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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:

Branleuse · 15/04/2015 16:16

We cross the channel quite often and its not uncommon to not have passports checked on one leg of the journey, but ive always had them checked when flying

TenerifeSea · 15/04/2015 16:17

My sister once flew to France without anyone noticing that she had picked up her husband's passport! They had 'checked' it at both ends and everything.

Dukketeater · 15/04/2015 16:23

Before you fly now you give advanced passenger info which has your passport number on, you have to do this before you get tickets... Somebody will have checked you have a valid passport that way.

LittleMiss77 · 15/04/2015 16:25

Duplodon - you dont have to show a passport when travelling to/from Irish Republic due to an agreement between the 2 countries which states that it is assumed that you already have the right to be in that country and have had your passport checked when entering the country you left from (or something along those lines)

when i travel to Dublin for work I dont have to show mine and nor does my German colleague as it is assumed she already has the right to be in the uk and that she went through the relevant checks when she arrived in the uk (albeit a few years ago now)

mummytime · 15/04/2015 16:34

You don't need a passport to go between Germany and France - in fact there won't be anywhere for you to show one. Which is a very good thing, as last summer we travelled in Germany and Austria and probably crossed the border at least once, often more, each day.

(Airlines shouldn't accept you without a passport - because if they do and you can't enter another country, they can be lumbered with the cost of returning you.)

Mistigri · 15/04/2015 16:37

I'm astounded that anyone is surprised about this!

There are no immigration checks when leaving a UK airport - these days you do have to enter your passport details before you check in, and your passport details will be checked against your ticket at the gate, but that's all. I presume it's considered too expensive to employ immigration staff for departures.

Here in france you are checked by an actual person when arriving AND leaving - you can get into and out of the UK without ever seeing an immigration officer (assuming you have an e-passport). You get what you pay for ;)

meercat23 · 15/04/2015 17:00

Slightly different but related issue, we took our Grandson to France for a week. Eurotunnel I was sure we would need all sorts of documentation to do this but passport office and French Embassy were quite uninterested and said only passports needed. In fact we took a letter from our daughter with her contact details and permission etc. Going out of UK and into France no one even registered that we had a child with us with a different surname. No one asked who, why?

Only when coming back into the UK did the border officer ask what was the relationship. We showed the letter but to be honest he was quite prepared to accept out explanation without it. I was horrified, we could have been anyone and he could have been the other side of Europe in days.

Not surprising then that schoolgirls can travel to Turkey alone without questions.

mummytime · 15/04/2015 17:06

Well travelling by car into France - you don't even stop you just drive right through, any checks are done in the UK.

meercat23 - I'm pleased the checks aren't as thorough as people often panic about on mn - I have a different surname to my children, I've never had a problem. The letters etc. are advised in case you are asked, they are not a legal requirement.

ragged · 15/04/2015 17:23

There are identity checks everywhere, most people use passport for that purpose.

maddening · 15/04/2015 17:27

We weren'T checked at all driving via channel tunnel, on the way back we were.

maddening · 15/04/2015 17:29

We weren't checked on the French side exiting the Chunnel - straight off train on to motorway.

spicespicebaby · 15/04/2015 17:31

Back in 2007 we took the ferry to France with the correct number of passports, handed them to the French immigration officer (who was in Dover, funnily enough) who checked them and then handed them back. We were 300 miles into our journey to the Dordogne before we noticed that we had brought two of DH's passports and none of mine. We had to do some fast talking on the way back before the UK officer would let me back in.

mamakoukla · 15/04/2015 17:31

Recent flight out of UK to international non EU destination - my passport was not checked (heathrow)

mummytime · 15/04/2015 18:51

mamakoukia - I still want to know how? I always have to queue for ages to go through security which includes passport checks at Heathrow.

reallybadidea · 15/04/2015 18:56

My MIL has been travelling to and from ROI for years with an expired passport. They did notice once but seemingly didn't care much as that was about 5 years ago and she still hasn't renewed it!

OrlandoWoolf · 15/04/2015 19:10

I've always had to show my passport.
The person at border control in the UK might not look at them but I have had to have them.

Now they are taking the radical idea of looking at them and checking on who is leaving the country.

youwouldthink · 15/04/2015 19:13

I fly to the UK once a month for business and very have only rarely had my passport checked as boarding the plane.

Even at the boarding point they rarely even glance at the passport. This is through Heathrow. They are far stricter this side when I'm flying anywhere.

TheGirlFromIpanema · 15/04/2015 19:22

I travelled to Dublin and back in October with ds's passport

I had noticed and was all ready with my best 'oh no surprised reaction' for the way back but as I had the picture page opened up in my hand I was waved on through back here.

Hulababy · 15/04/2015 20:11

I'm sure we have always had passports checked when going through security, just before they scan your hold bags. Can't think of a time I haven't been. Normally asked to see passport and boarding pass at the gate too, before getting on the plane.

Also, when landing in UK or other countries - I can't think of any time we haven't had to go through passport control and have our passports checked.

Handsoff7 · 15/04/2015 21:26

I wish we were in Schengen it would reduce hassle so much.

It's great on the continent, you can cross borders as freely as you want with no hold ups until you join the massive queue for passport checks at Coquelles.

The new idea if checking those leaving is so pointless

toomanypasswords · 15/04/2015 21:43

Outbound immigration checks from the UK were abolished years ago. If you do online check-in and have no bags to check-in / drop off at the airport, there is no passport check until you get to the gate. The airline will do one then to ensure that you are the rightful holder of the boarding pass and that you have the correct visa for your destination (if required) so as to avoid any fines from the immigration authorities of the country where you are flying to. Most of the EU countries are in Schengen, so there is no passport control between them (i.e. between France and Spain) and a visa valid for one of the countries is valid for the others. The UK is not part of Schengen, hence many European countries will do an outbound immigration check when you leave the Schengen zone to travel back to the UK. All international arrivals in the UK will pass through immigration and customs checks. It is slightly different between France and the UK for train and ferry passengers as the controls are juxtaposed, so you pass through UK immigration checks while in France and vice versa.

ragged · 15/04/2015 22:11

I can't recall when I haven't shown my passport. It's an identity not immigration check, though.

NorahM · 16/04/2015 08:02

Even though the UK is not Schengen, as far as I know EU citizens only need their ID card to travel to the UK. They don't need a passport.

UncleT · 16/04/2015 08:15

There are no proper physical embarkation checks in the UK since the early 90's. This is not even remotely news. The only reason you would generally have it checked is for check-in, and most of us do that online now meaning your one document check is at the boarding gate. Over twenty years since embark controls were abolished, why on earth is this surprising?? It also has nothing to do with physically ensuring that people don't have prohibited items and objects when boarding aircraft.

biggles50 · 16/04/2015 11:10

My daughter's friend travelled from bilbao in Spain to I think Stansted. Then to Dublin. When he took off his jacket at home he was shocked to find that a tourist knife that he'd bought in Spain, a dagger thing, was still in his pocket. He'd forgotten to put it in his case. He went through three airport security systems and it wasn't discovered.

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