Passports

[Thistle]

If you have a GPS you should be able to show a record of your recent track. But, unless you are doing something naughty, why worry about proving where you've come from? What practical difference does it make whether you've come from Ramsgate or Rotterdam?

 

[maxi77]

Or cash!!

Indeed, there were a few that could only handle cash.funds transfer

On that vain whilst in general prepaid cards are a good way of carrying euros you can have problems using them in France who as ever are one step ahead in and in some retail outlets in Portugal who are unable to handle foreign cards at all. Our local Lidl has a cash machine beside the checkouts to cover this problem

 

[john_morris_uk]

The OP asked a sensible question but I have not read any sensible answers.

The documents mentioned may prove you are a UK resident but that was not the question.

That's because its really a 'none' question. There are lots of ways the authorities can check you are who you are. I am not quite sure why the OP doesn't want to get a pass port - but its a free country and if that is his choice then so be it.

However, he doesn't have to PROVE where he's been per se. He just has to be honest and tell, them the truth. Unless he's been tracked and they know he is lying, they will poke off and bother someone else. No need to get funny or 'clever' with them. That is the way to upset people and then they start getting difficult. Co-operate - be polite - and they will go away.

 

[BoyBlue49]

GB identification

I trust you fly the Red Ensign.

 

[lenseman]

. . . . the first you'll know is a fast rib pulling alongside followed by men with guns climbing aboard - not exactly friendly . . . . .

Errm?? Which TV programs do you watch? The UKBA never carry guns, they are not allowed to!

If they are going on a patrol where they might encounter weapons, the police trained in firearms would be onboard or other specialist armed forces personnel but that is so rare you can count that on the fingers on your left foot.

Oh, and the "gun" on the foredeck of Valiant, Seeker, Searcher et all . . . . they are salt water fire-fighting water cannons.

 

[SHUG]

Get a cat . It's almost as good as a passport....apparently!!

 

[MontyMariner]

How do you prove that you have NOT come from foreign parts?

Difficult to prove that you have not been somewhere.
Easier to prove where you have been - GPS / Chart Plotter log.
But if you are not flying a foreign courtesy flag or Q flag, not got several passengers with battered suitcases (you will be ok with passengers with grip bags), not carrying several empty fuel cans, not carrying several cases of beer or wine, you will probably be ok!

PS - You don't say the size and power of your boat, these are also factors that the UKBA might take into account.

 

[KellysEye]

We got boarded by a customs boat off the south coast of Kent. They searched the boat for people below decks and asked if we had come from abroad. We said no and they accepted it. Assuming you keep a log just show them that if they ask for proof.

 

[fireball]

Errm?? Which TV programs do you watch? The UKBA never carry guns, they are not allowed to!

Perhaps it's just the banana in their trousers!

 

[nigelmercier]

I do not have a passport nor do I have any need nor intention of getting one...

Are you an American?

 

[Paddingtonbear]

No,why? I live near Brighton and have lived in Sussex for most of my life. Can't stand abroad that is all. Norfolk is foreign enough for me.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

A reason for having a passport - non boaty!

I happen to be involved in selling and buying a house at the moment. The solicitors acting for me require proof of identity in various forms to comply with money laundering regulations. All I can say is that I am glad I have a passport - it would be difficult and quite arduous to fulfil their requirements without it. And for a first-time buyer who happens to have lived in their parent's home it would be almost impossible.

 

[chinita]

I deeply resent having to go through the procedures and costs of a Passport. I had to laugh when I needed to get my baby son's passport a few years ago. The photo was of him was at ten months old - what a farce!

Other EU Countries manage very well with their ID cards and don't get a cockstand about their 'liberties'.

If I had my way, we would all be microchipped at birth.

 

[maxi77]

I deeply resent having to go through the procedures and costs of a Passport. I had to laugh when I needed to get my baby son's passport a few years ago. The photo was of him was at ten months old - what a farce!

Other EU Countries manage very well with their ID cards and don't get a cockstand about their 'liberties'.

If I had my way, we would all be microchipped at birth.

And what makes you think getting an ID card in the EU is any different to getting a passport.

 

[BrianH]

Other EU Countries manage very well with their ID cards and don't get a cockstand about their 'liberties'.

And what makes you think getting an ID card in the EU is any different to getting a passport.

Because they are mandatory their cost is nil or trivially cheap.
Having lived in a few countries where id. cards are necessary and no human rights are considered compromised, the advantages are legion in our complicated societies that are increasingly threatened by a rising tide of illegal immigration and where proving identity can be an asset.

They are also acceptable as passports within most European countries and so much easier to carry, being in credit/debit card format.

 

[chinita]

Because they are mandatory their cost is nil or trivially cheap.
Having lived in a few countries where id. cards are necessary and no human rights are considered compromised, the advantages are legion in our complicated societies that are increasingly threatened by a rising tide of illegal immigration and where proving identity can be an asset.

They are also acceptable as passports within most European countries and so much easier to carry, being in credit/debit card format.

Thank you Barnacle, beat me to it.

When I was in the Army I could travel in every European Country (except for Switzerland) on Military ID Card only. Passports are Government Cash Cows.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Thank you Barnacle, beat me to it.

When I was in the Army I could travel in every European Country (except for Switzerland) on Military ID Card only. Passports are Government Cash Cows.

The ID card that has thankfully been eliminated would have cost even more than a passport!

 

[st599]

Because they are mandatory their cost is nil or trivially cheap.
Having lived in a few countries where id. cards are necessary and no human rights are considered compromised, the advantages are legion in our complicated societies that are increasingly threatened by a rising tide of illegal immigration and where proving identity can be an asset.

They are also acceptable as passports within most European countries and so much easier to carry, being in credit/debit card format.

Elsewhere possibly, but Blair's ID card was going to cost nearly a hundred quid each.

 

[chinita]

Elsewhere possibly, but Blair's ID card was going to cost nearly a hundred quid each.

It all depends how the 'cost' is presented.

If the government was in favour (and that will only be if it is a vote winner), cost would not be an issue.

It is a political, not an economic, imperative.

 

[maxi77]

Thank you Barnacle, beat me to it.

When I was in the Army I could travel in every European Country (except for Switzerland) on Military ID Card only. Passports are Government Cash Cows.

You should also have had a NATO Travel Order to make your ID card valid. I remember having an interesting discussion with an Italian immigration plod about whether or not the travel order needed to be stamped by him. In the end I told him to stamp it if he wanted to as my next stop was Malta wnere the ID card was valid without the travel order.