Paperwork
Second Passport
The second passports arrived today 03/08/11. Well its actually classed as our “first, second passport” as the application is treated as a new passport application. I completed the forms online and sent them off with a letter from my company saying i need it for ever increasing travel (I can send you the text if you want). New photos, Birth Certificates and Marriage Cert. for J’s parents as they are no longer with us. For my parents they wanted their passport details to prove they are English, making me English also. The fact that we both already have UK passports seems irrelevant. They want to know we are still English ! The cost for this additional bit of paper was £93.50 each. It will make it a good deal easier to get Visa’s for some of the more obscure places as we will no doubt have to send the passports back to the UK. Since we now have another we can carry on with the trip and get the family to send them to us via DHL or something. I’d rather have them and not need them to be honest and also helps if we need to go through Israel.
Duplicate Driving Licenses
Ordered some credit card laminating pouches and some self adhesive holograms to make up some pretty convincing fake (duplicate) licenses. They are enough to convince a local African copper hell bent on getting a bribe. If you really wanted to for £25 you can get a real one from the DVLA by applying online but I’m not too sure loosing a real one would be any better than loosing a old real one. At least if they keep a fake one the real UK authorities would know its a fake if someone tried to use it in the UK or sell it on the black market. Still need to get myself a International Driving Permit or two. These have been requested a little. I think twice in 20 months…..get both types and also get a date stamp from Staples to “renew” them.
ICMV International Certificate of Motor Vehicles
Looks about as official as a fag packet. Not used it so far. We will see how much use this expensive bit of paper really is. Its basically a translation of the V5c. Waste of time don’t bother (07/13).
In fact we never used it ever. I’m not sure which country want this but I’ve no longer got one so hopefully its nobody we are going to.
Fake Everything
We’ve said this to many overlanders and this is you need to become a master forger to travel Overland. All that said the only things we fake as not really fakes but more copies to prevent the originals being help on to by corrupt police. I once recall a police officer in the UK saying copies/fakes are not illegal as long as they are not used with the intent to deceive. Sounds about right as we have them to prevent situations and not to deceive. Needless to say we have copies of driving licenses and vehicle registration documents. In Africa especially its typical to get a photocopy of the vehicle registration and go and get it stamped by the police as an original copy. We’ve got a few of those. If only it were that easy in the UK.