 Poster: A snowHead
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Stemming from Garfield's post, a salutory lesson.
A couple of years ago, her ladyship organised a conference in a foreign (EU) country at which I was a delegate.
I had some local meetings the day after so she kindly too my luggage with her (I retained briefcase, laptop, etc.).
Imagine my surprise as I was settling in for a late afternoon beer post-meetings when she called to say that she was back in Heathrow ... and so was my passport.
So...I tried phoning the UK consulate (in a different city) - persistently no reply.
She phoned my "carrier", quEasyJet. Their stupid advice? (I'm sure they were just trying to be helpful but that's not an excuse for being wrong...)
"Go to the Airport police and report it stolen. They'll sort you out."
WRONG!!
This I duly did and as the kindly arm of the law filled out the required forest of paperwork he mentioned that I wouldn't be able to use the passport again if it did turn up. Fair enough, I thought, I'll just tip up at the Passport office and throw money at the problem.
WRONG!!
So, I go to the slEasyJet desk, give them my bit of paper and they call the UK immigration office. I get put on and answer a few questions to satisfy them that I am the sort of person they want in the country (wealthy russian oligarch, wealthy italian criminal capo da capo, wealthy columbian drug baron, etc.). I get to the lounge, have a few cheeky ones and fly home.
Imagine my surprise when I discover that stolen passports can't be fast-tracked. (After speaking to 7 different individuals at the passport "hotline" on three different calls...  ) They need to be verified and can take the "standard" 6 weeks.
This would be fine if we weren't due to fly out to the beach 6 days later! Yikes! I like the beach!
So I am advised to tip up at the Passport office in Victoria first thing Monday morning.
This I duly do (with the "stolen" passport). I tell them the story, they are immensely helpful (and nice) and offer to replace it as worn and torn (it gets heavy use) at standard 1 day replacement fee in the standard 8 hours. Well done them.
Lesson 1. If your passport leaves home without you and you know where it is, don't report it as stolen!!. Tell the truth, the rest of the story will carry on just as above but you won't need to replace your passport afterwards.
Lessons 2 a and b. I discovered two interesting facts.
a. it takes Europol and the various agencies FOUR MONTHS to percolate missing passport data to the point where you MIGHT be stopped at a border.
b. it is estimated that more than 500,000 people enter the U.S. every year without any form of documentation. So much for homeland (in)security...and the 100mls of face cream I want to carry onboard my relatively bombproof BBJ.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I left my passport in Chamonix and discovered this later. I reported to the docks at Calais and told them I had lost it. They notified Immigration at Dover who asked a few questions on the phone and then allowed me to board the ship. They said they would be waiting for me at Dover. When I got there I told the desk the story and they had not heard of it.... and let me in anyway. I can't recall whether they made any phone calls but they weren't lookning out for me at all...
My passport was found in Chamonix and set back to me..no problems with it after that at all...
Not sure what to think about this...but we have very little border control now. It is probably harder to get in without a passport, than to just stowaway, I'd say.
Incidently, the number of lorries tipping out 'people' on the roads has increased again lately
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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David Murdoch, the last three times I've needed a passport, I've applied to the British Embassy in Paris - takes a week. I've also travelled without incident on my Carte de Sejour (I know I'm not supposed to have one, but this doesn't seem to worry anyone).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We had all our gear nicked from the car (parked in La Daille car park) - including 2 of my mates passports & flight tickets! (I still had mine)
We reported this to Val police, but phone calls to embassy etc advised a 2 day wait in Lyons for new temporary passports - however my mate's wife in the UK did loads of phoning, and eventually spoke to the right people at BA who arranged for us to go to emigration at Lyons airport - they got us on the plane (no tickets/passports). Same deal in London - go straight to immigration/passport control who had been briefed to expect us.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| ...and the 100mls of face cream I want to carry onboard my relatively bombproof BBJ. |
Why the face cream 
I get your point though the whole passport / ID card thing is getting to be a farce
Nether is going to stop someone that wants to get into the country illegally
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Garfield, why not? and why the BBJ?
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A mate of mine lost his passport at a european football match. Reported it lost to the police and turned up at the airport the next morning. After a short discussion at the check-in desk, the lady operating it just hand wrote "lost passport" on his boarding card and this was enough to get him through both sets of passport control!
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A couple of years ago befor 9/11, an British born indian friend of mine had forgotten to renew his passport, so he just took a friends instead. I was shocked, he said it was quite a common thing to do, as literally to customs and immigration, they all looked the same.
Not so sure that he'd get away with it now. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I once brought a 13 year old girl, unrelated to me, into the country via Eurotunnel without a passport. I was shocked how easy it was.
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rob@rar, "You have the right to remain silent..."
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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David Murdoch, When my passport was stolen 2 years ago I reported it correctly and travelled home on a letter from the honorarary consul (which has no validity at all) as I didn't have time to get a replacemet travel document. I then went to Victoria a few days later and got a new passport, having tipped up the required kings ransom, so stolen passports certainly could be fast tracked then.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| PsychoBabble wrote: |
| rob@rar, "You have the right to remain silent..." |
Yes, on reflection I could have phrased that better! She was the niece of a friend of mine who we gave a lift back to the UK from Courchevel. It was only as we neared Calais that she realised she'd left her passport with her uncle. We just told Immigration people what had happened (didn't want to risk just waving a couple of passports as we drove through in case we got stopped), and after a quick phone call they said OK.
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Those who 'fess up are probably not the ones that customs and immigration are worried about! I once did a charity hitch to Paris ('94 or '95) filled with Uni Student bravado and having seen in the news that as a result of our european-ness we didnt need a passport to travel in the EU. Got into france OK but had a very one sided chat with customs on the way back .. I was on the listening end!
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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FAQ
) forgot his passport but already being well on the way to Eurotunnel with a few other Brits, crossed anyway, knowing on the French side no-one would look carefully at the passports, and on the British side no-one would look at all. We ribbed him about denying knowing him, internal examinations, asylum camps and deportation to Albania the whole trip, but when arriving at UK immigration on the way back he simply feigned having discovered he must have left his passport behind at the hotel, and was allowed to enter, having been advised to have the passport declared lost if it didn't turn up to be posted back! 
