Could I enter any European country WITHOUT a passport??

UOcUK Poopscoop · 9 May 2006 at 22:12

Not asking for me.

A friend of mine is genuinely worried that her ex partner would snatch her children and head for the Continent.

I am aware of the irony considering my sig but there's always a few rotten eggs that give everyone else a bad name.

Any info appreciated.

Ex-RoNiN · 9 May 2006 at 22:14

Most EU countries aer also signatories of the Shengen Treaty, thus a Driver's License or any other form of photographic ID (such as a National ID card) are sufficient for travel to a Shengen Member State.

Incidentally, the UK is not signed up, and as such you can not enter the UK without a passport.

UOcUK Poopscoop · 9 May 2006 at 22:14

Ex-RoNiN said:
Most EU countries aer also signatories of the Shengen Treaty, thus a Driver's License or any other form of photographic ID (such as a National ID card) are sufficient for travel to a Shengen Member State.

Incidentally, the UK is not signed up, and as such you can not enter the UK without a passport.

Would that treaty cover children?

Psyk · 9 May 2006 at 22:16

Ex-RoNiN said:
Incidentally, the UK is not signed up, and as such you can not enter the UK without a passport.

Does that mean that if you left without one, you wouldn't be able to come back?

Ex-RoNiN · 9 May 2006 at 22:17

UOcUK Poopscoop said:
Would that treaty cover children?

I don't know, I assume that if they are under a certain age, they do not require any documentation, and if they are above that age, they would require their own photographic identification, but this is merely conjecture.

You best chase this point up with an authority that may know.

Oblivious · 9 May 2006 at 22:17

Psyk said:
Does that mean that if you left without one, you wouldn't be able to come back?

Id imagine, it just means you would need to go through Immigration and satisfy them to who you are.

Ex-RoNiN · 9 May 2006 at 22:18

Psyk said:
Does that mean that if you left without one, you wouldn't be able to come back?

As far as I understand, they would not let you board a UK-bound flight without a passport.

Psyk · 9 May 2006 at 22:21

Ex-RoNiN said:
As far as I understand, they would not let you board a UK-bound flight without a passport.

But if you left the UK to go to say Germany, then they wouldn't let you on a flight back even though they let you leave the UK.

Ex-RoNiN · 9 May 2006 at 22:23

Psyk said:
But if you left the UK to go to say Germany, then they wouldn't let you on a flight back even though they let you leave the UK.

Precisely.

Although I just remembered my Spanish colleague went to Austria with us with his Spanish ID only, but he did manage to come back.

Hmmm :confused:

Killerkebab · 9 May 2006 at 22:28

You can't leave the UK without a passport either, can you?

I thought that since the UK didn't sign, you need a passport in both directions. I have always been asked for my passport to go to France.

POB · 9 May 2006 at 22:30

You can easily get to France without any passport.

On the ferry or eurotunnel, most of the time you never even get asked for a passport or ID when exiting the UK.

Kaed · 9 May 2006 at 22:32

Killerkebab said:
You can't leave the UK without a passport either, can you?

I thought that since the UK didn't sign, you need a passport in both directions. I have always been asked for my passport to go to France.

I've left the UK once without being asked for my passport, I was on a coach trip to Belgium - though coming back in I had to present it.

As for the OP - somewhere in the back of my mind isn't there an international treaty or something which if your child/children are taken and go to a country who has also signed the treaty, you must legally return them to the country from which you took them from - no doubt to attend a court hearing.

I remember a while ago the BBC did a documentary about a woman called Cara Gunn - who did pretty much the same thing - though that was with the US/UK - im sure the same treaty still stands regardless which country was involved?

EDIT - Ignore me, a quick google seems to suggest it's between the US and other countries rather than the UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3256510.stm

Charlie Bravo · 9 May 2006 at 22:32

You DO need a passport to go outside of the UK and tha includes children.

If you manage to get to another country and get refused entry, the airline is fined £2000 and the airline HAS to fly you back to where you came from.

I have also had to present my passport for inspection when using a ferry to go to France.

Lithium · 9 May 2006 at 22:35

only one way forward really, electronically tag those children now before its too late.

Nate--IRL-- · 9 May 2006 at 22:46

A passport is not needed for entry into the south of Ireland IIRC. From there it's the same situation as the UK, no entry to the continent without passport.

Nate

paul@ · 9 May 2006 at 23:18

You cannot enter any EU country without a passport but if the holder has a national ID card of ANY EU country then they can enter without any restrictions.

Hopefully one day UK will have the National ID scheme finished then you can forget your passport and use the ID card.

D.P. · 9 May 2006 at 23:25

If you take a ferry to france you basically don't need a passport, if you are on a coach you will need 1 (trust me, been there-done that, on a uni ski trip).

Hoping between borders on the continient you usually don't even stope and
there is never a passprot check, sometimes drug checks.

So, potentially, he could drive to Dover, get a ferry across, and be able to drive anywhere without any passport or ID being shown. Someitmes They check for passport or drivers license at ferry terminals.

tenchi-fan · 9 May 2006 at 23:26

It's possible to enter other EU countries without a passport. I regularly cross from the Republic of Ireland to the North and don't need a passport after all. I also crossed from Portugal to Spain without one.

Once in Europe, it's generally airport policy to require a passport but when you think about it, are they really going to be bothered checking if a child's passport is valid? The guy could pick up a couple of fake passports for a few thousand euro if he really wanted to.

Charlie Bravo · 9 May 2006 at 23:36

tenchi-fan said:
It's possible to enter other EU countries without a passport. I regularly cross from the Republic of Ireland to the North and don't need a passport after all. I also crossed from Portugal to Spain without one.

Once in Europe, it's generally airport policy to require a passport but when you think about it, are they really going to be bothered checking if a child's passport is valid? The guy could pick up a couple of fake passports for a few thousand euro if he really wanted to.

Spain & Portugal are both Schengen Countries hence no requirement to show a passport.

Yes you will check a childs passport. If the child is stopped further on after check in, at security or the gate for instance, then it will come back to the agent who checked the flight in. For the sake of 10 seconds, it's not worth the risk.

tenchi-fan · 10 May 2006 at 08:21

Charlie Bravo said:
If the child is stopped further on after check in, at security or the gate for instance, then it will come back to the agent who checked the flight in. For the sake of 10 seconds, it's not worth the risk.

Maybe, but people mess up the whole time and as I said, all the guy has to do is get a couple of fake passports.