Carry passport at all times?
 

I'm going to Paris this September and am wondering whether I need to carry my passport with me at all times or if I can leave it in the hotel safe (would prefer the latter). What situations would I need to produce it after leaving CDG? I will not be using traveller's cheques, but my ATM and Visa cards.

You aren;t legally required to carry it with you - but we do - for safety. That way we always know where they are. If you put in a room safe - who knows who has access. A larger hotel safe with a receipt from management - maybe.

Really nytraveler? I understood that Europe is different then the US and every person over the legal age (18?) is required to have valid ID on them. A US driver's license is not a valid ID in Europe. A passport is.

ID is not required in the US though under the right (maybe wrong) circumstances you can be detained long enough to "prove" your ID.

I don't know for sure. Maybe someone does and can post.

I've never heard that , indy. And after traveling in Europe for over 40 years have never carried my passport with me at any time. I leave it in the room, and have never been called on to produce it for any reason, except checking into hotels in Italy.

I don't even bother leaving it in the safe anymore. My suitcase has a hidden compartment and I just put it in there ..now if someone gets in my room and steals the whole empty suitcase I might be in a bit of a bother, but I do have a copy of the relevant pages on the internet so I can get another with just a bit of bother.

From what I've heard recently from US expats living in Europe, indytraveler is correct.

I found that curious myself, as I do exactly as Jody and always assumed that my US DL was ok for ID if needed.

In practice, I've never heard of anybody ever being asked for passport, or any other ID for that matter in any daily activity.

I <u>always</u> carry mine, often in a money belt but sometimes just in a secure pocket - and would even if it wasn't required (even though the rules are not always enforced).

And I would never <b>ever</b> leave it in a hotel room or apartment unless there was a safe. Even in a safe it isn't all that secure.

You are requiredcto carry a valid ID (either an Id card or a passport, a driving licence isn't an id) and - in theory) a minimum of cash (i think 5 Euros)
While the cash thing is never checked to my knowledge, i can confirm that you can be detained at the police station until your identity is proved (up to 4 hours) : it happened some months ago to a young coworker of mine (he was asked for his id when being witness of a minor street accident, his wallet was home - in an other jacket)

An Australian Driver's Licence carries a photo, the age, the address and the signature of the holder, and has seemed to be accepted anywhere as valid ID. Certainly it was on one occasion when my passport was stolen, which in itself was not such a big deal: I had a new passport within 24 hours. (Passport stolen in Nice, and replaced next day in Frankfurt.)

&lt;&lt;&lt;An Australian Driver's Licence carries a photo, the age, the address and the signature of the holder&lt;&lt;
So does my library card (and all the drivers licences i know) this doesn't make a valid ID of it.
In 'real life' DL are generally accepted as 2nd id (when paying very large sums) or for minor/not legal purposes : renting an audio guide or paying with a not chipped bank card for small amounts)

Put it this way: In France and Germany, the driver's licence with photo and signature is identification valid enough to rent a car. What are the circumstances likely to be encountered in Eutope when it would NOT be considered 'valid' ID?

It would not be considered a validid for :
- checking in a hotel
- dealing with a bank
- paying for more than 600 Euros (more or less, depending on the store policy)
- paying with a non chip/pin card (but for small amounts, cashiers donn't bother to check if this official looking 'ID' is in the list of the accepted ones or not)
- trying to get a VAT refund
- cashing travellers cheques (i know, nobody does this anymore)
- being stopped by or dealing with the police for any reason (jaywalking, speeding, random controls, lodging a complaint...)
- entering some official buildings or industrial sites(example : visiting the parliament)
- being fined in transports
- self printed tickets control in a train
- flying (including domestic flights)
- custom controls (they still exist, even in the Schengen area - the difference is that they can happen anywhere (hint : coming from the general direction of the Netherlands)
- dealing with payments in an hospital, an insurance
....

I never carry my passport as an expat unless I am travelling out of the country, and none of the expats i know carry their passports around. Its just too cumbersome to carry in everyday life.

Neither the US embassy nor consulates require or recommend carrying it with you all the time.
In fact, after Sept 11 we were told not to let anyone see that your passport was from the US (and thus become a target). But that ended up being hysteria...

Europe isn't a country. There's practically no generalisation you can make about &quot;Europe&quot;.

But here's one that's close to universally true.

There is simply no point in having a national Identity Card system unless it is manadatory that everyone carries theirs at all times. Foreigners without formal ID cards must either carry their national ID cards (a rule, in practice, that includes only citizens of other EU/EEA states) or passports.

So in countries with national ID cards - like France - it's a legal requirement to carry your national card. Or if you're from a country where citizens aren't the property of the State, your passport. In countries with a tradition of freedom - like Britain - such impertinences don't yet exist (though B Liar is trying to change that).

And most of continental Europe has national ID laws, with the resulting requirement that you must have an national ID card or passport on you at all times.

In practice most more or less respectable tourists will rarely run up against this. But I can think of at least three occasions in the past 20 years where, in the normal course of business or holiday, I've been stopped by police in normal western European countries who wanted to see my papers. Only a passport would do: had I not had one, I'd at best have been detained on the spot till a policeman could be spared to take me to my hotel. Or at worst, charged with the criminal offence of not having papers.

And that's apart from going into highish-security buildings, getting medical treatment, cashing cheques or any of the areas you'd expect to be asked for formal identification.

In countries with a national scheme, ID practically always means the national card or passport. I can't imagine walking round the Continent without mine.

But the french, german, italian (and, i suppose most european countries) law clearly states 'you have to carry a valid ID all the time'. For Europeans, it's often not a passport (cumbersome, i agree) since we all have ID cards.

&lt;&lt;&lt;Neither the US embassy nor consulates require or recommend carrying it with you all the time.&lt;&lt;&lt;
We are not speaking about the USA but Europe, in the EU, it's European law that prevails

&lt;&lt;&lt;In fact, after Sept 11 we were told not to let anyone see that your passport was from the US&lt;&lt;&lt;
(this, Queenie, meant your were taught NOT to respect the law of the countries you were going too ???????????) - and what use is a passport if you don't show it to ANYBODY (not to the custom officers , the police, the bank, the airline or train employees ?) (and did they think terrorists were asking people their passport before any bombing ???)

OK, so simple question. Is it possible for a US resident/citizen to get a European ID? I know in the US it is possible for someone to get a non-DL state ID, but I assume they must prove some kind of local residency.

There are 2 themes really in this thread.

1. No, from a practical/use perspective there is no need to show a passport in daily comings and goings.

2. Yes. EU law would seem to indicate yes, passport should be carried at all times as ID.

In Italy, you must now have a passport to use the internet at an internet point - don't know if this is true elsewhere now too. Seems to be part of an anti-terrorism law?

Interested in the theory, but here's some actual events:
1* Had passport stolen in Nice. No agency there to replace an Australian passport, so flew to Frankfurt to collect one next day. Used Driver's Licence as ID at airport. No problem.
2* Have checked into many hotels in France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland over a period of twenty years. Most often need no identification. Usually use driver's licence. Very seldom required to produce passport at hotel check-in (and obviously I have it with me anyway at such times.)
3* Had dealing twice with police, once in Nice, once in Beauvais. Driver's licence acceptable ID on each occasion.
4* Received and paid for hospital services at Goslar, Germany. Licence was acceptable ID.

Obviously the passport is needed at customs/immigration points, and I would always have it with me if moving between zones/countries.
I have never needed it for day-to-day business, and therefore leave it securely in my hotel where it has always been safe. The only time I lost it, I was carrying it.

@JL62 : the answer is no : the ID card is a 'National' id card; it works like a passport as long as we are in Europe (not only EU and/or Schengen area) + some other countries

You can get a driving licence abroad but an official piece of paper (or plastic) testifying of your citizenship can be issued only by the authorities of the country your are a citizen of.

And there is another case where a passoport is of use : discounts : if you are under 18 or over 60, you are entitled many discounts : you have to prove your age (and under 18 you don't have a DL !)

Everyone has his own level of comfort - mine is to keep the most important item I have while traveling on my person, secured into a hidden pouch under my clothing.
Replacing a lost or stolen passport is a complete and unnecessary waste of travel time. Leaving it in a room safe is not 'safe', since all safes are manufactured with a master, which the hotel staff have in their possession. Leaving it in a hotel safe at reception is safer but one may easily forget to retrieve it before moving on to next destination. 'Hiding' it in a suitcase doesn't hide it at all, if someone is intent upon finding valuables while you're out of the room.

We were advised by both our tour guide on Insight travel and by the cruise ship personnel not to carry our passports with us. Photo ID (and in four weeks in Europe in several different countries) we were never even asked for this. Aussie driver's licence has photo ID and we were told this was sufficient. We spent five days in Dubai on our way home and were not asked for ID there either. Of course customs at airports require a passport.SK