I'll be in Belgium, Holland and Germany and I was wondering if I need to keep my passport on me at all times. Is there an advantage? Is it required by law? Can you tell I've never been to Europe (don't answer the last question.)

Hi M,

I carry my passport in a travel pouch under my clothes so as to avoid having it stolen.

In case you have to show ID to a police agent, it is very useful to have.

i always tend to where cargo pants and the pockets at the knees almost always have buttons, zippers, or velcro and it makes it almost impossible for someone to take anything from that pocket. when i am moving from point to point i will carry my passport. but you don't need it with you at all times...leave it at the hotel safe and carry a photo copy.

People have different opinions on this. And I don't know the law for those particular countries.

I always carry mine. My thinking is it is simply too important to be parted from. This is more for an emergency situation (you are injured, your hotel burns down, whatever). A passport back in the hotel safe doesn't do you much good at that point.

I too always carry mine. I use a moneybelt that straps around my calf, and that's where I keep my passport. I'm just too worried about it to part with it for too long. Opinions do tend to vary greatly on this subject though.

Tracy

I carry mine in a neck travel pouch, just because I like knowing where it is. If you have a hotel safe, you can leave it locked up there but you should then carry with you a Xerox copy of the facesheet picture and info.

I wonder what Ira had done that he had to show his ID to a policeman? :-?

>I wonder what Ira had done that he had to show his ID to a policeman?<

There are some things that a gentleman doesn't mention, especially when a lady is involved.

I never carry it unless it's travel day. I leave it at the hotel.

I do have a photocopy in my wallet.

I also scanned the picture page and e-mailed to myself moved it to saved e-mails and it's always there. In case something happens to the original and my wallet with the photocopy gets stolen (unlikely to happen on the same day, but..), all I need to do is to find the nearest internet cafe, print a new copy and get to the nearest US consulate. It takes a day or 2 at most to get a replacement. Some will say that is exactly the reason they don't want to leave it at a hotel because they don't want to waste a day. I say that it's uncomfortable to carry that thing around in summer time or when I'm doing extreme things, and since I never had anything happen to my passport yet, I'll take the trade off. If something happens, I could sacrifice few hours of my vacation in exchange of not bothering with the original all the other times.

I will never leave my passport anywhere except once in a while the hotel's main safe. Never in my hotel room or apartment or rental cottage. It is on me probably 95+ % of the time - and 100% if the hotel doesn't have a safe.

Great idea about scanning & e-mailing the file to oneself. I'm going to do that before my trip.

This thread made me think of our trip to Italy last fall.

I started my trip in Venice carrying my passport in my trusty security belt. As the trip went on, I got more comfortable and didn't feel like I was going to be pick-pocketed everywhere we went, so I started leaving the passport in the hotel safe. A week later we were in Siena for dinner and decided that we would take a different street to get back to our car - just to see a another part of the town.(Not the best idea we've ever had, especially at night!) We ended up on a busy non-pedestrian road outside the city walls, with absolutely no idea where we were and only the full moon to light our way. All I could think of was, "Great. We are out here in a country where we barely know the language and we are gonna get mugged, our bodies thrown in a ditch, and we don't even have our passports on us to help the police identify our bodies!"

We finally made it back to our car, but after that experience, I made sure to carry my passport with me. Just in case.

and what makes you think the muggers/killers would leave your passports on your body?

I don't want to sound morbid, but since you brought this story up????

I'm with Ira - I always have a neck pouch and carry my passport, cash and card in it at all times. If you're a little shortie like me it actually tucks into the top of your jeans at the waist.

It is very accessible but I usually just carry say 100 euros or dollars or whatever in my pocket of my jeans so I don't have to reach for my backpack or the pouch too often then.

Sherhatfield, I would imagine that if a traveller got murdered the murderer would no likely strip their body of all their money, jewerly, credit cards and their passport especially if the murder took place in an isolated location..and that does sound morbib I know. A friend of ours (an Ass't DA) was found murdered in an alley in NYC. There was a missing persons report put out on him but his body wasn't found for several days and when it was he did not have any ID on him.

So to me that is not a good reason to always carry your passport with you. But I know a lot of people don't feel comfortable without it and I understand.

Mixter, it seems to me that in the past some Fodorites have said it is the law to carry your passport on your person in either Germany or Belgium. Perhaps go to the various country embassey websites and see if they address this question.

Geez, I guess I should have kept my mouth shut. I was just relating a story that I thought was amusing - not really wanting to start a major discussion over whether or not my muggers would really leave the passport on my dead body.

This is why I rarely post comments on this board. I'll go back to just reading unless I have a question.

>some Fodorites have said it is the law to carry your passport on your person in either Germany or Belgium

It is in fact a law in most European countries, including Germany, to have a valid ID easily available. Not necessary on you. But in the very improbable case that you get asked for your ID by the police (say crime scene, looking for witnesses) and you have left it in the hotel you can easily lose some hours of sightseeing time because you are inviting, let's say "administrative hassle". Therefore it is a good idea to have a valid ID on you.
And no, library card or driver's license are not valid ID. But I heard that some US states (Texas?) issue "state ID card", which would probably count as a valid ID. Or is it only for non-citizens?

I never carry it except when crossing borders. I leave it in my hotel room, in one of those electronic safes if they have one, shoved into some luggage if they don't. I believe it is safer there than in my pocket and I don't use money belts or other contrivances. In third world countries where you're supposed to have it on you -- say Mexico -- I carry a photocopy. In really nasty places where it is required I'd probably carry it -- but I haven't been to one of those places for a while.

If your passport is lost or stolen file a police report, then call your embassy or consulate. The photocopy will then come in handy, although it is not dispositive of the issue. You will get home, almost certainly on time and with minimal extra expense.

OK, I think our best bet is to carry it on us. I will probably keep a photocopy in the safe. I think I would rather have it on me than leave it in the hotel.

Hi Sherhatfield

Your post made me remember a similar happening to us in Siena. It was after midnight, found that we walked outside the wall, then back into the city, and (the best part) found someone we did not know to take us to our hotel.

For me it was scary.