Difficulties travelling to Europe

[hja]

I dont think either of these have been posted here. Apologies if they have.
From Autosleeper Forum posted 17 November:
My nephew is an amateur enduro rider and over the summer has spent months at a time driving around Europe attending races.
He arrived back home a few days ago and had no idea of the cumulative days he'd spent abroad until he produced his passport at Calais. It was electronically calculated at 119 days, which came with a several hundred euro fine. However this was reduced to 30 euros when he told them that some of this time had been spent in Romania.
Even so he was warned that his overstay was just one day short of a serious offence.
And from Out & About Live, today:
Thought we might all be interested in that I have friends who have gone south for the next 90 odd days and when they crossed via the tunnel earlier this week they were checked over and had to remove all the meat and dairy they had on board.

 

[Soycd]

It's a bit like driving at 75/80 on a UK motorway. You may never, ever get caught (I did) but you have to face the fact that one day you might and if you break the rules like I did on the motorway you pay up. I feel for the enduro rider, a young man pursuing his dreams, caught up by red tape that didn't exist a few years ago. I have less sympathy for the food 'smugglers' though. They do sell food in Europe and unless you have any special medical diet needs then, and if you get caught, tough. I'm trying to tread carefully here as I run the risk of being labelled a 'remoaner' and risk getting the thread closed down! These are interesting and sometimes challenging times, but we have to accept that things have changed and we need to get used to it. Folk who purposely flaunt the new rules, well thats up to them.

 

[martin2603]

Another Brexit bonus of course!!!

 

[Podney]

There are no difficulties travelling to Europe if one obeys the rules. What’s the problem with that?

 

[Riverbankannie]

No matter how how the lad is, if he is old enough to travel and compete, then he is old enough to learn about the countries he is visiting and their rules and regulations.
Heaven help him he he starts going to the middle east, he won’t get away with a telling off if he breaks the rules.

As for the food check at the tunnel, I am yet to hear a first hand account of food checks and confiscation- only “my friends”. …….

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[Ridgeway]

We too got questioned when we passed through the tunnel in August, trouble was we'd been out of the country for 6570 days by that point, it was an interesting discussion though. The French fella couldn't quite get it into his head that we still had British passports but left the country 18yrs earlier at one point he actually refused us entry but fortunately his colleague seemed to understand the situation and let us pass.

 

[TinaLes]

We too got questioned when we passed through the tunnel in August, trouble was we'd been out of the country for 6570 days by that point, it was an interesting discussion though. The French fella couldn't quite get it into his head that we still had British passports but left the country 18yrs earlier at one point he actually refused us entry but fortunately his colleague seemed to understand the situation and let us pass.

Do you not have a Swiss passport as well? Some of my "Swiss Family" were originally UK ex pats, so maintained both their Swiss & UK Passports. This served them well on entering the shorter Security Queues at UK Airports.
LES

 

[Rob Hammond]

Another Brexit bonus of course!!!

 

[L' Hobo]

Do you not have a Swiss passport as well? Some of my "Swiss Family" were originally UK ex pats, so maintained both their Swiss & UK Passports. This served them well on entering the shorter Security Queues at UK Airports.
LES

Is having two passports, not illegal?
Many years ago, when I was trucking around Europe, the only time we were allowed to have 2 passports was on the Saudi runs because of the hassles with the Israelis.

 

[nicholsong]

We too got questioned when we passed through the tunnel in August, trouble was we'd been out of the country for 6570 days by that point, it was an interesting discussion though. The French fella couldn't quite get it into his head that we still had British passports but left the country 18yrs earlier at one point he actually refused us entry but fortunately his colleague seemed to understand the situation and let us pass.

Could you expand on that please.

Which way were you travelling?

Was the 'French fella' questioning your right to enter France or UK? If UK, why - none of his business?

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[Ridgeway]

Do you not have a Swiss passport as well? Some of my "Swiss Family" were originally UK ex pats, so maintained both their Swiss & UK Passports. This served them well on entering the shorter Security Queues at UK Airports.
LES

Coudn’t be ar$ed applying as it costs about £15k for the whole family and takes about 3yrs, also it’s pretty demanding process and I already have the best passport on the planet

 

[Ridgeway]

Is having two passports, not illegal?
Many years ago, when I was trucking around Europe, the only time we were allowed to have 2 passports was on the Saudi runs because of the hassles with the Israelis.

Depends the country. Australia famously insists on UK passport holders to surrendering their British passport in order to get an Aussie one.

Here we can have both CH and UK although i already have 2 UK passports for “special“ reasons… actually it’s just because i used to apply for so many visas that on many occasions one passport would be in at an embassy whilst I’d be travelling some where else. It’s a pretty straight forward process for the request.

 

[Ridgeway]

Could you expand on that please.

Which way were you travelling?

Was the 'French fella' questioning your right to enter France or UK? If UK, why - none of his business?

France to UK. And yes agree with your thought and it was exactly what our youngest said a bit too loudly in the back of the van “what’s it got to do with him” sort of thing… probably didn‘t help. I did suggest it was rather up to the guys manning the UK entry booth, who couldn’t have been less bothered at all.

Ho hum, i love the French

 

[jockaneezer]

I initially thought you were going to report he was having difficulties with carrying his enduro bikes in his van ? A mate of mine goes with a group of other bikers to tour around different bits of Europe each year. They had been getting a tour company to pick up their bikes and transport them in a lorry to their destination, while they flew over, but this year, they were swamped with the paperwork they needed to cover the bikes, to prove they weren't "exporting" them. They decided to ride down to Dover instead and it chucked it down for the whole 400 miles !

 

[Reallyretired]

There are no difficulties travelling to Europe if one obeys the rules. What’s the problem with that?

The quantities are rather restrictive and unrealistic. 2kg of dog food may be fine for a Jack Russel but totally useless for two border collies who require a specific food not available outside the UK. It means finding a similar alternative and then gradually phasing it in. We would take a minimum of 15kg and probably more.

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[nicholsong]

Depends the country. Australia famously insists on UK passport holders to surrendering their British passport in order to get an Aussie one.

Here we can have both CH and UK although i already have 2 UK passports for “special“ reasons… actually it’s just because i used to apply for so many visas that on many occasions one passport would be in at an embassy whilst I’d be travelling some where else. It’s a pretty straight forward process for the request.

Same as USA.

It is a ridiculous requirement, at least in respect of British Citizens born in the UK, because next day after surrendering the passport one can walk into a British Consulate with one's Birth Certificate and apply for a new British passport.

I had two British Passport when working for a company handling aviation insurance claims worldwide where we might have to cross unfriendly borders, e.g. Israel - Arab countries. I kept both going for a number of years but eventually let one lapse.

 

[Northernraider]

If he spent time in Romania then there should have been stamps in his passport and easy enough to deduct those days from the 119.

It's not really news , everyone is aware of the 90 days nowadays.


As for the food I brought more than I've ever done over with me , no one even looked in the van never mind any food checks. I too have not heard anyone personally checked only second or third hand accounts which I take with a pinch of salt.

 

[Dutch 68]

I dont think either of these have been posted here. Apologies if they have.
From Autosleeper Forum posted 17 November:
My nephew is an amateur enduro rider and over the summer has spent months at a time driving around Europe attending races.
He arrived back home a few days ago and had no idea of the cumulative days he'd spent abroad until he produced his passport at Calais. It was electronically calculated at 119 days, which came with a several hundred euro fine. However this was reduced to 30 euros when he told them that some of this time had been spent in Romania.
Even so he was warned that his overstay was just one day short of a serious offence.
And from Out & About Live, today:
Thought we might all be interested in that I have friends who have gone south for the next 90 odd days and when they crossed via the tunnel earlier this week they were checked over and had to remove all the meat and dairy they had on board.

See my other post from today we have spend 35 out of 181 days in UK, the rest in Schengen, no one has asked any questions what so ever, just stamped the passport and carry on sir

 

[nicholsong]

If he spent time in Romania then there should have been stamps in his passport and easy enough to deduct those days from the 119.

It's not really news , everyone is aware of the 90 days nowadays.


As for the food I brought more than I've ever done over with me , no one even looked in the van never mind any food checks. I too have not heard anyone personally checked only second or third hand accounts which I take with a pinch of salt.

Tam, salt is allowed - after all it washes up on French coasts, in diluted form, every 6 hours.

 

[gus-lopez]

Is having two passports, not illegal?

No. I know a woman with 3.
If you take Spanish nationality they don't recognise dual nationality so you surrender UK passport. They send it to gov.uk . Gov.uk send it back as you have apply to rescind British citizenship.

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[Fdhadi]

What’s the situation with lgv drivers who do a lot of European work?

 

[Soycd]

No matter how how the lad is, if he is old enough to travel and compete, then he is old enough to learn about the countries he is visiting and their rules and regulations.

I think he can be forgiven for a bit of naivety? Young fella, going out and doing something for himself? After all he's not sat at home in front of the telly/games console. Theres plenty on here have done worse, myself included.