Flying with a photocopy of a passport

[olivermbs]

Hi all,

I am interested in flying from Austria to Berlin next week however my passport is currently in Italy. I asked at the airport here in Austria and they said a photocopy of my passport (which I could get someone to send me via e-mail) would be enough. Can anyone comfirm this? Would I have any problems in Germany with this? I was told my British drivers license would not be sufficient.

[PAXboy]

Speaking as a non expert in this - just 45 years as a pax - the answer is NOT A CHANCE! In this day and age when passports are regularly faked, no one is going to accept that.

[Mimpe]

Id ring customs and immigration immediately.
I had heard of this situation before but only in the context of a lost passport, immediately reported.

They would have a sytem for helping airline professionals quickly I expect..in urgent situations passports I think they have some temporary thing they can do.

[cavortingcheetah]

This might help assuming your passport is a UK one.
Germany travel advice
I spend a great deal of time in Germany and I never actually carry my passport around with me but then I am never further away than two hours drive from where it is kept. I always carry a photocopy. I simply reckon that the trouble I will get into with the German police for not carrying the original is less than the trouble I'll get into with the Afghanistan embassy to get a new document if my passport were stolen.
Perhaps DHL is your friend?

[Three Thousand Rule]

You are travelling between two Schengen countries, which means that you do not cross an international boundary.

You face two potential problems;

1 - the ID your airline requires to let you board the aircraft

2 - if stopped by the local police, you will not be able to provide proof of ID

Additionally, you will not be able to hire a car in Germany or do anything else that requires proof of ID - your UK driving licence is not proof of ID, as you have already been informed.

I agree with the last poster, get your passport couriered to you, travelling without it is not wise.

[olivermbs]

Thanks for the replies. I have called up Cologne and Berlin and they are not happy to accept a photocopy of a passport (as to be expected I guess). Courier looks like my only choice, even though it may too long.

Thanks anyways for the pointers

[bedsted]

I came from France to the UK with a French citizen (by boat) recently, who was allowed in with a photo ID.

[notlangley]

The passport does seem to be the most acceptable i/d that is around._ This is despite the fact that it does not have the person’s address in it._ To go off-topic slightly, in Australia it is necessary when buying a mobile SIM card to produce either a passport or an Australian driving licence (other documents are accepted but these are also documents that only an Australian will possess)._ A UK driving licence is unacceptable._ Not even the International driving licence is on the list of acceptable documents._ And as an ironic footnote, a UK address is not acceptable, it has to be an address within Australian - I give them my son’s address when I buy an Australian SIM card (I was told that the computer cannot cope with UK postcodes).

Sorry mod for drifting off-topic - but it does emphasise the special status of the passport.

Olivermbs is very sensible to have made a photocopy of his passport which helps enormously if the original is lost or seriously unavailable.

[Three Thousand Rule]

Bedsted

French citizens can enter the UK using an ID card. UK citizens cannot do this, as the UK does not issue ID cards.

Not Langley

An international driving licence is basically a standardised translation of a driving licence (usually required because the original has a non roman script) and as such is not recognised as a form of ID.

If on doesn't wish to carry a passport (once in a country), a good workaround is to make a high quality scan and laminate it. I have a credit card sized scan of the ID page.

Of course, this is not complying with the law in some coutries, but like cavorting cheetah, I feel that so long as my passport is within easy reach (usually the hotel reception safe), then most cops will be reasonable about this, as they understand the risks of losing a passport and also that some criminals target these types of document, which is neither in theirs nor your interests.

[notlangley]

Thanks Three thousand Rule._ We do a lot of driving in overseas countries where it is the law to have one's driving licence in the car._ Basically I use an International Driving licence because if I ever were to forget and leave it behind in a foreign car then nothing important would have been lost._ The only reaction I ever had from overseas police was horror as the police-lady silently envisaged a disproportionate amount of paper work.

[JWP1938]

Slightly off topic: during the 80s and 90s wife and I used to go to Florida just about every other year and usually took travellers cheques. When paying for things we were naturally asked for ID. In EVERY case our passports were rejected as proof of ID and always had to show our UK driving licences - (which were acceptable) even though this was before we had photo ID card licences.

[JUAN TRIPP]

Once handed in my UK driving licence in the States as form of I.D. The girl checked it and then handed it back with the reply - ' Thanks Mr. UK, ( as in Ukkk) have a nice day'. I didn't get it straight away, and so asked her why she had called me MR. UK.
' Isn't that your name in the corner of the licence Sir' came the reply. Really couldn't be asked to tell her No!!!! Made us laugh all day that one

[Heathrow Cargo]

This thread reminded me of this:

BBC News - The mystery of Ireland's worst driver

[OFSO]

Carrying a photocopy of a passport - note that if you do this in Spain, the copy has to be notarised (by a certfier who has seen the original).

[bedsted]

Three Thousand Rule wrote:
'Bedsted, French citizens can enter the UK using an ID card.'

That is what I said in my post #7 wasn't it?

[Chuchinchow]

Slightly off-topic (so what else is new?), I tried earlier today to buy an item from an Israeli website.

My name, address and credit card details were accepted without any problems, but then I was asked for my Israeli identity card number! They must lose an awful lot of business that way.

[Three Thousand Rule]

Bedsted

You didn't actually say 'ID card', you said 'Photo ID.

Now it is clear you meant ID card

[L'aviateur]

Quite unusual, because Ive travelled extensively throughout the schengen area just on my UK Drivers license, no problems.

[Three Thousand Rule]

L'Aviateur

Have you hired a car in Germany with just your passport? That's the deceptive thing about Schengen, until you need to prove your ID it seems that you dont need it.

[Chuchinchow]

I am one of the ~ twelve thousand Brits who like the idea of a national identity card sufficiently to have bought one.

It sat quietly in my wallet, ready to be proffered when entering a Schengen Zone country - just like the citizens of many other EC countries. It also saved me a hell of a lot of time when re-entering the UK, as I could use the IRIS line at border control.

Then along came that infernal busybody, David Cameron, and made an enormous fuss and bother and cancelled the darned thing!