A Maltese woman and her seven-year-old son have been stranded in London after a trip to Portugal despite changes to strict COVID-19 travel restrictions for unvaccinated people.

“I have unexpectedly ended up in London from what had to be a relaxing family holiday in the Azores and Portugal. I’ve been stranded abroad with my 7-year old son because of the sudden change in legislation imposed by the Maltese government,” the woman wrote on social media.

“The airlines won’t let us fly back to Malta without a vaccine passport. We have taken a total of six PCR tests during the past seven days.”

The woman has emailed health authorities to authorise their return, but instead have received an automated email highlighting recent changes to regulations, which imposes a mandatory quarantine on new arrivals.

“This means that we have to yet wait for another week to receive a reply from the vetting team in hope of providing us with the necessary email to be able to return home,” she said.

“I’m a taxpayer, a Maltese citizen, and a professional contributor to a government entity – and the least we are expecting is a form of mutual support by the system.”

“We’re living minute by minute not knowing what’s going to happen with us and whether we would ever be allowed back into our country.”

At present, all non-resident arrivals coming into Malta without a COVID-19 vaccine certificate must quarantine at a hotel. Residents of Malta can choose to quarantine at an alternative residence, on approval of the Superintendent of Public Health.

However, reports of a COVID-19 bureaucratic nightmare unfolding have been a constant since regulations were first introduced. Lovin Malta has received countless stories from people caught inside the administrative headache amidst ever-changing regulations. 

One man living in Malta has been waiting for almost two months to get clearance from health authorities to travel to visit his unwell father who is now in critical condition. 

Another man’s Russian wife is also stranded in Moscow after strict travel restrictions.