"Damaged" passport - define "Damaged"

sooz

jammin wrote: »

Customs and immigration matters are quite different. I'm going to presume that your recent trip was from Ireland to the UK. From an immigration perspective, British and Irish citizens do not need to carry a passport when travelling among the Common Travel Area. If your passports were inspected in great detail and scanned, it may have been for the purpose of training or otherwise. What if you weren't carrying your passports?

No, we weren't coming back from Ireland, we came into Harwich, & we did need passports to travel. I doubt it was training, as each booth only had one man in it, & each car & occupant was subject to the same thing (judging by the length of the queues). We were in a car with UK plates too.

Also, in response to Bernadette's post, we all have the same surname.

jammin_2

sooz wrote: »

No, we weren't coming back from Ireland, we came into Harwich, & we did need passports to travel. I doubt it was training, as each booth only had one man in it, & each car & occupant was subject to the same thing (judging by the length of the queues). We were in a car with UK plates too.

In that case, wrong assumption on my part. Since you were not entering the UK from Ireland (and thus entering from within the Common Travel Area), then yes, you would be subject to full border control. Passports would have been required and, quite rightly, thoroughly examined.

sooz

jammin wrote: »

In that case, wrong assumption on my part. Since you were not entering the UK from Ireland (and thus entering from within the Common Travel Area), then yes, you would be subject to full border control. Passports would have been required and, quite rightly, thoroughly examined.

That's the point I was trying to make. On many previous ferry crossings, mainly through Dover, it's been enough to wave 4 British passorts in the direction of the booths to be let thorugh. I'm pleasantly suprised & pleased that they have finally started checking.

angel

As I didn't have a driving license I used to have to carry my passport about for ID and it got very wet a couple of times. The laminate covering the photo has seperated from the paper and I have asked at immigration a few times recently if it needs replacing and they said no it's fine.

Zoetoes

angel wrote: »

As I didn't have a driving license I used to have to carry my passport about for ID and it got very wet a couple of times. The laminate covering the photo has seperated from the paper and I have asked at immigration a few times recently if it needs replacing and they said no it's fine.

Sounds like mine, I had it in my baby changing bag for ID once and the tub of wipes leaked, so far I haven't had any problems using it, only been to France and Spain a few times though. It's not got much longer left on it, off to France again in January, I hope it's ok again.