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Documents and photocopies - what to bring and leave Documents and photocopies - what to bring and leave
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North Africa Topics specific to North Africa and the Sahara down to the 17th parallel (excludes Morocco)
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



Trans Sahara Routes.

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  #1  
Old 17 Mar 2008
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Documents and photocopies - what to bring and leave
For Morocco I will probably bring:

My original insurance document (and 2 photocopies) - no greencard or anything yet though.

My original V5 and 2 photocopies

original passport (obviously) and 2 photocopies

and leave 1 set of photocopies of the above at home... anything else?
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  #2  
Old 17 Mar 2008
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If you're heading south and in particular into Western Sahara you will need a fiche listing full name, details of vehicle including Chassis and Engine numbers, port and date of entry, occupation, Father and Mother's name etc etc in both English and French. God knows why they want all this, but the delight on the Police's face when we gave them our fiches always ensured a rapid transit.

I have a pro-forma as a Word document. Send me a PM if you'd like a copy. Incidentally we got through about 10 just one-way.

Q
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  #3  
Old 17 Mar 2008
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While you don't actually "need" this fiche, it's a great idea and will smooth your way through the police and military barriers. Wish I'd thought of this.

If traveling with a digital camera, you might also consider photographing all important documents, credit cards, lists of contact information, etc. This is a painless and space efficient way to carry duplicates; they're in your camera or on a memory stick wherever you go. If you lose the photocopies you're carrying (to thieves, greedy cops, water infiltration through your "guaranteed to keep you dry" riding clothes, or basic carelessness), you can usually find someone to print up replacements.

Being generally in favor of needless duplication of effort, I also email them to myself as .jgp attachments.

Hope that helps.

Mark
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  #4  
Old 17 Mar 2008
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I scan everything in before leaving that's important and then post it to my 'travelling' e-mail address (gmail) -it's always there if I need it!

Kira
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  #5  
Old 12 Nov 2008
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Sounds like you have most things sorted. Remember to keep everything in order so that the officials don't need to look for anything.
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  #6  
Old 13 Nov 2008
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Pro-Forma
Hi Quinten

I don't have enough posts to reply to you for a Pro forma in word so I am tring it this way

Thanks Dave
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  #7  
Old 13 Nov 2008
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You don't mention the age of the bike. If it has an MOT certificate take it with you, but keep it separate. It confuses the heck out of most customs officials/border guards, but they day you don't have it they'll want it!

I once used mine to convince a German tyre place that mounting a tyre backwards on a UK outfit was acceptable. I guess he was worried about their TUV guys, but any sort of paper helps helpful people get over any official hurdles IMHO.

Andy
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Old 13 Nov 2008
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Obviously tou have to give the fiche away in every police check point, so make sure to carry plenty of them. It saves you a huge amount of time as you don't have to wait for the policemen to write all your data down, and seems to be very convenient for them as well. The system works the same in Mori, where some times I have also been asked for a colour photocopie of the important pages of the passport, and where you always have to include in the fiche the number that appears in your visa and the delivering date.
You don't need an English fiche, just a French one is enough.
And don't forget to shake hands with the guys in the check point, it helps to smooth things quite a lot.
Pedro
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  #9  
Old 13 Nov 2008
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Every time you check into a hotel you are asked to complete a registration form. Save yourself some time and make up some 'fiches' to hand over instead. The registration staff will staple it to the form.

The main purpose, however, is for travelling in the south of Morocco, Western Sahara and beyond where every five minutes there's someone wanting to know all your details.

The attached spreadsheet is designed to print three fiches per A4 page. Trim them and they are just the right size to fit into your passport.

Fiche Spreadsheet

Obviously you can't complete the date of entry into Morocco, town of entry and Police Number in advance...

Tim
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Old 13 Nov 2008
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thanks!
Great post with the spread sheet Tim, very useful, thats saved me soem work.
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Old 13 Nov 2008
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If you are in/from the UK, you can get an ICMV from the AA.

This has all your vehicle details in it with flip pages in a number of languages, including French & Arabic. Makes it easy for them to read and understand... as opposed to a V5.

I created pages that I thought might be handy, like Mandarin, and stuck them in. Worked a real treat. The most useful pages for me being Russian and Chinese.

John
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Old 14 Nov 2008
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Better that mine Tim, I'll use them next time.
Thanks a lot,

Pedro
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  #13  
Old 19 Nov 2008
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is it necessary to have an international driving licence?

btw, very helpful info on this thread, thanks to everyone!
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