Forgot residency permit

My wife just headed to Paris for a few days and realised when she was on the flight that she had forgotten her residency permit. I assume that will give her problems when she gets back to England. I have her card here. Should I mail it to her hotel? She’s due back in just 4 days.


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I also forgot my residency permit once. But I had a photocopy.
The border officers have the capability to look it up at the border, but they don't like to do this because it takes longer and stops the flow of people in the already impossibly long line.
They will reluctantly roll their eyes and lecture your wife on how you always have to carry it with you because it is "super important" plastic.
But, if they can take the numbers/info from the photocopy, or the email or whatever your wife can produce at the border, and go back into the back and look up the visa and your wife will *probably* be allowed to carry on her way.
This makes me wonder why we even have to carry them at all. Surely all our travel documents could be pulled up from a database when we scan our fingerprints or face or both... I give it ten years

This makes me wonder why we even have to carry them at all. Surely all our travel documents could be pulled up from a database when we scan our fingerprints or face or both... I give it ten years

The problems seem to when they are not allowed to board a flight to the UK without this proof. The airlines get fined if they let somebody board who does not have permission to be in the UK without a visa and they have to pay to fly them out of the UK again to the country where they boarded.

Without that proof they are refused boarding. If they can get to the UK border, say as a non-visa national or to Gare Du Nord, then the UK border officer might look it up for them, but they may make them wait until they have cleared the queue, to not hold up those who do have the correct documents.

At Gare Du Nord, the UK border officers are there as that is UK border control. Just as the French border officers will be in the UK for those using the shuttle to France. The UK did not sign up to the open borders of the EU Schengen Area, where once you are in one country you can just go into another EEA country unchecked. Although there has been miles of fences put up and border checks in the Schengen Area now and EEA countries removing people back to the EEA country they entered by, even though it is still meant to be open borders.

The airlines get fined if they let somebody board who does not have permission to be in the UK without a visa and they have to pay to fly them out of the UK again to the country where they boarded.

Wow, really?  I was under the impression the passenger had the financial responsibility for their return trip.  Or is that only if the passenger is refused entry at the border but otherwise is cleared to fly in the first place (e.g. in the case of a US citizen able to fly to the UK without securing prior entry clearance and subsequently being refused entry by the IO upon arrival)?

As I posted this question originally, I should let you know what happened. I overnighted her residency card to her hotel so there would be no problem. She will never leave it at home again when she leaves the country!

Wow, really?  I was under the impression the passenger had the financial responsibility for their return trip.  Or is that only if the passenger is refused entry at the border but otherwise is cleared to fly in the first place (e.g. in the case of a US citizen able to fly to the UK without securing prior entry clearance and subsequently being refused entry by the IO upon arrival)?

It has been the airlines responsibility for some years now. The article below is from 2012.

https://www.iapa.com/index.cfm/travel/blog.article/blog/community/art/Airlines-that-fail-to-check-international-passenger-documents-face-fines?C=1

New Zealand is joining a list of other nations imposing direct penalties on airlines that board passengers to international destinations without the proper documents. Starting in July, airlines will face fines between NZ$500 and NZ$5000 (US$410, £257, 312€ to US$4080, £2573, 3125€) depending on the seriousness of the breach. Should airlines be entirely responsible?

New Zealand joins Australia, Canada, the UK and the US in imposing fines on airlines that improperly board international passengers. Most passengers who travel internationally often enough know to have the proper documents for all the countries they will be visiting. But it doesn't always work out that way. There are certain immigration nuances and ever-changing national policies that everyone should be aware of before traveling out of their respective countries. Air travelers are sometimes confused as to whether it is their responsibility or the airline's if they are allowed to travel with incorrect or insufficient documents. The short answer is both.