EU citizen travel to EU (frm Ireland) without passport

[Debub]

Hi - I have been recently naturalised and became an Irish citizen on 31st March 2014. I have applied for my Irish passport from the passport office in Cork via An Post passport express. I am booked for travelling to Germany/Switzerland (actually flying in and out of Zurich) on the 26th April (Saturday). According to the passport office I am scheduled to receive my passport at home on the 25th Of April (Friday) - my application was received by the passport office on the 3rd Of April.

Now my query is:
If I do not get my passport by the 25th, can I still travel?
Technically an EU national does not need a passport to travel within Europe if they have a valid ID. My German colleague travels back and forth using only her German id card and not her passport.
Now Ireland does not have a national ID card so the passport is required as residence proof, but as a naturalised citizen I have the citizenship certificate... is that (with my driving license as a backup) enough for me to travel to Europe?

Any comments are highly appreciated

I also have a ‘live’ Schengen visa on my Indian passport, but I am guessing that I cannot use that one as I am already an Irish citizen, therefore (as India does not allow dual citizenship) my Indian passport is not valid

Thanks

[dalebutt]

It's a bit of a 50/50, naturalisation certificate is evidence of your citizenship, EU citizens can travel without a passport if they have a valid identity card, a naturalisation certificate isn't an Identification card, even so, would the border guards of these countries be able to read and interpret the document? If they are satisfied that you are an Irish citizen, they should allow you entry.

[Debub]

Hi dalebutt - thanks for your comment. The citizenship certificate is also in English, so no one should have trouble reading and understanding it. My foreseeable problem as you rightly mentioned it its that though it proves my citizenship status, it is not a valid identity nor a travel document. My other (and bigger issue) is that will the airline allow me to board the flight at Dublin airport?

[dalebutt]

I believe English is not an official language in any of these countries, it may or may not be difficult to read, and interpret depending on the particular border guard that will attend to you, English is rarely spoken by the Germans, I don't think the Swiss are any different either, so you might want to reduce your expectation about the certificate not being a trouble to read and understand.

You may be lucky with some airlines, but definitely not one of the budget ones, you should enquire with the carrier beforehand to avoid any disappointment.

[chaoclive]

Just wondering: when you got Irish citizenship, did you inform the Indian authorities? Would they have any other way of knowing and, therefore, canceling your passport? I'm not saying that you should do anything 'illegal', but is there a time lag between getting Irish citizenship and losing the Indian one?

[Debub]

Hi chaoclive - no, I have not informed anything to the Indian embassy. I was planning to send my Indian passport for cancellation as soon as I received my Irish passport, as I had to submit my Indian passport as part of the Irish passport process.
I am just guessing that the minute i receive my Irish citizenship, i have automatically lost the right to use my Indian passport

[squa]

I don't know why you're stressing so much...your Indian passport and Schengen visa are still very much active. You can still travel where you like except India. Ireland nor Germany have any problems with dual nationality and have no jurisdiction to stop you from using your Indian passport.