entry the officer was definitely flicking back and forth seemingly trying to reconcile the dates. Can't remember the same on the way out, I think they just stamped and waved me on.

I had similar at BUD last week - they typically haven’t looked all that closely in the past, but the officer had a close look at all my stamps. No questions, though.

I do not think that you have thought this through. Of course, the resources issue is crucial. The problem would not be that Europeans would have to queue longer. It would be that the airport would be unable to operate safely due to excessive crowds. You would have to either redesign the airport and substantially increase the number of borderforce staff (assuming that you can find that staff, which is very far from a given) or reduce the number of people allowed to board UK-bound flights (in other words, reduce the number of flights). It would be a colossal example of inanely stupid policy of the cutting-your-nose-to-spite-your-face kind.

Cough.... eight and a half years' experience of that...

Sorry Honey - I have certainly seen gates for Uk passport holders at Alicante when arriving BA, and certainly at Roissy (CDG). I confess myself amazed at what happened to him. However, I always enter Europe (Schengen on my French passport and Him Indoors on his Irish passports. Maybe it is to do with EU entry post Brexit. I now use my French passport to give to the French or wherever police when leaving Schengen and my UK passport when I arrive in the UK.

If I missed thei BAfan Love - did they offer him any explanation for this extraordinary behaviour? I have known the Swedish police waiting on the jetway when we flew in from Madrid. As this has happened to corporate-wage-slave who was coming from the same location. Maybe Spanish arrivals have their antennae twitching.?

... well yes, so definitely no need to double-down on it.

I was in Gothenburg recently and immigration were asking all passengers from my BA flight about the purpose of their trip, evidence of funds and return bookings, hotel stays and so on. For such a relatively small airport, it took ages to get through, mainly as people had to find emails or booking confirmations on their phones. On a trip to Madrid and Nice a few weeks later, no questions were asked.

I don't think this is an EU/Schengen thing as such but more so down to the individual airport/country on how they process non-Schengen passengers.

It would be quicker to allow UK passengers to use e-gates, followed by a stamp by a passport officer at a booth - I've seen this done in Lisbon and Alicante for UK passport holders and it works well

I've had a few bits of questioning at GOT and ARN.
Where I'm staying, how long, proof of return ticket etc. Have had to show tickets, booking emails etc. one one or two occasions.
One reason why I avoid the short connections at HEL. A few minutes of questioning and you can miss a flight.

The question still remains if he had valid travel documents, a confirmed hotel stay and a return ticket out of the country, why was he denied entry?

Last time I went to Oslo the lady at border control flipped through my almost full passport full of stamps and just said “You must watch your days in Europe my friend. You must watch. Are you counting? I hope you are counting”

All with no time to respond. Stamped and through I went.

I was given a piece of knowledge that may prove useful and it has proved correct on several occasions.

If you are able to choose who you go to...be it an immigration officer or a customs officer...always choose the oldest ones.

The younger ones have everything to prove to their bosses and are keen to make an impression.The older ones couldn't give a toss as they are relatively senior in their role and don't have anything to prove.

The older ones in my experience won't interrogate as much, if at all.

Happened to me at HEL the last week. After I entered HEL, I tried to locate the stamp but it was so hard to find it even though the stamp was very clear and not over other stamps. I carefully checked all the pages, and finally found after 10 min or so.

When I was leaving HEL, the office could not find the entry stamp and asked me when it was. However, he was still struggling to find it and I roughly remembered where the stamp was. He finally found it and happily stamped. It's not only me, but I cannot explain why the particular stamp was not easily found!