longboatkey

Just the same as Hotels taking your passport at check-in...to prove I.D. The hotel admin. makes a photo copy of your passport and returns it to you. The copy becomes part of your folio.

Hans

nytraveler "I disagree. I think a passport is a very confidential document. It's issued by your government, containing private information, that is for your use in dealing with other foreign governments to gain admittance."

In many European countries we have Identity Cards. They are often used when you need to certify your identity, for example when renting something. They contain the address of the holder and are very difficult to forge, so they are regarded as the safest form of documentation.
In such cases an American might rather expect to show a credit card to the person he wants to deal with. Not sure about Italians, but demanding this would actually make a German feel uneasy (we often expect to be sent a bill to out home address which we can then pay by bank transfer, so handing over a credit card seems like losing control and possibly fraudulent).
Since Americans or Brits haven't got ID's, the closest equivalent is the passport and so people demand it instead of the ID.

capxxx

I think Hans has it exactly right, except Americans use a driver's license for those Identity Card situations. States even issue ``drivers non-licenses'' for non-drivers, just so they can use the card for ID purposes.

Asking pauly to provide two documents with photos seems reasonable, since pauly himself (herself?) is not present to be compared to the photo.

elina

Elina, just had to ask simply because I am curious.

"Social security number (that is asked in every store when the bill exceeds 50 euros)"

Does this really get asked when you are in Europe? How does the store know you are an American as compared to a tourist from elsewhere (eg me as an Aussie) in order to ask for social security number."


I am not American, I am European. I didnīt explain it very well. It is asked when I pay with a card, not with cash. It is common policy in many stores. But I suppose if Americans and Brits donīt have that, it does not show in the passport either. I consider the social security number (ID) to be the ONLY personal info in the passport.

kerouac

My U.S. passport was issued in 2006 and it most certainly does not have my social security number on it (not that I care).

Christina

I've never once been asked for a social security number anywhere in Europe, store or otherwise.

There isn't any personal info on a passport that isn't on an ID card, and SS numbers are not on them. I think people are just afraid of identity theft, that's all, and with all that info one could commit fraud. I don't think it's a privacy issue in the sense of not wanting people to know something because it is too personal in and of itself.

sf7307

<i>It is asked when I pay with a card, not with cash. It is common policy in many stores.</i>

Still wondering what they would do with this information. Let's just say the card you were planning to use was stolen. You give them the card and you give them your social security number. How does that help them? The card is still stolen. I'm not saying they shouldn't check your I.D.

A social security number (at least in the US) is the one thing you NEED to protect, because it is so much easier to steal an identify if you have someone's SS number, for example, getting a credit card in someone else's name.

kerouac

Going to the U.S. as a tourist I have not ever been asked for a Social Security number when paying with a card. I have been asked for a local telephone number, which is a big laugh, since I can make one up on the spot. I have sometimes been asked for ID, which makes more sense.

nytraveler

Sorry -

Social security number is another one that's private.

You need it to be hired for a job, get a passport, get a mortgage or other official reasons. But I would never, ever provide my social security number to any merchant - that's just asking for trouble. It's one of the easiest ways to steal someone's identity.

And we don;t get passports at police stations. You get them wither through the mail or at official offices of the federal government. And the number on them is something else that makes it easy to steal your identity - and should never be given out except for official reasons.

LoveItaly

Back to the original poster's question. Pauly, Italy is known for wanting documentation and since 911 even more so. Such as the requirement to show ones passport or ID to use a computer at an internet cafe. And if you stayed at a hotel in Italy you needed to give your passport to the desk clerk on checking in didn't you?

If you don't trust the Italian attorney you are dealing with you should hire another Italian attorney but that attorney will no doubt require the same documentation. As Ira said &quot;but you don't trust him enough..&quot;.

sheila

Definitively, there is a European Directive which requires official bodies which might have to deal with money on behalf of a client to check that client's ID. That involves one piece of photo ID and current evidence of an address. My office would not accept a photocopy.

Each organisation- bank, insurance company, solicitor, accountant or whatever- is governed by an appropriate body which sets the rules the organisations must follow. We are governed by the law Society of Scotland. The banks in the UK are governed by the Financial Services Authority and so on.

We are not allowed to act for anyone- involving money or not- without having gone through this process.

quokka

EU countries issue identity cards besides passports, which are used to prove identity. If you don't have one, your passport has to serve for this purpose. The lawyer needs proof who you are from an official document, either ID card or passport. This sounds like the most normal thing in the world to me.

sheila

Not all EU countries have ID cards