BBM
From the site linked below, "If you are an
EU national,
you do not need to show your national ID card or passport when you are travelling from one border-free Schengen EU country to another.
Even if you don't need a passport for border checks within the
Schengen area
, it is still always
highly recommended to take a passport or ID card with you, so you can prove your identity if needed (if stopped by police, boarding a plane, etc.). Schengen EU countries have the possibility of adopting national rules obliging you to hold or carry papers and documents when you are present on their territory."
I have a hunch she is somewhere in Spain.
However, it appears Esther, as a national of Netherlands, could cross borders within the Schengen area without showing ID.
I'm curious how, with no ID necessary, a person could prove what nationality they hold.
Travel documents for EU nationals
Well, that wasn't what I was asking.
I was asking if we know whether she had her documents - as at the time, there were COVID restrictions at the borders (mentioned many times by LE) such that she ought not to have crossed the border. So, I believe that during COVID, there must be some activity to make sure that the borders stay closed (they are closed now, as well).
Further, her passport would have been British and she would have had to account, at some point, for her stay on the Continent (90 days max per 180 day period). This was looming on the horizon, so if she really planned to continue traveling around Europe, going across national boundaries, she either was/is doing that without papers or she was/is doing it with papers.
If she truly didn't realize she needed some official form of ID during COVID, that would be interesting too.
Now, you say she's Dutch and wikipedia says she's British. She was certainly born and raised in UK - but do you have evidence that she applied for settled status in The Netherlands?
EU national or not, when borders are being opened and shut to everyone except essential travelers and France in particular was requiring a computer-based pre-statement before crossing the border (even for EU citizens) and clearly stated on their website that ID was needed, I am still asking whether Esther had any.
If not, then yes, she is likely still in Spain. For all we know, she had a separate phone, separate ATM and separate bank account. All one needs is a computer to set up most of that.
But if she has dual citizenship (which I've never read, so obviously I've fallen behind in the news articles - every one that I find says she's a Briton). It would explain a lot, though, if she had dual citizenship (in which case she could have gotten back into France if she had proof she was Dutch and transiting through to The Netherlands - they require that you show your ticket and allow you enough time to get through the nation, is what my French friends and family say).
I think it is the same in Spain (not sure) and it is certainly the same in The Netherlands and Belgium, because I check impatiently almost every day.
