You simply cannot submit a GAR using onlinegar.com without this.
They could have implemented an exemption, knowing the dep and dest airports, but they didn’t.
Normally I email the GAR (for the CI I am less happy to email it, due to the routinely aggressive behaviour of Special Branch, and the last emailed form they “lost”) and on that form you could omit the passport details. It would make you rather “visible” though, as you suggest 
When availing of border-free travel within the Common Travel Area, you may still need to prove your UK or Irish citizenship (and thereby entitlement to avail of the CTA arrangement) to an immigration official. Link to Irish Citizens Advice page on the Common Travel Area – this recommends travelling with a Passport, but it is not required.
Some form of identity documentation is required by onlinegar.com. However, it offers me the following choice of identity documents:
I expect that “Other” covers any valid form of identity applicable to the CTA.
I put my driving license number in, not having my passport to hand when I registered. No one has ever questioned it.
I run onlineGAR. We are a private company so I cannot speak on behalf of the authorities, but I can give some tips.
Technically the passport or identity information is not mandatory, but we have made it so on our sites. The reason is that in the first month of launch over 10% were left blank, and the border force officers were having to intercept too many aircraft.
Each GAR submission is risk assessed and flagged. If you leave your passport off, you are scored as a higher risk. If you fax or email you are also at higher risk, these have to be manually entered into the system and sometimes they are not in place by the time the officers leave to do their rounds.
If you want an easy life and not to be met and checked, My advice is to fill in as much as you can (including passport or ID card) and always use one of the online methods (onlinegar, Skydemon or Aopa). This keeps you off the radar.
That’s very useful to know – thanks for posting that Carl. I have used the Online GAR system and found it very easy to use.
During a chat with my local Special Branch officer (a chance encounter) he implied that they don’t always get the notified by the National Coordination Unit (NCU) and that they preferred a direct email to the local force Ports unit. I got the impression that this was an NCU problem, rather than anything to do with Online GAR.
Emailing the local force directly doesn’t always provide a confirmation – when I used that method I had a 50% success rate in getting a response and confirmation reference from them. Technically, one only needs to inform them, one does not require them to acknowledge. However, Online GAR at gives the reassuring comfort of an instant confirmation and email containing the GAR details so that the pilot can prove that he/she complied with the GAR notification requirements.
Does anyone know what you’re supposed to do if you’re delayed? OnlineGAR has no way of sending an update to a form, and if you’re VFR, then delays for weather aren’t all that common especially with the draconian rule that you have to file the damned thing 12 hours in advance when I’m going to/from my home airfield – how many times has the forecast promised wall to wall sunshine, but when you wake up you find the airfield under a blanket of fog which takes two hours past your estimate departure to burn off? I had such a delay on Sunday (not just for weather, but a variety of reasons). With no way to update it, I just don’t worry about it – no one has ever complained. So long as I leave on the same day I call it good! This is of course for a flight in the CTA (so no customs/immigration).
I have this number stored in my phone under ‘GAR Emergency Change’. Can’t remember where it came from if I’m completely honest, but it was a trustworthy source!
+443001232012
edit d’oh, that number was already posted many posts ago… sorry.
Entering that number into google (that often produces surprising results 
) shows this
It is a National Yacht Line number. I guess this makes sense.
The EuroGA router sends the Eurocontrol tracking link along with the GAR so the police don’t need to hang around for you But that doesn’t do VFR flight plans.
Also I am sure the police have access to flight plans.
Is there any scenario where you need the 12-24hr CTA GAR but don’t need a flight plan?
Brittan to Northern Ireland, requires a GAR, but I don’t think it requires a flight plan.
Correct. I did Glenforsa to Newtownards once, without a flightplan (but with a GAR).
In these cases, if I had to cancel the flight, I would indeed “cancel” the GAR some way. In other cases, I wouldn’t bother.
