Discussion
Odd question which I've just been asked.
A friend is supposed to be leaving the country this weekend for a short jaunt to Amsterdam (A stag do to be precise). He only decided to check his passport last week and found out it expired on August 2nd
To be fair to him he then tried everything to get it extended by this weekend, but there were no appointments etc anywhere apparently, and no possible way of getting a passport in time
He has decided, in his obviously infinite wisdom, to travel using his BROTHERS passport....!! Now they do look pretty similar, but his brother is 4 years younger than him (he's 30)....
I have strongly suggested that in the current world climate that this is a pretty bloody stupid thing to do.....but does anyone know
a) what would happen if he got caught?
b) is there any posible way anyone can think of he could legally travel this weekend? (it is in the European union afterall!)
cheers
Night
A friend is supposed to be leaving the country this weekend for a short jaunt to Amsterdam (A stag do to be precise). He only decided to check his passport last week and found out it expired on August 2nd
To be fair to him he then tried everything to get it extended by this weekend, but there were no appointments etc anywhere apparently, and no possible way of getting a passport in time
He has decided, in his obviously infinite wisdom, to travel using his BROTHERS passport....!! Now they do look pretty similar, but his brother is 4 years younger than him (he's 30)....
I have strongly suggested that in the current world climate that this is a pretty bloody stupid thing to do.....but does anyone know
a) what would happen if he got caught?
b) is there any posible way anyone can think of he could legally travel this weekend? (it is in the European union afterall!)
cheers
Night
My sister lives in Holland and regularly travels back to the UK using just her UK photo card driving licence.
Which is how I thought I was going to get to 'dam next weekend (my passport expired in July) until I checked www.ukpa.gov.uk/ yesterday and they state quite clearly that although it might not be checked you do need a UK passport to travel to mainland Europe. So I managed to get an appointment at Peterborough office on the morning of my flight next week - phew!
Your brother is not so luck though, there is no way I'd travel using someone elses ID! Asking for trouble. If I was him (and this was my backup plan if I couldn't get an appointment at the passport office) I would attempt to travel using just my driving licence and if I didn't make it then I'd have to come home again and tough luck for being lazy and not sorting my passport sooner. I might miss out on the holiday but at least I wouldn't be in trouble!
Which is how I thought I was going to get to 'dam next weekend (my passport expired in July) until I checked www.ukpa.gov.uk/ yesterday and they state quite clearly that although it might not be checked you do need a UK passport to travel to mainland Europe. So I managed to get an appointment at Peterborough office on the morning of my flight next week - phew!
Your brother is not so luck though, there is no way I'd travel using someone elses ID! Asking for trouble. If I was him (and this was my backup plan if I couldn't get an appointment at the passport office) I would attempt to travel using just my driving licence and if I didn't make it then I'd have to come home again and tough luck for being lazy and not sorting my passport sooner. I might miss out on the holiday but at least I wouldn't be in trouble!
plotloss said:
Surely the name on the ticket and the name on the passport will be different and they wont allow him to board the plane?
Exactly, although they could probably change it at check-in if you said you were using "your brothers" ticket and going instead of "him".. better to do that beforehand actually.
there's a chance you could get away with it.. all depends on how alike they look and how cool he is under pressure.
Cheers
Matt
apparently the name change thing is easy - you just pay some money (about 30 quid) and hey give you another ticket.
Im not sure....I tend to agree with Mr2Mike....considering its just a weekend away its a stupid risk.....but the likelihood of getting caught, considering its a group of about 18 lads all heading out together, is almost zero I reckon.....
Im not sure....I tend to agree with Mr2Mike....considering its just a weekend away its a stupid risk.....but the likelihood of getting caught, considering its a group of about 18 lads all heading out together, is almost zero I reckon.....
There is a fair chance you won't get caught. UK nationals going within the EU often do little more than wave a passport at an Official, but if you are caught, the only way to play it is to pretend you simply had not realised it had expired. DO NOT try to be someone else and DO NOT lie. If you do there is every chance you will end up detained, most probably by the Dutch immigration service, who are the most likely to check the document.
www.passportagency.gov.uk/_3_urgent/3_48hrs.asp
ring the above agency in the early AM. they were truly excellent when i had a similar DO'H moment! i turned up with a completed application and photos and left 15 - 20 mins later with a passport.
failing that however, my brother recently flew to val desaire (?) sp? the skiing place on just his ID.
if you dont want to go through that rigmarole you can indeed go on your brothers passport. itll probably work, but, if you change the names etc, claims that it was some mistake will not wash with local authorities.
ring the above agency in the early AM. they were truly excellent when i had a similar DO'H moment! i turned up with a completed application and photos and left 15 - 20 mins later with a passport.
failing that however, my brother recently flew to val desaire (?) sp? the skiing place on just his ID.
if you dont want to go through that rigmarole you can indeed go on your brothers passport. itll probably work, but, if you change the names etc, claims that it was some mistake will not wash with local authorities.
Pre 9/11 (well before actually), I stood behind a male colleague at LHR (in the days when passports were checked by an official before you got airside - that dates it!). "And where are you travelling to today, MRS *****?" the official asked him. He'd picked up his wife's passport in error, but his company (international oil company) ID card was accepted as sufficient.
Actually, a British citizen does not need a passport to leave or re-enter the UK; the intention of the document is (was) that it "requests and requires" that the holder be "allowed to pass freely without let or hindrance" in a foreign land. But try telling that to a US INS goon!
Streaky
Actually, a British citizen does not need a passport to leave or re-enter the UK; the intention of the document is (was) that it "requests and requires" that the holder be "allowed to pass freely without let or hindrance" in a foreign land. But try telling that to a US INS goon!
Streaky
I suspect that if you are caught, you may be banned from the airline. AFAIK airlines are heavily fined if a passenger does not have a valid passport.
As an aside - wto weeks after 9/11 four of us were returning through LAX after a "jolly boys" to vegas. We were late for the flight, and in the confusion all our passports got mixed up. All four of us got through all the checks (we were seperated) and onto the plane. I suspect it was we were all running, and the powers that be did not want to delay takeoff.
Steve
As an aside - wto weeks after 9/11 four of us were returning through LAX after a "jolly boys" to vegas. We were late for the flight, and in the confusion all our passports got mixed up. All four of us got through all the checks (we were seperated) and onto the plane. I suspect it was we were all running, and the powers that be did not want to delay takeoff.
Steve
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