Photo ID Cards
 

Just read an article in the Sunday Herald regarding passengers who were refused travel from Scrabster (Scotland) to Orkney (Scotland) on a Northlink Ferry as they could provide no photo ID.

This was introduced after "significant publicity" - although living in the central belt - I had never seen it. The purpose of this is "to ensure the safety and security of all our passengers, crew and vessels."

I have no idea if this applies to any other ferry routes and that most of the travellers on this site probably do carry ID - but your passenger may be a 35 year old mother with no photo card driving licence, student card, passport etc for whatever reason and so could be refused travel from one part of Scotland to another part.

Check the web sites - I have no idea what a photo ID card proves other than
it shows that I look like myself. By the way I'm this is not a web purchase -
the people buying the tickets were standing at the ticket desk.

This is part of the (New Labour) government's National Identity Register, more commonly known as ID cards policy. Under a specious anti terrorism policy the NIR/ID card scheme is being introduced by stealth, bit by bit and consists also of internal borders as seen first here on certain ferry routes. It is intended that rail travel will also require ID cards to travel in the future. In this way people will be "encouraged" to want ID cards as life will become increasingly inconvenient without them. Students are similarly being "encouraged" to apply for ID cards and certain worker groups will be required to apply for ID cards.

ID cards will allow the state to track your movements and permit "virtual" internal borders to be imposed at will. IMHO it is the complete antithesis of everything we on this site want.

Of course, that could never happen here and if if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Do you? :nono:

protest and survive: www.no2id.net

Just been reading through a few pages on that website. Have these people been living under a rock for the last few years or what?

Heading back to Britain from Ireland last year, we (my partner & I in a 2002 British Registered Land Rover Defender fitted out for camping and looking pretty respectable) were stopped at Fishguard docks and asked for our (British) passports by the police. Fair enough...

Then, because both of us do Humanitarian Aid work and have lots of visas in our passports, we were asked for Work ID cards!!!

So, apparently, now if you are British then you have to prove that you are in work before you can re-enter the country on your British Passport! Interesting...

As it was, we had Work ID cards with us so we were allowed to proceed after checking - but it's the first time I've had to produce evidence of being in employment to get into a country - and it was especially surprising when it was to get back to my official place of residence!

Travellers with interesting visas in their passports - beware!:eek3:

And Fishguard is the relaxed dock - Pembroke is much more grief for travellers to & from Southern Ireland

Of course, going into Ireland the Shengen rules apply, no passport checks, no bother - a proper civilised European country!

Tony

Ireland is NOT a member of the Schengen agreement.

The UK and Ireland are both members of the Common Travel Area which in theory allows British and Irish citizens to travel between the Republic of Ireland and the UK without having to produce any travel documentation. However in practice, if you've ever flown from London to Dublin, you'll notice that the Irish immigration officers at Dublin airport always check incoming passengers from London for passports.

Common Travel Area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia