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HELP PLS - Eurail or Interail?

  • 13 December 2022
  • 8 replies
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Hello, I was looking into buying tickets for me and my family (we are all Brazilians). We are planning on going to France, The Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. The thing is I still don’t know which type of pass my boyfriend would need. He was born in brazil and has always lived in Brazil. However, he has a dual citizenship and his only valid passport is the Portuguese one. Would he be eligible to buy a Eurail? What are the acceptable documents to prove your country of residency? 

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Best answer by BrendanDB 13 December 2022, 19:23

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Userlevel 6
Badge +4

I found this text pretty clear, in the cart process:

Travel documents: 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.

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Then it's even more confusing then I thought 😅 . But guess passport validity is the easiest thing to have proof of your residency, but it's more nuanced I guess. Thanks @AnnaB

So it all depends from where you actually reside, not nationality:

If you live in Brazil = Eurail

If you live in Portugal = Interrail

Yeah it´s really confuseing and it´s for conductors very strange if you have a different “Country of Residence” as the Passport or the ID - Card you check and usually results in a bigger discussion. As these rules are still not 100% clear by Eurail. Most Conductors make the same mistake as you and say the Citizenship counts but according the rules of Eurail the Country where you currently live  counts. How you can proof is sadly not explained :/ 

Userlevel 7
Badge +7

Then it's even more confusing then I thought 😅 . But guess passport validity is the easiest thing to have proof of your residency, but it's more nuanced I guess. Thanks @AnnaB

So it all depends from where you actually reside, not nationality:

If you live in Brazil = Eurail

If you live in Portugal = Interrail

Userlevel 7
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https://www.eurail.com/en/help/interested-in-eurailing/do-i-need-a-eurail-or-an-interrail-pass

 

Userlevel 7
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. But since he has only a valid Portuguese passport, it'll need to be interrail. 

@BrendanDB This is not correct. If your country of residence is outside of Europe, then you are eligible for a Eurail pass. This has nothing to do with what citizenship you have.

If you use Eurail with a European passport you need to have some proof of your residency outside of Europe.

@ludfb_ In your case you have the proof in the Portugese passport which shows a strong connection with Brazil.

Userlevel 7
Badge +7

The only thing that counts is: which passport/id is valid? The Portuguese one or the Brazilian one?

If they would both be valid, Eurail is the better option.

If it's only the Portuguese that's valid you can, only use interrail.

As long there is a valid passport, it's okay. No worries about the rest. Plenty of people with nationality A, that were born in country B. All can travel without concerns. Passport in combo with Eurail/interrail rarely gets checked in the trains. There's no border check s too, between European Schengen area borders (which all the countries you'll travel to belong to) . 

The thing that makes me confused is that in his passport it states that he was born in Brazil and that his passport was issued by Rio de Janeiro’s authorities. Do you know if that would cause any problems? 

Userlevel 7
Badge +7

The rules aren't super clear about it.

If your partner can prove Brazilian citizenship and has a valid passport, you should go for Eurail as it has no restrictions. But since he has only a valid Portuguese passport, it'll need to be interrail. The only difference is not being able to use it in your home country, except for two travel days to get in or out of the country. Put you don't plan to travel in Portugal (?) so no issues there. 

If you need any other advice, always welcome here to ask. 

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