Does Ryanair Visa Check Desk checks the visa stamp?
 

Hi! Does Ryanair Visa/Document Check Desk checks the visa stamp on the non-EU passport or just the first page of the passport?
I am looking to travel from Sweden to Germany (both Schengen countries) next week but my residence permit of Sweden is expired and I have applied for visa extension. I also have Swedish National ID card. Can I do Online Check-in with my ID card? Any suggestions please?

Welcome to FT, leo99.

All airlines should check that passports, visas and/or ID cards are good for the destination airport. Their incentive is not to pay a fine and take the passenger back should he/she be denied entry.

In your case, if your Swedish ID is up-to-date and valid, you're good to go with OLCI without the non-EEA passport check as Sweden is a member of the EU.

With Ryanair if you checkin online, you do not need to see a ryanair desk before your boarding gate if you are flying handluggage only.

That's the principle for EEA passport/ID card holders. If non-EEA, pax need to go to the visa check desk (which I think was behind the OP's question).

As Roger correctly says (and as has been widely publicised), there are special requirements for non-EEA passengers; to quote from www.ryanair.com:

It doesn't say that internal/Schengen flights are exempt, and knowing that Ryanair, until recently, did not allow non-EEA nationals to check in online at all, even for internal flights, my interpretation is that non-EEA nationals have to have their documents checked for all flights.

I don't know what a Swedish ID card looks like, and whether or not it contains information about the holder's nationality. If it does then my interpretation would be that the OP would need to go to the visa check desk because the T&Cs specifically say that this requirement applies to all non EU/EEA nationals, and an ID card issued by an EEA member state does not turn a non-EEA national into an EEA one.

With an expired residence permit I'd play safe and go by train...

PS Welcome to Flyertalk, leo99

:D

As Sweden is an EU member state and the OP has a Swedish ID card, a valid, up-to-date Swedish ID card should be hassle-free. I suppose it will become clear at online check in when the ID info is entered.

I very much doubt this - unless Swedish ID cards do NOT include details of the holder's nationality.

The Ryanair T&Cs are very clear - if you are a NATIONAL of a non-EU/EEA country you MUST have your documents checked. This is about nationality, not about residency.

Some years ago Ryanair had a rule saying that you could travel on internal flights on a driving licence, but only if the place of birth on that driving licence was within the EU. They made headlines when they denied boarding to a British citizen whose place of birth was in the USA. Considering how strictly they interpret their own rules I really can't see them allowing a non-EEA national to board without going through the document-checking procedure.

If Sweden issues foreigners with ID cards that don't state the holder's nationality (unlikely!) then the OP may be able to get away with travelling on his Swedish ID card, for the simple reason that Ryanair staff won't know any better. But if the OP's nationality is mentioned on the ID card then I'd say his chances of being able to board without that document-check stamp are close to zero.

As I said... take the train!

Interesting points - and I agree about the train ;) (but then I like trains).

The FR website includes this: in the list of acceptable documents. (My bolding.)

This does look categorical to me. To be sure, perhaps the OP should hurry the visa extension.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs....hk&quest=whoco

My previous posts were based on what I know about other places - knowing how things work in countries like Germany I was assuming that identity cards issued to foreign nationals would be different from identity cards issued to Swedish citizens, and that they would identity the holder as a non-citizen. National identity cards are valid travel documents anywhere in the EU/EEA (i.e., not just Schengen), and if non-nationals were given the same identity cards as nationals then they would be able to use them to circumvent entry requirements for places such as the UK.

I have now done some research (haven't looked further than Wikipedia) and it seems that I was right - national identity cards "proper" are only available to Swedish citizens; permanent residents are given a different of card known as a certified identification card.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identit...ents_in_Sweden

So... unless the OP can get his visa extended before he travels I don't think he will be able to fly Ryanair.

It's quite a curious case. You could also argue that, for domestic or intra-Schengen flights, Ryanair is only interested in positively identifying the ticket holder, not on actually checking their documents (which they're not obliged to do). I wouldn't like to test that, mind.

Thanks for your replys
 

My Swedish ID card does not state my nationality so I think they will check my passport for identification. But the thing I want to know is that will they also check my residence permit on the passport?
Remember my flight is within schengen area.

Is your Swedish ID card the same kind of ID card that is issued to Swedish nationals? According to what I have read a national ID card (which doubles up as a passport for travel within the EU) is only available to Swedish citizens. If your identity card is of the "certified identification card" type referred to in my earlier post then Ryanair will not recognise it as a valid travel document.

Ryanair have recently changed the rules on what documents they will accept. They will no longer accept ANYTHING except (a) passports and (b) identity cards of the type that can be used instead of passports to cross non-Schengen borders within the EU. It doesn't matter whether you are flying nationally or internationally with Ryanair, you will NOT be allowed to travel unless you can produce a passport or a government-issued identity card that is formally recognised as a travel document for intra-EU travel. A residence card issue to a foreign national is NOT a formal travel document.

As an aside British nationals now need to carry their passports to take Ryanair flights within the UK, no other documents are accepted any more (there are no identity cards in the UK). Not a government rule, just a Ryanair rule. All other airlines accept driving licences and other photo ID documents, Ryanair insists on a passport.

Will Ryanair check your visa? You don't say what your nationality is, but if you are of a nationality that requires a visa for Schengen then yes, definitely. If you're a non-visa national they may not look quite as closely.

I wouldn't take the risk if I were you. Just get a train.

I did the Berlin to Stockholm flight back in June and they checked my visa stamp both ways. More carefully in Germany then in Stockholm... They looked for a valid visa....

Apologies. Thanks for the clarification.

You're very welcome. No need for apologies! (It's nice that you took the trouble to respond. :))