Travelling between Germany and France without passport!

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:29 am

Hi,

I live in Germany (have a residence permit) and would like to visit Paris for Christmas. I would probably travel from Frankfurt to Paris on an ICE train. I have recently applied for a UK visa and my passport is at the consulate in Dusseldorf. I have a signed and stamped document with copies of my passport with residence permit from the Worldbridge visa agency (works with UK consulate). I also have a German driver's license and a Bahncard as photo IDs. I was wondering if it is ok to travel from Germany to France and back with these documents.

It would be great if you guys can please let me know if you have experienced random ID checks where you required to show your passports.

Thanks.

MAKUSA · Post by **MAKUSA** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:20 pm

I think that the general rule is for RC holders to have their passports and RCs together for inspection at borders. So the jist is that you need them both, i am 75% sure

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:37 pm

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping that there would not be checks at Schengen border between Germany and France, since it is supposed to be a passport-free travel zone. Also, if I am checked, it seems that the attested copy from the UK Visa agency (Worldbridge) would not suffice. In that case, I would not plan on travelling and cancel my travel bookings .

Richard66 · Post by **Richard66** » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:44 pm

You might be lucky, again you might not be. You better not risk it, if you can avoid it.

You are obliged to travel abroad with a valid travel document. These are the Schengen rules. Lack of systematic border controls does not mean border controls are non-existent.

This is just one of the Schengen myths. Try not to be the one who proves the myth to be... just a myth!

whirly · Post by **whirly** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:40 pm

A group of us drove over the border from the Czech Republic to Germany and back to the Czech Republic in September. No one stopped us - in fact, we barely noticed the border crossings.

Obviously this is not the same as taking a train from Germany to France, but it might give you a glimmer of hope?

One thing I would say is that every hotel in both countries wanted to see our passports. Not sure what they would have done if we had given copies instead.

Hope you get to go on your trip, but as others have said, it might be safer to visit, say, Berlin over xmas!

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:46 pm

Thanks a lot for all the information. I guess its not worth taking the risk. So I would not travel to France if I don't have my passport back by Christmas. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Richard66 · Post by **Richard66** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:54 pm

Can you not ask them to hurry up a bit?

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 9:08 am

Whew! I got back my passport from the British Consulate today morning!

So, I can now travel on Wednesday!

Post by **John** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 9:18 am

sbaner1, that is good. Have a good trip.

But after you get back can you post again please? On the road link you use between Germany and France, is there even a border post now? Or is it the case that the only reason you know you are in a different country is the road signs, and them being in a different language?

Richard66 · Post by **Richard66** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:47 am

Ich wuenche Ihnen ein eingenehmes Fahrt!

John, I know they come in the trains leaving Italy, but usually they are looking for someone in especial. I remember once they were asking travel documents from all 40 years' old men and from al young chinese girls. What were they looking for?

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:28 pm

Vielen Dank! I would post again after I'm back.

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:10 pm

I made last minute changes to my travel plans and visited Praha and Budapest. I traveled by train and was not asked for my passport throughout the trip (at Germany-Czech, Czech-Slovakia, Slovakia-Hungary and Hungary-Austria borders). However, after I was back in Germany there was a regular id check in the train and I had to show my passport. I do not know if they would have accepted other documents if I did not have my passport on me.

So, I guess it is always important to travel with your passport because there might be random id checks!!!

republique · Post by **republique** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:33 pm

Richard66 wrote:Ich wuenche Ihnen ein eingenehmes Fahrt!

John, I know they come in the trains leaving Italy, but usually they are looking for someone in especial. I remember once they were asking travel documents from all 40 years' old men and from al young chinese girls. What were they looking for?

they used to take your passport overnight because there were theives who would rob you, the problem is that you never know if the conductor is legit either

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:43 pm

Yeah, I have experienced that before in night trains. This time, though, I traveled during the day.

Richard66 · Post by **Richard66** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:38 pm

I do not know if they would have accepted other documents if I did not have my passport on me.

It depends who they are looking for. I have heard policemen telling people that driver's licences are not valid documents before moving on to the next person, who, after showing passport and all, is invited to coffee at the police station.

We have just come back from a train journey to Budapest via Vienna in the night train. The staff on the train to Vienna acually refused to take our passports. We showed no documents whatsoever to anyone, either going or coming, not even at reception at the hotel in Budapest.

I must say we did not see anyone on the train that looked like a potential illegal immigrant the way you see them on the train to Paris (trying to reach the UK, I suppose). Anyway, you'd need to be cracked to try Hungary, with the language they speak there!

.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:34 pm

Richard66 wrote:Anyway, you'd need to be cracked to try Hungary, with the language they speak there! :D.

It's like Finnish, 15 noun cases as against Russian's 6, German's 3 and English's none. Wow - I thought Russian was hard....

I enjoyed my time in Hungary, pre-collapse of the Soviet Bloc, very nice place, very nice people, socialism that seemed to work quite well. Unlike neighbours Romania, what a shithole that was, all you could buy was potatoes or turnips in the supermarket, and they were covered in mud!

That was my Interrail World Tour of Europe, 1985!

sbaner1 · Post by **sbaner1** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:59 pm

I too travelled to Praha and Budapest (great places

). The hotels did not ask for passport. It was only when I was back to Germany that I was asked for passport.

I found on the web that there is a law in Germany that requires everyone to carry a "personalausweis". It can be either passport or a national id card. So, my German drivers' license would probably not suffice if I am asked for an id. However, its so inconvenient to carry the passport all the time!

Richard66 · Post by **Richard66** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:15 pm

It will be even more inconvenient to get a new passport in case you lose it.

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Travelling between Germany and France without passport!

Travelling between Germany and France without passport!

i think