Passport need to carry all the time?

No, you don't need to have it on you at all times. I certainly don't. I do have a copy of it and a photo of it on my phone if I need it for some reason.

I carry mine in my money belt at all times in case I get asked for it.

A copy or picture of it will be useless if you are being asked for it for an official purpose. Look at it this way, you carry your driver license with you all the time don't you? How often do you need it? But when you do need it, the police officer will not accept a photo on your cell phone.

hubby keeps ours in his belt loop pouch that is sold here in Rick's. It can't come off unless he takes his belt off and that does not happen. In there he keeps our deep storage money (about $1000 worth) and an extra debit card and credit card.

I have the debit card we use in my Pacsafe Purse that I wear cross body so it's lockable and quite secure.

My Mom carried her passport with her all the time we were in France for 26 days in her money belt in her pants. She says she could hardly feel it. We both had one day of money in our pacsafe purses.

I think about the safes in hotels but I never seem to trust them so it's more of a peace of mind for us to carry them.

I would not carry them just in my backpack or pocket.

Because of the pickpocket situation I do not carry my passport with me although technically, I'm supposed to. I carry a state ID and a photo copy of my passport. In the 20 years I've been in Paris, I've been asked by police for my passport only once when I was a witness to an accident. The police understood completely why I did not carry my passport with me and accepted the copy and my state ID. Maybe, if I'd been the victim or the perp., things would have been different. I am only asked to show my passport instead of an ID when I pick up registered mail at the post.

You are supposed to carry your passport with you. This is a difficult position for tourists because of the difficulty in replacing the loss in a short period of time. Tough call. I can only state my experience.

I have sat in a waiting room at the US Embassy in Paris surrounded by hysterical people who had lost their passport and were now missing flights. No way I am carrying such a difficult to replace document with me when it is isn't needed. You need it for border crossings, for banking, for getting a phone sim card, for checking into a hotel in some countries and that is about it. You need the number for VAT when you purchase but a copy works fine for that in my experience and I even used a copy to get admitted to an ER and schedule surgery.

This is a personal choice; do what you are comfortable with. I carry a copy plus my passport card. I figure if the police need my papers, the least of my problems is having it fetched from the apartment. If I were a young man of color I might make a different choice, but as a white woman I have never once in 60 years of international travel been asked for my passport except in the specific settings where it is required. If you need to establish that you are legally in the country you need to be able to show the Schengen entrance stamp; there is no occasion where that is likely to be needed except at exit at the airport. If you were arrested then you'd have to make arrangements to pick up the passport.

I just never understand this question. In these times of security issues etc etc why would you be in a foreign country and give up the ability to positively identify yourself? 'It's never happened to me' just doesn't hold water. As a U.S. citizen, if you happen to be in Paris when you lose your passport you can get a temporary replacement at the Embassy in a couple of hours.

"As a U.S. citizen, if you happen to be in Paris when you lose your passport you can get a temporary replacement at the Embassy in a couple of hours."

I must respectfully disagree. It is an all-day escapade not a couple of hours even if you have a copy. I traveled with someone who lost hers. It actually took three days because she happened to lose it late in the day on Friday and the embassy office is closed over the weekend. She arrived bright and early on Monday and says that the place was packed because a lot of people lose their passports over the weekend. She waited almost until closing time to get the replacement passport. Naturally, she could not take her planned flight home on Sunday and was not able to travel until Tuesday and she had to pay the change fee and the difference between her fare for the flight she took and the ticket that she had but could not use. I mention this not to discourage people from carrying their passports (I carry mine sometimes and sometimes do not) but to clarify that replacing the passport can be a very time consuming and expensive endeavor.

I never understand why a person would carry such an important document around touring. I don't never have.

I carry my DL and a copy of my passport.

Worst case situation , and you are asked to show it.. they will accompany you back to hotel to retrieve it .. they don't throw people in jail that easily.

However.. perhaps because its obvious I am not an illegal immigrant nor do I resemble anyone that might be considered shady or high risk.. this will likely never be an issue for me. So if you are a middle aged caucausian woman I would think your chances of being asked for id randomly is pretty darn small.

I also do not carry my passport unless I am moving locations. I Also do not wear a money belt. I leave my passport and extra money locked in my suitcase. This is a personal decision because I find money belts to be extremely uncomfortable. Yes, I have tried several kinds. I have had my wallet taken out of a backpack so now only carry a small crossbody bag.

I only carry what money I need for the day and my debit card. I also carry a copy of my passport. In 9 trips I have not been asked for it. But as others have said, it is a personal decision. If you do want to carry it with you put it in a money belt and don't look at it during the day.

JHK- yes, indeed, I did not consider weekends, But I say what I say from experience. After losing my passport a couple years ago, I arrived at the Embassy about 45 minutes before they opened and was done in under two hours. YMMV. They welcomed me "home" when I walked into the security tent outside, I just loved that!

Pat, for me, the reason to carry a passport when touring is because one is supposed to, and it would be expected, in particular these days with security all over the place, but that's just me. Having said that, I wouldn't have lost mine if....

Book answer - only your passport is acceptable ID. It proves your identity and the stamps inside prove you are in the country legally. A military ID works IF you are on orders (and have the orders). I like to do things legally, in case the unexpected happens (ticket, accident, near some police activity), so I carry mine in a neck wallet or moneybelt all the time.

As an example, you could have been in the Notre Dame cathedral when the police officer was attacked recently. They made everyone in the building take a seat, keep their hands up, and stay there while they checked IDs to determine they weren't a threat and the area was cleared. I'm not sure they'd buy the answer that Rick Steves' website said you didn't need to carry your passport.

Realistic answer - most of us at this site are not the kind of people who will attract police attention. If you are asked and you tell police you don't have your passport with you, it's in your hotel room, you're not likely to wait in prison until you can produce it.

I can only recall being asked for mine at immigration/customs and hotels.

I don't carry my passport unless it is travel day,I either lock it in the hotel safe or my suit case but I carry a photo copy of my passport.Never been asked for it in 25 years of travel in Europe.
Mike

No, you don't need to carry it at all times. In my opinion, it's generally a better idea to leave it in a safe place in your hotel room. If it turns out that you absolutely need it, you'll know where it is and could produce it to the authorities as needed.

I don't think photocopies would be of any particular use to you, unless you need that information to obtain a replacement passport at the U.S. embassy should your actual passport be stolen.

I'm not a tourist in France, but I only carry my passport when traveling outside of France.

Brad there were hundreds of people in Notre Dame , and I am pretty sure at least a few of them didn't have their passports. Guess what.. never heard of them being detained , sorry old guys and gals in dockers and speaking english and wearing a water bottle on a holster were not who they were looking for.. as I said.. most of us really are not that suspicious looking.

Dave. where does it say we are supposed to carry our passports.

Everyone says this but no one has ever shown me who says its required and has been able to back that up with a link or site to look at.. I believe all one needs is id.

Maybe this will help

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1036

From the site:
<En dehors de tout contrôle d'identité, les forces de l'ordre peuvent inviter l'étranger majeur à présenter ses papiers. Ce dernier doit toujours avoir sur lui le titre ou document autorisant son séjour en France.

Ce peut être :

pour un court séjour (90 jours maximum au titre d'un séjour touristique, familial...), un passeport revêtu d'un visa valide sauf s'il fait partie des nationalités dispensées,
et pour un long séjour (de plus de 3 mois), une carte de séjour ou un visa de long séjour ou tout autre document de séjour valide (récépissé, autorisation provisoire de séjour...).

I carry ID so they will be able to identify the body. I am betting that the hundreds of people in Notre Dame included at least a hundred without a passport and that it was no problem. If I really really need to show the 'authorities' my papers, they will take me to my apartment to get them or I will make arrangements to have them fetched.

I did carry mine the first time I went to Russia in a money belt. I find them unnoticeable when worn properly (I wear mine below the waist in back which works fine when I am wearing trousers or skirt and a jacket -- wouldn't work in very warm weather with skimpier clothes. The second time I went to Russia, I left it in the hotel safe.

It took us more than two hours to do security and then get our number called to do some non-passport business at the Embassy in Paris. It must have been a wonderful alignment of stars to get through the process in 45 minutes. There were dozens of people there seeking passport replacement when we were there. It wasn't happening in 45 minutes for them.

That post in French does say you have to have them with you to produce them if asked.

I always wonder how many people forget their passports in a hotel safe, or in their luggage and then have to dig for them at the airport or go back to a hotel to get them etc?

75050, so it’s a requirement to carry it? Thank you for the information, if accurate, then its the only correct answer.

Now I know the question is about France but some of the answers seem to be pretty vague. So for clarity, every former Soviet Satellite State requires you to have your passport on you at all times as does Belgium.

Here is the translation

Apart from any identity check, the security forces may invite the foreigner to submit his papers. The latter must always have the title or document authorizing his stay in France.

It can be:

For a short stay (90 days maximum for a tourist stay, family ...), a passport bearing a valid visa unless it is part of the nationalities dispensed,
And for a long stay (more than 3 months), a residence permit or a long stay visa or any other valid document of stay (receipt, temporary authorization of stay ...)

I have always just kept it in my money belt. Never thought my luggage lock would stop anyone, just make it obvious it was broken into. Leaving it in a hotel room ( even in a safe) does not give me a "warm n' fuzzy" feeling. Someone sticking their hand inside the front of my pants will not go unnoticed. Since pick pockets want to be invisible, I doubt they would try.

If whatever you are doing works, that is great. There is more than one way to keep ones stuff secure

As far as the French goes, with the discussion of the acceptable documents is the operative:

toujours avoir sur lui

which means the passport must be carried on the person at all times. And then the howevers and the chance factors take over as charted in many of the above posts, making to carry or not to carry a tough choice. Wise to know the law though.

Just a note for those checking the reference provided by 75020, the correct reference is: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F31208, with the relevant text under the heading Contrôles des titres de séjour.

In light of which I would change my advice I offered above:

From:

No, you don't need to carry it at all times. In my opinion, it's generally a better idea to leave it in a safe place in your hotel room. If it turns out that you absolutely need it, you'll know where it is and could produce it to the authorities as needed.

To:

French law requires foreigners (except for EU or Swiss citizens) to carry their passport or resident visa at all times. Nevertheless, if I were a traveler on a short-term visa (the 90-day passport stamp), I would leave my passport in a safe place in my hotel room given the low probability that I would be asked for it by authorities. If it turns out that I would need to produce it, I would know where it is and could present it to the authorities if requested. It might lead to more hassle and a longer delay in the highly unlikely event it is requested, but I usually opt for convenience rather than strict adherence to every possibly applicable rule. Each person should weigh his or her own tolerance for risk.

The only acceptable ID outside your home country is your actual Passport. A driver license, government ID, letter from your mom, whatever, is not a proper ID especially in countries that do not use the same language your country does. While your driver license might by acceptable to use as collateral for the voice tour device at sights that offer them, that's about it.

I have made over 50 trips to Europe in the past dozen years and have never been asked by anyone for my Passport except at expected places like border crossings and when I initially arrive at the airport from the US. I'm sure there were many other places that I could have been asked for it, or maybe even should have been asked, but so far I haven't. The closest was on a RS tour when we stayed night in the Czech Republic. I was the first one into the hotel and the person checking us in asked for it, but the tour guide was there a second later and told him it was already taken care of (probably from the copy of my passport required to be provided to the RS tour office). Does this mean I feel I can simply not carry my Passport because no one has ever asked for it? No, because when someone does ask, I want to be able to produce it and then be on my way as quickly as possible. Having to run possibly all the way across town to get it from the hotel does not seem to be in my benefit as it most likely would not make the person needing to see it very happy.

Mark, there is a legal caveat that says you are exempt from the law when the law is inconvenient or unnecessary in your personal opinion or when the odds of being caught are low.

These exemptions are particularly true when you are a guest in someone else's country. Besides, if the police want to see your passport they can drop everything they are doing and follow you across town to you hotel room. We should start a new post "Which Legal Requirements We Are Exempt From?"

It would be interesting to know how the thing at Notre Dame or other incident scenes actually went/go, and how actual French police look at this question. I for one can easily imagine a situation where security forces could say no passport? you go over there and wait.

woinparis,

What kind of ID card do you carry? Is it a library card, your student lunch room ID, or something more official? I am asking because I really want to know having been told carrying what to a US citizen is an "ID" (our driver license) that it is not acceptable, especially in France because it is not in French, and no foreign official has any way of verifying that it is valid.

Thanks.

Mark, you missed the point. The French are only looking for migrants and not Americans or those who speak like they are American. By the way I have a friend from India that does a pretty good southern drawl.....

I'll take the risk of consequences of NOT having my official passport on me when asked over the much higher risk (to me) of losing it while out and about, due to pickpocketing.

We all know someone who has been pickpocketed - even Rick has been. How many of you know someone who has been detained or punished for not showing a passport in Europe other than at a border crossing, train, or airport?

By the way I have a friend from India that does a pretty good southern
drawl.....

I can do Apoo from the Simpsons.