bigsky50

We are traveling to Germany and Czech Republic in about 10 days-my first overseas trip since 1972, Obviously a lot has changed. Question-As we travel about, do we need to keep our passports on our persons or can we lock them away in the hotels, keeping only our color passport copies (and US drivers licenses) with us? I understand I will need them at arrival in MUC and for return to ATL, but what about at hotels? I understand border control is virtually non-existent for these countries. We are entering CZ near Cesky Krumlov and leaving from Prague. Thanks in advance!

joannyc

I had to show my passport when leaving the Czech Republic going into Austria (3 years ago).

But, once in a location, I always keep it locked away in my hotel safe.

travelgourmet

There may be "laws" stating that you need to carry it on your person, but the reality is that you are unlikely to need it, except upon arrival and when checking into a hotel. When simply walking around the city, I would just keep it in my room to reduce the risk of loss. I would think that you would bring it with you when you switch cities, so don't understand what bearing crossing the borders would have.

november_moon

There is a big debate about whether or not people need to carry passports on them. We choose to leave ours at the hotel or apartment. We always carry our drivers licenses, which prove who we are and where we came from should anything happen to us - wind up unconcious at the hospital or something. I also make a habit of putting a business card from the hotel where we are staying in my wallet - both in case I need to get directions or take a cab and want the exact address, or again if anything should happen to me.

In Germany in 2006, I believe we were asked for our passports by the conductors on trains, but other than that, we didn't need them except when checking into hotels - and at that point of course we had passports with us. We didn't go into the Czech Republic, but we did go to Austria and didn't encounter any border crossing of any kind.

jetsetj

we stay in apt. without safes alot.
I always keep mine on me at all times in my money belt.
I think it is a good idea.

scatcat

At H&M in Nice, I had to show my passport when paying with a credit card. If you buy an item that is eligible for VAT refund, you may need to show your passport if the clerk fills out the form.

nytraveler

You have to show your passport to register at hotels - since the hotel signs you in with the police. After that you can leave it in the hotel safe (if it has one). I wouldn;t use a room safe - since they often aren't. We carry ours with us, since we would prefer to know immediately if anything happens to them- not find out several days later when checking out of a hotel.

And no, you don;t have to carry one at all times- but, unlike the US, in many places in europe you are required to identify yourself if asked by the police. And might have to go and get your passport (unlikely unless they think you have actually committed a crime).

bigsky50

Thank you all. It seems the consensus is that I don't NEED to keep it with me, but that it's generally a good idea. Sound right?

logos999

You legally don't need to keep an ID with you in Germany, but you may be asked by police (and others) to show it. If you can't there may be "delays". In a foreign country, I'd try to keep my papers as close as possible. Those improvised roadblocks were you're asked to provide an ID somewhere in the country are not nearly as frequent as they are in the US, but they do exist, especially a few miles before you cross a border.

logos999

You are in fact required to take your passport with you, when you cross a border, even if there are no checkpoints anymore. Not doing so would indeed be an offense.

Mainhattengirl

Have lived in Germany for 2 decades and I never carry my passport with me. Have never been asked for it either. For credit cards, they usually just want to see a picture ID, but for VAT, then yes, they will want to see your passport. As for hotels, I think that the registering with the police stuff is no longer in existence. The last few times I have checked into hotels in Berlin or Cologne, I wasn't asked for my passport. When I cross borders, I of course carry my passport with me. Having copies in my suitcase and a copy at home for someone to fax to me if needed is also a good idea.

Gary_Mc

The last 4 years traveling in Germany we have not be asked to show our passports for rooms, credit cards or anything. I carry mine as I feel pretty confident that I will not lose it. I much more likely to forget that it is locked in a room safe and leave without it.

We often travel using discount state railroad tickets (Länder-Tickets) and I believe that they require you to have a passport to prove that you are the person whose name you have printed on the ticket. In any case, I have never been asked for it by the conductor.

Regards, Gary

Cowboy1968

Only your passport (or ID card for German/EU nationals) will establish legal proof of identification. Many Schengen countries have CC card size ID cards in addition to passports, so it is not normal for a cop that someone cannot give proper proof of ID. Even though you do not have to have it with you.

Besides that, a cop CAN accept other forms of ID like copies, your DL, even your library card, as sufficient ID, but you have no entitlement that he or she does. (This is only for police controls within Germany, NOT for crossing any border)

If you were in Munich and just wanted to spend the day in the city, I'd keep the passport in the hotel safe and take the copies.
If you wanted to do a day trip, say to Neuschwanstein, further away from your hotel, I'd take the original document with me.

Hotels still have to file the identities of their guests with the police. Whether they ask for ID when you fill out the registration form or not is another thing.

Re. border controls
It is true that Schengen did away with stationary border controls, i.e. at airports or roads. But in return, police can do spot controls to check identity, both at or near the border, or at other locations like railway stations, major thoroughfares, even far away from the borders.
If you travel by train, it will be highly common to have border police (a team from both neighboring Schengen countries) near the border on the train - but who they will ask for ID is totally up to their discretion.

travelgourmet

Re: using the passport for tax free shopping. I have NEVER had to show the passport at the shop, and I've done this a lot. I've always just entered it later. You will, however, usually need to show your passport when they actually process the application, usually at the airport.

I would guess that you would need it if you wanted to take advantage of some of the in-town rebate centers, but I've never seen much point in those and just do it at the airport upon leaving.

altamiro

The most important use of the passport after arrival is getting you back to the country you are from at the end of the trip. So think hard where you keep it, and do anything to minimize the risk of just losing/forgetting/mislaying it. It would be just too easy to forget a passport in a safe on leaving...

november_moon

We leave our passports in our hotel room because we think they are safer there than carrying them around with us everywhere. Neither my husband nor I have ever found a money belt or other under-clothing security item that was comfortable to wear AND invisible under clothing. So if we are going to carry our passports, we have to carry them in some sort of bag that could be swiped. Since I've never actually heard of anyone specifically who has had a passport stolen out of a reputable hotel, I think they are pretty safe there.

quokka

A German living in Germany, I have been required to show my ID card
- at a shop cash desk when paying with my EC card - sometimes they do random checks if the owner of the card is who he/she pretends to be. This rarely happens but it does, there is a random generator in some cash computers.
- leave it as deposit when I borrowed the key to see a church on my own.
- some youth hostels required the ID to be deposited at the reception for the whole duration of stay.
- Länder tickets and similar day tickets require the name of the passenger to be written on the ticket and proof of identity to be carried, although this is rarely checked. In case there is a revisor on board the train it may be, though.
Not to mention some other cases are not relevant for travellers.

In other European countries the ID was wanted when changing money or traveller cheques in banks, ATMs have made that obsolete. If you still plan to change cash or TCs, however, you will need an ID.

tcreath

We traveled to Cesky Krumlov from Austria a few years ago and needed our passports as well, where we got stamped.

I usually leave my passport in the hotel. However, last year we were in Germany and my husband and I were in the car driving from Rothenburg to Berchtesgaden when we got pulled over. We were not speeding, and to this day we have no idea why we were pulled over; we just assumed that they were looking for someone fitting our vehicle's description. In any event, we were asked for our passports. Luckily we had them with us, in our luggage in the trunk. I'm not sure what would have happened had we not had the passports with us, and I'm glad we did not find out.

Tracy

saacnmama

You may find yourself using your passport more than you expect (and more than a US citizen living in Europe), simply because US driver's licenses are generally not accepted as ID, because they are issued by state, not national, governments. (Today I had to pick up dry cleaning that I'd lost the ticket for. I was asked for an ID, but a photocopy of my passport was accepted with no problem; I've been going there for a year and she knew which clothing was ours. She had to write the ID no. in a log book.)

On trains, it is very unlikely that you will be asked for your ID, but you will have to show it when crossing into or out of the Shengen agreement area. Often the border guards get on the train and check while traveling between two stations, so that if you're not familiar with the uniforms you could take them to be conductors.

When I had color photocopies of my passport made, the person doing them refused to print them anywhere near actual size because of counterfeiting laws. It would be an amazingly funny story to tell later if a cop asked to check your ID and then pulled out the cuffs because your photocopies looked to real, but you might want to think about scaling up or down when you make copies.

saacnmama

that should be "too real"--sorry!