just joined and have a bit of a poser for someone with more knowledge than myself!!
we are currently looking after a friends son and his girlfriend. they are in a bit of a predicament in that they are stuck in england as the poor girls father has confiscated her passport. she's not 18 for a few months so cannot apply for a new one without her parents permission.
they want to go and stay at his parents in spain but are stumped without her passport.
i have heard that they don't check your passport on the way out. does anyone know if this is correct. if it is, then they can just go and she can apply for a passport in her own right when she's 18.
any help would would be gratefully recieved!!
Reply to this Hi, its not possible to go to Spain without a passport, but it is against the law to withhold anyones passport.
I therefore suggest she reports her parents to the police and they will recover it for her. Hope this helps.
Reply to this Hi
A couple of years ago I travelled with a friend to Belgium. She did not bring her passport as she thought her drivers license would be enough identification to travel within the EU (as it is between Ireland and the UK). She was grilled on arrival for 2 hours, they threatened to put her in a cell overnight and send her back to London in the morning. Eventually she was granted a temporary visa. When we returned to the airport three days later they did not want to let her fly back to the UK (as she is an Irish citizen) and started talking about deporting her back to Dublin. It was a nightmare! When we got back to London she was met by an immigration official and grilled once more. Lesson learnt passports are needed within in the EU unless you are a passport holder from a Schengen country in which case national identity cards are valid.
Good Luck.
EdAm
Reply to this Yes, she definitely needs a passport. Absolutely no way around it.
However, as Ron points out, it is illegal to withold a passport from someone. I would suggest telling the girl's father that and see what he says.
Reply to this thanks for all the advice.
eurostar say that she may or may not get checked on the way out of uk. it would be luck of the draw.
we tried the police, but they were about as useful as a chocolate fireguard. they basically said that if he denied having it, then there wasn't anything they could do.
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