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Answer

Country of Residence/Passport

  • May 13, 2023
  • 10 replies
  • 1086 views
H

Hello,

 

I am rather confused about the country of residence/passport info. I live in the UK and am a UK citizen and also an Irish citizen. I have an Irish passport and don’t currently have an up-to-date British passport. However, it looks like there might be a problem with buying a pass and selecting ‘UK’ as my country of residence but then having an Irish passport as my ID. I’m not sure what I’m meant to do - I could get a new UK passport but it’s annoying to have to buy one solely for the purposes of this …

Best answer by Yorkie

Ireland is your country of citizenship (active passport) and that is what you use for Crossing borders. When you travel with a Global Pass you would need a formal current form of ID to show your COR, and no inspector would dispute you presenting your Irish passport if you claim Ireland as your COR. Remember that would limit you to a max of 2 days travel in the whole of the island of Ireland ( a strange quirk of rail networks). 

If you declare the UK as your COR you would be limited to the same max of 2 days travel, but now n the UK. You would then need to carry a form of proof as a resident of the UK.

L

10 replies

R
Railmaster
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  • rvdborgt
  • Railmaster
  • May 13, 2023

Nobody will question your COR if you have an Irish passport and indicate Ireland as your COR.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
H
  • Hodge
  • Author
  • Rail rookie
  • May 13, 2023

Thank you for the reply but Ireland *isn’t* my country of residence. Or are you saying that as a workaround I should just say it is ..

T
Full steam ahead
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  • thibcabe
  • Full steam ahead
  • May 13, 2023

Yes as a workaround

Y
Full steam ahead
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  • Yorkie
  • Full steam ahead
  • Answer
  • May 13, 2023

Ireland is your country of citizenship (active passport) and that is what you use for Crossing borders. When you travel with a Global Pass you would need a formal current form of ID to show your COR, and no inspector would dispute you presenting your Irish passport if you claim Ireland as your COR. Remember that would limit you to a max of 2 days travel in the whole of the island of Ireland ( a strange quirk of rail networks). 

If you declare the UK as your COR you would be limited to the same max of 2 days travel, but now n the UK. You would then need to carry a form of proof as a resident of the UK.

J
Full steam ahead
  • joanneobrien
  • Full steam ahead
  • May 14, 2023

I’m resident in the UK and have travelled 4 times using a global pass with my Irish passport. Have never been asked for a UK passport. I think you’ll be fine using your Irish passport. Ticket inspectors only look at your pass.

J
Full steam ahead
  • joanneobrien
  • Full steam ahead
  • May 15, 2023

I’ll just add that I have never been asked for a document proving UK residence. 

J
  • johnb19
  • Rail rookie
  • September 8, 2025

So by the same token: my travelling companion is a UK citizen living in Ireland. There is as far as I know no way of getting a photo-ID Irish government document showing that she is a resident of Ireland. From the information on the interrail website it does not appear that any other form of documentation such as an Irish Public Services Card (which, ironically, can be used for free public transport in Ireland) is acceptable as proof of residence.  Is it better for her pass to have UK as her residence or Ireland? 

R
Railmaster
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  • rvdborgt
  • Railmaster
  • September 8, 2025

So by the same token: my travelling companion is a UK citizen living in Ireland. There is as far as I know no way of getting a photo-ID Irish government document showing that she is a resident of Ireland.

Photo ID is not needed to prove residency. Here's what the Conditions of Use say:

As far as I can see, an extract from the resident registration would suffice.

From the information on the interrail website it does not appear that any other form of documentation such as an Irish Public Services Card (which, ironically, can be used for free public transport in Ireland) is acceptable as proof of residence.  Is it better for her pass to have UK as her residence or Ireland? 

What's better depends on your travel plans.

If the Irish Public Services Card proves that you live in Ireland, then that should suffice.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
J
  • johnb19
  • Rail rookie
  • September 8, 2025

Thanks for such a quick reply! I got the photo-ID bit from the chatbot on the Help Centre page, where it wrote:

“The documents valid as proof of residence are:
- Passport (or ID card, for European citizens)
- Official residency permit issued by the government, usually with your picture, issuing date and stamp from the government.

It continued:

“⚠️ Note: a driver's license, bill, visa, or e-residency cannot be accepted as valid proof of residence.”

A Public Services Card does have a photo but unlike a driver’s licence it does not have an address; on the whole my gut feeling is that in what seems to be the very unlikely occasion of being asked for proof of residence it would be viewed more in the category of a driver’s licence than in the category of an official residency permit. 

So I think I’ll go with the equivalent of the reply you gave above, “Nobody will question your COR if you have an Irish passport and indicate Ireland as your COR”, namely that nobody will question her COR if she has a UK passport and has UK as her COR.

I realise that I’m actually answering my own question here but I really appreciate your response as it’s helped me to think through it a bit more.

 

Siège avec vue
Keeps calm and carries on
  • Siège avec vue
  • Keeps calm and carries on
  • September 9, 2025

At checkout for a pass, the Interrail site states:

If your country of residence differs from your passport/ID, you’ll also need to bring an official residency document. Can’t provide one? Select your passport/ID country instead.

In my case, as France does not issue a carte de séjour to EU citizens, I use my Irish passport.

The UK does not provide residency documents, so using your Irish passport is fine.

J
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