Passport required for coming back from Sweden?

[Saladin]

Hello everyone!

I am a non-EU resident and I work and study in Oulu. I am applying for a UK visa to present my paper in a conference there. I am going to apply in the British Embassy in Sweden because the other option is to apply in a mobile center in Helsinki that takes a lot of money.

The question is, when I am on my way back from Sweden to Finland, I won't have my passport as they will take it in the British embassy. Is that normal? I will only have my residence permit card. Some people says it's OK to move through Nordic countries without a passport and others say not OK.

Thanks.

P.S. the other option it to tell them in the embassy that I will send the passport when I come back to Finland.

[Pursuivant]

As a non-EU you may not travel between the countries without a passport. In principle, you'd need to wait in Sweden while your passport is processed. Even though tehre is the Nordic and Schengen you might be refused entry onto the ship/airplane... thats a "might"... also when they have a "theme day" you "might" be pulled up in Customs and they don't take excuses for an answer... lottery, do you win? So if you go to Tornio and take a train from Haaparanta, very unlikely, but if you fly then you might be called...

[Saladin]

Thanks Pursuivant. Some people say you may take a copy of the passport with you, are these things work actually?

[AldenG]

So if you go to Tornio and take a train from Haaparanta, very unlikely,

I've done that more times than I can remember, once without a passport.

[LuvsaFin]

I'm a US citizen who travels to Finland a few times a year, and while there, I usually visit either Estonia or Sweden. I'm not sure of the technicalities, because I always have my passport with me anyway, but at least when I've traveled by ferry, I've never had to show it.

[Saladin]

The problem is that I booked a flight tickets because I will take only one day holiday. I think I will ask them in the embassy if I can send the passport back after I return to Finland.

[Saladin]

Just to update you with what happened to me. At first they didn't ask for my passport while I was taking the flight from Helsinki to Stockholm. I decided to take the risk and assumed the same will happen when I am on my way back. But to get sure, I asked them in the British embassy if it is okay to leave the password there and go back to Finland. They said yes but to be sure, we can give you a colored, signed and sealed photocopy of the passport. I got it but no one asked about it either. In the queue, people stood with their passport on their hands while I was empty-handed but no one even asked for the copy.