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I have a flight to France from the UK tomorrow. My passport is currently with a company that are working on a Visa for India (a miscommunication with a friend menas I thought they had picked it up), and I may not be able to get it in time. Is there anyway you can fly from the UK to France (or get there by any other means) without a passport?

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I'm afraid you won't be allowed on a plane, as identification through a passport or similar document is necessary at check-in. I suppose you might be able to go through Customs if you travelled by train or perhaps even by car. –  Paola Dec 27 '12 at 21:27
When you say 'similar document' what do you mean? –  jdln Dec 27 '12 at 21:57
When you say I might get through by train or car, do you mean by luck if they happen not to check me? –  jdln Dec 27 '12 at 21:58
Not possible. Went from Dover to France (by ferry ). They check every single passenger. You better suspend your trip until you get your passport back. –  Rudy Gunawan Dec 28 '12 at 3:49
I actually meant "sneaking through customs". It's true it's a long time since I travelled to the UK by train and ferry, so I have no recent experience similar to the ones mentioned by Rudy and Vince. By "similar document" I meant an ID card, same as Vartec writes in his answer. I hope you stayed behind and waited for your passport before trying to get into France. –  Paola Dec 28 '12 at 8:38

2 Answers 2

up vote 17 down vote accepted

General case — yes, you can travel from the UK to France with just a national ID card. If you have one, that is. The UK does not issue ID cards to its citizens, so if you’re Her Majesty’s subject you’re out of luck. Passports and national ID cards are the only documents which are valid for travel.

On the other hand, many other documents that are valid as IDs are not valid as travel documents; these include, for example, drivers’ licenses and residence permit cards.

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When you say can get there do you mean 'are legally allowed to' or 'have a good chance of sneaking through without being checked'? If the former, then probably no, since that's what a passport is for; if the latter, a ferry may be the best bet, or you could try throwing yourself on the mercy of the Customs officer at the airport/station. I've known both to work, but not reliably; bear in mind also that even if it works, you've got to get back into Britain later.

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protected by Ankur Banerjee Mar 3 '13 at 12:11


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