Passports

[flyingphil1]

We are UK based pilots (2 British 1 Irish) going to La Touquet.
The Irish and English people had passports but the other Englishman had only a photo ID by way of Driving Licence, we were told by the tower thats OK.
We were met by Immigration who on this occasion allowed us free entry with the proviso it wont happen again!
The Captain (its his responsibility) faces a £2000 fine for this offence.
I am not a Lawyer but am assured this is correct .... Take care........ carry that Passport!

[Genghis the Engineer]

I once turned up at a certain UK regional to fly to a JAA meeting in Brussels, having inadvertently forgotten my passport.

The airline staff were great, and got an agreement from UK immigration that they'd be happy to let me back in the next day. However, Brussells (centre of the European superstate!) were quite clear on the point that regardless of what other ID I had, they weren't allowing me in the country!

So, I drove home, got the passport, and made a later flight.

G

[bingoboy]

When are we going to join the EEC, does a Frenchman who lives on the border of Belgium need a passport to drive over the border to do his shopping ?

[TotalBeginner]

When are we going to join the EEC, does a Frenchman who lives on the border of Belgium need a passport to drive over the border to do his shopping ?

No, because France and Belgium are both part of the Schengen agreement.

The Schengen states are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

The Schengen Agreement came into force on 26 March, 1995. It
is an agreement between several member states of the
European Union (EU) concerning the removal of immigration
control for travel within their collective territories. This
creates a "borderless" region known as the "Schengen area"
and consequently changes the procedures for entering or
connecting in all of the Schengen states, as well as for
travelling between them.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Probably about the same time that Britain pulls the finger out and introduces an Identity Card that is accepted as a viable alternative. Both France and Belgium have be an ID card system.
:)
We have, it's called a British passport!
G

[dublinpilot]

A collegue traveling by light aircraft across Europe forgot his passport. He had his drivers licence. He called the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs after landing, who assured him that a driving licence was sufficient for travel within the EU, and left him a 24 hour help line number in case of any problems.

When the French asked for his passport he gave them his drivers licence, and then never passed any comment.

We too are outside the Schengen zone.

dp

[TotalBeginner]

He called the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs after landing, who assured him that a driving licence was sufficient for travel within the EU

Strange, I've just checked the Passport requirements for France, and Ireland (rep) is not included in the exemptions list so I'm surprised that they gave him that advice. Not suprised that nobody took any notice though.

[scooter boy]

I landed in Jersey early on Thursday morning to fill up with cheap fuel on the way to Italy.
When it came time to pay for the fuel for 5 horrible minutes I managed to convince myself that I had forgotted passport, credit cards, licenses, A/C documents and all my cash on the kitchen table at home - even phoned the Mrs on the mainland to ask her to look for it for me. Fortunately it was all in a deep pocket of one of my rather rapidly packed bags.
Could have been embarrasing though.

SB

[flyingphil1]

Not sure why but apparently you dont need a passport if coming from Ireland anyone know why is it the luck of the Irish ..?

[WHBM]

Not sure why but apparently you dont need a passport if coming from Ireland anyone know why is it the luck of the Irish ..?
If travelling between Ireland and Britain there is a longstanding agreement called the "Common Travel Area" which dates back to the separation of Ireland in 1921, which says the citizens of either country do not need passports to travel to the other. It also allows each to work in the other's country without work permits, etc.

If you travel by land between Dublin and Belfast across the border, not only are there no controls but you cannot tell even where the border is (apart from your mobile phone ringing with "Welcome to Vodafone UK/Ireland" when you are about a mile inside ! ).

There are all sorts of inconsistencies with this. Firstly if you are not a citizen of either country you do theoretically need to show your passport, but there is nobody at the land border to show it to. Then the Irish at major airports now ask for passports from all incoming UK pax, in violation of the agreement, as they seem unable to segregate the pax into separate streams (arriving back in the UK the rules are applied correctly, pax are segregated and passports are not asked for). Also there are differences between the VAT regimes of both countries which are exploited by smugglers across the undefended border. Presumably the loss of tax is less than it would cost to do customs checks.

[flyingphil1]

You appear knowledgable on this .. what happens if the Irish citizen, living in the U.K. goes to France .. does he have to carry an Irish passport to get back in to the U.K.? It's a good idea for all cpts to check passports first

[TotalBeginner]

You appear knowledgable on this .. what happens if the Irish citizen, living in the U.K. goes to France .. does he have to carry an Irish passport to get back in to the U.K.? It's a good idea for all cpts to check passports first

.....National IRELAND (REPUBLIC OF) (IE)
Destination UNITED KINGDOM (GREAT BRITAIN) (GB)

UNITED KINGDOM (GREAT BRITAIN)


Flights from/to United Kingdom to/from Channel Islands,
Ireland (Rep. of) and the Isle of Man are domestic flights.
Therefore, there is no Immigration control.

If arriving from outside the above-mentioned areas:
passport required.
Visa not required.

Non-compliance with entry requirements(incl. forged documents)
will result in fines for carrier of GBP 2,000.- per visitor
and either deportation or indefinite delay for visitor at
point of entry (detention costs at carrier's expense).......


I would say that's a yes!

[flyingphil1]

Well I guess we are all clear on that ... dont rely on other documents .. always carry a passport!!!

[TotalBeginner]

Well I guess we are all clear on that ... dont rely on other documents .. always carry a passport!!!

I'll second that! There are so many different interpretations of the rules that sometimes it's just easier to use your PPT

[julian_storey]

Obviously we are required to carry passports when we go to France and I always do.

It is interesting though to note the differing levels of enthusiasm for checking passports in different French Airports. I have been to Le Touquet loads of times and can't remember ever having been asked to show my passport. In Deauvile though it is markedly different. They always want to see everyone's passports and as I recall, on one occasion wanted to see my pilots licence!

[norilsk]

There was a time some years ago when licences still had photos, the front page had a line which said "The holder may at all times re-enter the UK & NI"