Driving licence instead of passport

[David Gribble]

Is it possible for a UK citizen to use a driving licence instead of a passport to return from Europe by Eurostar (after having gone out without any trouble without the passport)?

[newperson]

Looks as if you'd be in for a hassle. And here.

[Mr Rusty]

The first link provided by "newperson" indicates how the situation may be dealt with, but it won't be resolved in 5 minutes, so present yourself long before you're due to travel. If it's Eurostar, and there is a UK Immigration Control before boarding, the carrier may allow you talk to them and try and resolve it. But there's no obligation on the carrier to oblige you, and they're quite within their rights to tell you to buzz off and get an emergency passport from the British Consulate. The law says you have to have a passport or other identity document confirming i/d and nationality, and a driving licence does not confirm nationality. You've no right to travel on it, so if they allow you to, it's a concession.

[Rozen]

So at the end of the day, when all is said and done, it's probably best to carry your passport. Unless ofcourse, you're a glutton for punishment!

[David Gribble]

Thanks very much. The problem has been expensively solved by waiting for the passport to be delivered by courier, and returning by plane. I say "has been solved." I should say "is being solved, I hope."

[llNicell]

Thanks very much. The problem has been expensively solved by waiting for the passport to be delivered by courier, and returning by plane. I say "has been solved." I should say "is being solved, I hope."

btw. it is an offence to send passport across country by post....glad to hear you have sorted your problem by any means....

[John]

Is it possible for a UK citizen to use a driving licence instead of a passport to return from Europe

OK, your problem looks to have been solved, but isn't the problem that a driving licence proves nothing, except a right to drive. It certainly does not prove any particular nationality.

Otherwise, and for me this is going back a few years, after my wife had got her full UK driving licence, we would have stopped bothering getting Schengen visas put into her Thai passport! She would have just travelled on her UK full driving licence! I think not!

(Thankfully she has been British for quite a few years now.)

[Obie]

You can use it to travel to the Irish republic provided place of birth on it says UK and you were born before 1983. That is where it ends.

If UK had joined Schengen, then it will not have been a factor at all.

[John]

You can use it to travel to the Irish republic provided place of birth on it says UK and you were born before 1983. That is where it ends.

But in my experience UK driving licences do not give the country of birth. They merely state the town or city of birth. So if someone was born in Birmingham, that is all it would say, with no indication whether that is Birmingham, England or Birmingham, Alabama, etc..

My wife's UK driving licence merely states the town in Thailand where she was born, but with no indication at all where in the world that is. And no, she was not born in Bangkok, or some other big place, which might have been a giveaway.

[sac]

my licence (issued April '08 ) says India (the country where i was born) - no mention at all of the city/town of birth...

You can use it to travel to the Irish republic provided place of birth on it says UK and you were born before 1983. That is where it ends.

But in my experience UK driving licences do not give the country of birth. They merely state the town or city of birth. So if someone was born in Birmingham, that is all it would say, with no indication whether that is Birmingham, England or Birmingham, Alabama, etc..

My wife's UK driving licence merely states the town in Thailand where she was born, but with no indication at all where in the world that is. And no, she was not born in Bangkok, or some other big place, which might have been a giveaway.

[Rozen]

my licence (issued April '08 ) says India (the country where i was born) - no mention at all of the city/town of birth...

You can use it to travel to the Irish republic provided place of birth on it says UK and you were born before 1983. That is where it ends.

But in my experience UK driving licences do not give the country of birth. They merely state the town or city of birth. So if someone was born in Birmingham, that is all it would say, with no indication whether that is Birmingham, England or Birmingham, Alabama, etc..

My wife's UK driving licence merely states the town in Thailand where she was born, but with no indication at all where in the world that is. And no, she was not born in Bangkok, or some other big place, which might have been a giveaway.

Mine has my date of birth and "United Kingdom", not "London". And my photo is now in black and white!