Morning all,

We (the better half and I) have a problem. We are due to travel to Italy on 16th August, however we have since realised the missus passport is out of date. Now, normally getting it renewed shouldn’t be such a problem, however the consulate (as unhelpful as they are) are stating a meeting in person at the earliest time is Mid September.. Any one with some brainwaves on how to get round this?

btw, we’re going Eurotunnel and part of me says sod it and risk the crossing..

Is that the stoopid part ? 😉

yes 🙂

On a more serious note it may scupper some very important plans..

It’s anything like when a French colleague did the same with their passport, take along her Grandparents and Mayor of the town she grew up in 🙂

i thought if you were traveling by land within europe you just needed ID

and that you could fly with in europe on an expired passport for 2 years

italy is in europe right ? 😉

trail rat, i’d heard these things but put them down to urban myths

a brief check of google and relevent authorities websites suggest you probably wont have hassle getting out of uk , but if your going to get hassle it will be when she comes back in.

i thought if you were traveling by land within europe you just needed ID

Just spoken to an Italian student we have at work at the moment and he said he came (overland) to the UK with just his national ID card and without a passport. Dunno about flying though.

HTH

Googling does seem to reveal getting out on expired passport is not a problem, just the returning side. However we can get a national ID card whilst we are out there (driving to Italy) so that should sort the return journey -just need to be confident on the going out bit..

Dont think returning is a problem, its all in the Schengen agreement.
A visa is good enough

You can get a passport renewed in a day in the uk….you just need to go an office with a couple of photos, and someone to sign a photo wait four hours and hey presto.

I drove back into the uk two years ago and i went to the immigration/passport office… they did some id checks and let me pass.

EDIT….. sorry just realised sei Italiano

a meeting in person at the earliest time is Mid September

3 months to renew a passport ? That really is appalling 😐

Perhaps Italians should stop electing clowns 💡

Sorry for not adding anything constructive, I’m just truly shocked.

I’m surprised that you can’t do it online btw – are you absolutely certain that you can’t?

I live in Italy and you have to keep the many layers of beurocracy (keeping people in non jobs) happy.

an italian friend of mine lost his wallet, took about 3 months to get replacemnet bank cards, id card and driving licence….

Then again Italy has so much other tings going for it….. dealing with the state however is something you really dont want the hassle of doing…

I’m surprised that you can’t do it online btw – are you absolutely certain that you can’t?

Most European countries now require fingerprint data to be stored so it has to be done in person.

I travel between the UK and France with my French ID card these days more often than my passport. It’s easier to carry and I have it in my bag at all times (passport lives at home when not in use).

If you’re going via Eurotunnel, it’s only the French you need to worry about unless an Italian policeman checks up on you. Or you accidentally try to enter Switzerland.

Surely your fingerprint hasn’t changed when your passport comes up for renewal ?

With the French, mine are stored for future uses. So when it comes to my first biometric passport renewal, I can submit by post rather than having to go to an embassy

Surely your fingerprint hasn’t changed when your passport comes up for renewal ?

No but 10 years ago they weren’t collecting that data so this is likely to be the first passport required containing fingerprint data.

Dont think returning is a problem, its all in the Schengen agreement.
A visa is good enough

you mean the agreement that the UK opted out of.

If you’re going via Eurotunnel, it’s only the French you need to worry about unless an Italian policeman checks up on you. Or you accidentally try to enter Switzerland.

not sure if this is actually a problem, i seem to remember that the border is effectively open.

Fair point.

mrmo – That was really my point. Half the time they’re not there and half the rest of the time if they see an EU passport in your hand they wave you through. Their assumption, normally, is that if you’ve got into the UK and are an EU citizen, you’ve probably been checked. Not sure there’s a lot of asylum seekers exiting the UK for the continent.

The British lot in Calais are far more likely to act like arses over an expired passport but other than being a bit difficult, they can’t do much as you’re a British citizen with a real passport.

Atlaz, should cropped the quote, was really referring to the Swiss bit.

Hi Sui, I renewed my Italain passport a couple of months ago and was initially in the same position as Mrs Sui, ie trip coming up and no appointments on the consulate’s online booking system until months after my date of departure. However kept logging on and checking availability until a cancellation came up. It was within a week and I was in. Early morning appointment and new biometric passport ready within a hour and a half. System appears to be much more efficient than previous experiences (at London consulate).

Cancellations do come up on the system as the penalty for a no-show is being blocked from making a new appointment for a considerable period of time. You do have to be persistent with checking and snap up anything that becomes available immediately, or it’ll be gone.

I accidentally drove into Switzerland around Basel a few years ago. They were fairly keen on checking the passports out until I explained I was an idiot and meant to go north not south.

My Super, that is super. our intention now is to go out on expired passport and get an ID card for the return leg, however in the meantime we will keep on trying the online booking system!

So Switzerland – I don’t ever remember getting checked there…?

In France any document which has you full name, adresse, date and place of birth is considered a “pièce d’identité” so whist an expired passport won’t do you may have something else that will.

I can’t remember the details so will Google and post what I find.

Edit: The UK not being in Shengen, a passport or ID is needed. 🙁

If you can get out of the UK any of these is OK once you are in France. Now you just need to check what you need to get out of the UK.

Edit: if all else fails my sister has a boat. I’m sure that if you offer her enough money she’ll sail you across and cast you off in the tender at the limit of French waters. Once in France you can claim refugee status and get papers valid for Schengen.