Passport requirements?

lakesman

Hi forum,


This is possibly a stupid question but I`m somewhat confused about Shengen so I`m asking for some advice please.


Do I need a passport to travel to, for example, Southern Ireland or to France/Belgium/Belgium?


Thanks in advance,
lakesman

zagubov

lakesman wrote: »

Hi forum,


This is possibly a stupid question but I`m somewhat confused about Shengen so I`m asking for some advice please.


Do I need a passport to travel to, for example, Southern Ireland or to France/Belgium/Belgium?


Thanks in advance,
lakesman

You'll need one for any mainland European EU nation (including Gibraltar) and most other European nations as well.

If you enter the Shengen territory I'm not sure you need your passport with you once you're inside the area. But with the current situation, I would keep it with you.

Regarding Ireland, a few airlines may need you to bring a passport to cross the Irish Sea, even though you may not be crossing a national border. Once in Ireland, you shouldn't need to carry your passport as you cross north to south, but some official photographic ID is probably essential

SW17

Firstly, the Republic of Ireland is not part of the Schengen area, it is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA includes UK, ROI, Jersey, Guensey and Isle of Man). Now, assuming you are a British Citizen with a full UK passport:

Ireland : in theory no passport is required to travel within the CTA, though photo ID is usually required to travel to / enter Ireland. If travelling from the UK by sea, this does not have to be a passport (check with ferry operator for accepted ID). However, if flying into Dublin, in practice you will need a passport as ID. I'm not sure of the exac requirements by land from NI, but doubt passport is a requirement, even if some ID is required.

Schengen (including France and Belgium) : to travel from a non-Schengen country (UK) to a Schengen country, you need either a passport or national ID card. Since the UK does not issue ID cards, that means you need a valid passport to travel to a Schengen country.

shaun_from_Africa

SW17 wrote: »

However, if flying into Dublin, in practice you will need a passport as ID.

Provided that you are a UK or ROI citizen then a passport isn't required for flights
between the two countries. Photographic ID is needed and a photo driving licence is good enough.

Gloomendoom

The trouble is that you may need your passport to prove that you are a British citizen.

That said, I've been to Ireland many times and never taken mine, nor have I been asked for it.

Voyager2002

lakesman wrote: »

Hi forum,


This is possibly a stupid question but I`m somewhat confused about Shengen so I`m asking for some advice please.


Do I need a passport to travel to, for example, Southern Ireland or to France/Belgium/Belgium?


Thanks in advance,
lakesman

What is your nationality?

If you have an identity card from an EU country then you don't need a passport.

lakesman

Thanks for responding. I`m UK born and bred.
lakesman

GingerBob_3

Some airlines force you to carry identification when you go to Ireland. I think this is mainly to stop you buying cheap tickets on behalf of someone else. I seem to recall Ryanair insisted on a passport and wouldn't even accept a photo driving licence - maybe that has changed recently?


For ferries, I don't know what the current "rules" are, but given the paranoia that pervades anything to do with travel it wouldn't surprise me if those operators require identification as well.


It is, of course, bad practice to carry identification documents on your person unless you are taking them somewhere for a specific purpose, so I would suggest you don't carry your passport with you once there.

skint_chick

There is no border control between Northern Ireland and the Republic, you don't need any travel documents to cross over land. Aer Lingus accept UK driving licences as ID for flights to Dublin provided you were born in the UK. Ryanair don't, as they consider this an international flight. You don't need a passport to fly to NI, all the airlines will accept driving licence, it's part of the UK so a domestic flight