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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To travel out of the UK without my passport being checked once

75 replies

funnyface31 · 15/04/2015 13:52

Just back from a girls weekend and not once was my passport checked leaving. We didn't have hold bags so it was just boarding passes until the gate.

It has made me think how relaxed security is and also how scary it is too!

OP posts:

EatSleepSwimRepeat · 15/04/2015 14:35

I managed to get to Slovenia (driving through 8 countries) last summer without my passport/identity being checked. The Eurotunnel just waved our vehicle through and none of the countries we went through had border control.

We did have to go through passport control in Folkestone to get back into the UK.

DayLillie · 15/04/2015 14:41

We didn't need to show passports to leave through Calais in a coach; the coach co had a list and that was enough.

Coming back though, we had to get out, line up to go through a thorough passport control, whilst they searched the coach for stowaways.

mummytime · 15/04/2015 14:54

I would believe it if you drove/went by coach etc.

But at an airport - you have to pass through security to get to the international departures. In fact its hard to fly within the UK without a passport nowadays.

NotYouNaanBread · 15/04/2015 14:58

Totally possible. I have flown from Paris to Dublin without any passport at all. I think that the attitude was "Sure, you're obviously Irish". That flight was Aer Lingus, but Ryanair are trying to phase out passports where possible, I think - when you land in Stansted there is no immigration because they take the approach that it was sorted out properly at the other end.

On the other hand, DH was detained this weekend in Gatwick after landing from Greece, because he forgot his Irish passport and only had his US one, and said that we live in the UK. They let him in as a husband in the end (who knew that "husband" was a valid immigration status?).

OllyBJolly · 15/04/2015 14:59

If I fly BA, and check in online, my passport isn't checked on departure if I'm flying within the EU. Easyjet I think need it with the boarding pass at the gate even if flying within UK (or photo ID so driving licence would do)

It is checked on arrival.

SwedishEdith · 15/04/2015 15:01

When you check in online and have no hold luggage, aren't you having your passport checked that way? I'm sure there's holes in this but I'm not sure passports are checked as you leave a country anyway, just when you arrive.

SwedishEdith · 15/04/2015 15:02

Holes in my understanding rather than the method.

mummytime · 15/04/2015 15:03

Sorry but where are these UK airports where you do not have to go through a separate airport wide security check?

Original poster

funnyface31 · 15/04/2015 15:09

Whe wearied in Spain the passport control was empty.

OP posts:

wowfudge · 15/04/2015 15:41

Spain is one of the countries that requires API to be provided ahead of travel. Your passport details will have been checked in advance. You can only get your boarding pass online once you have provided API so if you didn't check in at the airport then that's why your passport wasn't physically checked. Although at the gate they usually check the passport and boarding pass are for the same person.

sparechange · 15/04/2015 15:42

I fly about once a week, mostly within Europe and nearly always with BA where I have checked in online and have the boarding pass on my phone.
The ONLY time my passport gets checked is at the gate, and then only to check the name on my passport matches the name on my boarding pass. This has been the case for the 8 or so years I've been a frequent flyer.
Obviously if you check in at a desk, then they want to see your passport, but that doesn't happen if you have checked in online.

When landing in Europe, so airports have international vs European sections. Strictly speaking, only Schengen flights (countries which have signed up to the Schengen treaty to allow movement within Europe without boarder controls) should land at the Europe bit, but sometimes, UK flights do. There are no passport checks here, because the passengers are assumed to come from countries with free movement.
If the flight lands in an international section, you usually have to show your passport.

For Belfast, I always travel with my passport, but have never actually had to show it at any point. They do a photo recognition thing, but I've never really understood what that does, apart from prove that you are the same person between arriving at the airport and getting on the flight. It doesn't prove you are the same person who's name is on the boarding pass...

duplodon · 15/04/2015 15:45

You don't get asked when travelling by boat to Ireland, including the Republic.

BertieBotts · 15/04/2015 15:45

What Swedish said clicks with me. Passport control when you arrive. Sometimes when you leave too (just before the gates, or with boarding pass at boarding) but not usually IME when you leave the UK.

There is security for hand luggage, of course. But you only have to show your boarding pass.

BertieBotts · 15/04/2015 15:46

Security and Passport Control are two different things. Security IME don't usually ask to see a passport.

BertieBotts · 15/04/2015 15:48

Oh yes, what sparechange says too.

Schengen countries usually have ID cards which is what you need to travel between them. I live in Germany and they all think UK is Schengen (it's not) and most people are surprised when I say I have a passport. It's not common to have one here, unless you go on holiday to another continent.

JanineStHubbins · 15/04/2015 15:51

when you land in Stansted there is no immigration because they take the approach that it was sorted out properly at the other end.

No, it's because there is a Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK and so flights from Ireland are treated as domestic arrivals (ie no need for 'border' control).

BertieBotts · 15/04/2015 15:52

Huh, hang on then, have I misunderstood this? I live in Germany on the French border. My (UK) passport has expired and I have sent it off to be renewed. I was under the impression that without this, I can't visit France (so close I have friends there and it's common to pop over to the hyprmarkets). Do I not need one, then?

BertieBotts · 15/04/2015 15:53

Hahahaha, oh what larks. Yes there certainly is border control at Stansted. I have spent many hours there.

madreloco · 15/04/2015 15:55

I don't believe you didn't. But who cares anyway, when you are leaving? It'e people coming in thats the problem, going out its the problem of wherever you are going to care.

JanineStHubbins · 15/04/2015 15:55

Yes, but flights arriving from Ireland to Stansted are not subject to border control. Passengers from these flights exit straight away.

Number3cometome · 15/04/2015 15:57

When you enter your API online they check you out.

You don't need to show your passport until you reach the gate and it is always checked in the arriving country - if there is anything wrong, they send you back and the airline receives a hefty fine.

Trust me, the airline would have made sure your passport was checked before you got on that plane!

IAmAShitHotLawyer · 15/04/2015 16:00

You don't need a passport in order to leave the uk. Anyone can leave at any time.

Your passport is in order for your to enter other countries.

sparechange · 15/04/2015 16:03

Bertie
France and Germany are both Schengen countries. You don't need a passport to travel between them. That's why there is no border control between them...

sparechange · 15/04/2015 16:05

Schengen countries usually have ID cards which is what you need to travel between them
The ID cards are to prove the name on the boarding pass is your name. You don't need a passport to travel though... You can use one to prove your ID if you want, but if you have a national ID card, that will do instead. I occasionally see people trying to use them to board non-schengen flights and getting confused when they are told they aren't accepted.

PissedAS · 15/04/2015 16:07

Bertie you are supposed to have your passport or other approved identity card on you when moving around the EU. On a practical level this isn't always done. There's no way I'm taking mine every time I leave the house. You won't get in trouble if you don't have it but you could have problems proving your right to be there. I got stopped by the police here in Sweden once but I'm obviously an EU citizen so I had no problem. My mum was on a coach travelling through Germany which was stopped by the police. They checked all the passports and took off 3 people who didn't have one.

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