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Title: BritRail eligibility query Post by: inspector_blakey on July 26, 2011, 19:30:46 Here's a query for rail staff...
I'm considering investing in a BritRail pass for my next trip back to the UK, given that it offers significant savings for the travelling I'm likely to be doing. I'm a British citizen but living in the USA at the moment - I can show various proofs of residency here e.g. driving licence, utility bills, tax returns, pay slips etc. I also have a US address to which the pass can be mailed. The BritRail website says that as long as I'm not a British resident then I'm OK for a BritRail pass. The issue of whether or not I am a USA resident depends on who you ask - the Federal Government will say 'yes' if you ask the tax man but 'no' if you ask the immigration people, whilst the State Government regards me as a resident. Now, I'm fairly sure I can prove to the satisfaction of rail staff that I currently live in the USA with the documents I mentioned above. My main concern is that the Ts and Cs for the pass say the following (my emphasis): Quote Pass Validation Passes are issued open dated and must be validated within six months from the date of issue and prior to the first day of use. To validate a rail pass, present it along with your passport to the Railway official at the station of departure. At this time, the first and the last day of validity of the pass as well as the passport number is entered and the passenger must sign the pass. Under no circumstances is the pass holder allowed to validate his or her own pass. In the case of a Flexipass, the passenger must enter the date of travel each day before he/she boards the first train of the day. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the payment of a fine and the cost of a full fare ticket. My passport is obviously British, even though I don't live in Britain at the moment. Is that likely to cause me a problem with getting the pass validated? I don't want to fork out a few hundred dollars for the pass only to find that the staff at Heathrow refuse to validate it on the grounds that I have a British passport... Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: JayMac on July 26, 2011, 19:37:59 It doesn't say you can't validate your pass with a British Passport! :P ;) ;D
I firmly believe that as long as you can prove foreign residency you'll be fine. All other terms and conditions relating to eligibilty for BritRail passes refer to foreign residency not foreign nationality. An email or a call to ACP Marketing (responsible for issue of BritRail passes) maybe worthwhile to double check though. I'm only going buy published terms.* info@acprail.com Tel: 1 866 BRITRAIL (From US only) *Which ain't easy to find for us here in Blighty. I have to fool the BritRail website into thinking my computer is in the US! Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: ChrisB on July 26, 2011, 21:18:21 I'd recommend making that call too. Do report back here too please
Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: JayMac on July 26, 2011, 21:52:53 My almost near certainty you'd be eligible, blakey, is based on posts on RailUK Forums from those in similar circumstances to yourself.
See this thread in particular: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=45585 Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: inspector_blakey on July 26, 2011, 22:10:38 Well, a phone call and an email to ACP Rail yielded interesting results: the response to the email basically says it's fine as long as you're a non-resident. The person on the phone said (direct quote...) 'you need to be a legitimate citizen from outside the UK'.
Not especially enlightening really! Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: JayMac on July 26, 2011, 23:14:43 What would an illegitimate citizen be? ???
Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: Chris from Nailsea on July 26, 2011, 23:21:49 A bustard. ::)
Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: eightf48544 on July 27, 2011, 08:30:10 Did they travel on Brit Rail pass from Hungary to WArminister?
Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: LiskeardRich on July 27, 2011, 16:24:31 What would an illegitimate citizen be? ??? illegal immigrant? My grandparents are british but with Greek residency, and they managed to get something not available to brit residents on something else while over here for 3 months due to another family member being ill! Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: inspector_blakey on July 27, 2011, 16:47:30 I'm still not convinced the lady on the phone was correct... There's no mention of citizenship in the Ts and Cs for the BritRail pass (and I would guess that it might be illegal to exclude people on the basis of their citizenship anyway). It's just slightly complicated for me because my residency is not entirely clear-cut.
That said I somehow doubt that anyone validating or checking a BritRail pass is going to be unduly concerned about the niceties of US immigration law, so my guess is that by showing my US driving licence (which has my address on the front) or any of the other bits of paper mentioned above I could establish "non-UK" residence to their satisfaction. It's just a bit of a risk when the pass costs a fair bit of money... Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: Brucey on July 27, 2011, 18:37:20 Perhaps try contacting the TOCs that you will be travelling with. If you get something in black and white from a TOC, it would be a little difficult for the same TOC to disagree with you later.
Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: RichardB on July 27, 2011, 18:46:02 I'm still not convinced the lady on the phone was correct... There's no mention of citizenship in the Ts and Cs for the BritRail pass (and I would guess that it might be illegal to exclude people on the basis of their citizenship anyway). It's just slightly complicated for me because my residency is not entirely clear-cut. That said I somehow doubt that anyone validating or checking a BritRail pass is going to be unduly concerned about the niceties of US immigration law, so my guess is that by showing my US driving licence (which has my address on the front) or any of the other bits of paper mentioned above I could establish "non-UK" residence to their satisfaction. It's just a bit of a risk when the pass costs a fair bit of money... I'm sure you are right to query the lady on the phone - as mac said, it's residency that matters. If you have a US drivers' licence with your US address on it &, say, a utility bill, you'll be fine. Title: Re: BritRail eligibility query Post by: JayMac on July 27, 2011, 19:06:18 Also, I've checked up on this 'validating with passport number' malarky. Seems that this isn't an issue with regard to what nationality is on your passport. The most important thing is that you are able to provide, if requested, proof of foreign residency.
State of Pennsylvania (?) driving license should be fine. ;) EDIT: That's 'Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.' Thanks, Stephen Fry via QI! This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |