Copies of Passports

You just copy the page with your picture. The main purpose is that it makes it easier to get a new passport if you lose yours, so keep it in a safe place. Technically, your passport original is your only form of legal ID when in Europe, so that is what you should carry out and about.

Another tact is to take a picture of your passport page with your phone and store it digitally on your phone, if concerned you might lose your phone, email a copy to yourself as an attachment.

What Sam said.

Thank you. Appreciate the help

Passport goes in my purse in a zipped inside pocket, copy of it goes in the pouch I wear inside my jeans with spare cash, credit & debit card.

When we travel together, my wife and I carry copies of each other's passport pages as well as our own. Just another layer of security blanket. Just the page with the picture and expiration date.

I have to say I think this is a bit of a myth. (I always did it, too.). But sometime last year I accompanied an acquaintance who had lost her passport and had NOTHING to the consulate here to get an emergency replacement. She had no copy of her passport- but walked out of the consulate a couple of hours later with her new emergency passport.

I think your views vary but unless I'm going to a place where they require my passport, I usually just leave the passport in the safe and have the copy with me.

I've been going to Europe for 20 years and apart from the official places that need passports-like the Reichstag and other government buildings, I have never been asked for my ID anywhere. Nor have I seen police stop random tourists in the streets and ask for ID. YVMV

I keep a PDF that has a copy of my passport, driver's license, and Global Entry card on it. I password protect the file and keep it on a cloud drive so I can access it anytime. This is in addition to a hard copy.

I appreciate all the information.

Thus far, I have not made any copies of my passport and I always carry it with me.

Looks like I have been lucky and probably need to make a copy this trip.

Only time I’ve ever actually needed my physical passport other than the airport was in Madrid to get a discount into the botanical gardens.

Our Rick Steves guide in Spain told us the first day, “No one is going to ask for your passport. Leave it at the hotel.”

If controlled within the Schengen Area, you are required to be able to do two things:
- Identify yourself using a recognised form of identification as set out on the Schengen website
- Justify your presence within the Area.
The only document the authorities are required to accept from a US citizen is a valid US passport. They may at their discretion accept other forms of ID.

If you fail to satisfy these requirements then the authorities are entitled to detain you until such times as they are satisfied about your identity and presence in the Area. They are not required to bring you to where ever you stashed you passport etc...

As a Irish/Swiss citizen I have been checked four times an on one occasion I had to get of an international train and wait several hours from my colleague's Swiss wife to come with his ID card as he had forgot it.

Personally, I would not want to loose a day or even longer of my holiday sitting in a cell in a police stations....

Stoutfella, disapointing that a RS representative would advocate breaking the laws of the host country. There are 4 things you never do: You don't tug on Superman's cape, You don't spit into the wind, You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger, And you don't disrespect your host.

Telling people they don't need to carry around a passport is "disrespectful" :) OH MY!

I have actually been asked for ID by the police in Italy. I have no idea what they were doing but they went down the sidwalk asking all of us sitting at a cafe for ID. We showed our Drivers License and they glanced at them and walked away...

I only carry my passport when I am going to need it (VAT refund, changing hotels etc)

I do not keep my passport on me when we are traveling. I have a photo of it on my phone , and do keep a paper copy in my trip paperwork, but that is in the hotel room.

This topic comes up regularly. I'm one of those who does not carry my physical passport around all day, and I do keep a copy of it in the cloud and on my devices (as others have said, to make it a little easier to replace, if necessary).

It's common to be asked for a passport when checking into lodging, but in multiple trips to various European, Asian, South-American, and African countries, I have never once been stopped while I'm out and about and asked to show my passport or any other form of ID, so, shrug, I'll risk it. (Now, if I were to travel to, say, China--which I wouldn't do right now as a Canadian, anyway--I would carry my passport.)

Two issues. 1. What can you get away with. 2. What is the legal requirement I accepted when I crossed the border.

Don't get me wrong, I don't always carry my passport. But I know I should and I have absolutely no rationalization justifying my disrespecting the laws of the host country.

To be honest, police are profiling and if you look a certain way, then you will be asked to produce an identity document at some point. As a middle aged Austrian looking woman, I’ve never been asked in 16 years for any form of identity from authorities on the street. My work colleagues who hail from other parts of the world, such as Iraq and Nigeria, get asked for identification at least once/month. And often not in a nice way.

This topic comes up regularly. I'm one of those who does not carry my physical passport around all day, and I do keep a copy of it in the cloud and on my devices (as others have said, to make it a little easier to replace, if necessary).

And just out of interest what is your plan if say you were picked up during a check at the train station after a terrorist attack on a Friday evening? The US embassy is closed, the police are not interested in your phot copy and too occupired to bother taking you back to the hotel. Sit in jail until someone from the US embassy turns up and hope they are willing to go to the hotel and get your passport???

Well, Jim. I have been to Europe 1273 times over 76 years, and I have never been in a train station after a terrorist attack. I also, personally, don't find this law convenient for my travel style; so I am justified in leaving my passport locked in a hotel room safe where the odds of me forgetting it exceed the odds of someone nicking it if I were to carry it. I am certain the magistrate will agree with me. After all, I look Austrian.

They're not just looking for terrorists (who can easily get passports anyway). They're looking for illegal immigrants, and those scofflaws who overstay their 90 day Schengen limits. And maybe ordinary criminals who you might look like. Your US state-issued drivers license is not legal ID anywhere outside the US. What you might get away with is different from what is legal.

Just for fun, the next time you are pulled over by the highway patrol in the US for speeding, show the trooper a photocopy of your drivers license, or even better, a photo on your phone, and see how they react.

I'm always amused at how righteous this topic becomes.

I don't carry my passport, but I do carry my passport card. Does anyone else have a passport card?

The Padsport Card, and the Global Entry Card both serve needs of U.S. citizens who travel from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Caribbean countries by land or sea. Neither can be used for international air travel
BUT, if the country you are visiting only requires a nationally issued identification, and not specifically a passport then you would have a good argument to use it as meeting the requirements. Or you could just carry your passport and not worry about it.

2nd) I figure if I have to get a passport reissued in an emergency If
I can just hand the person working on it all the info it MAY make
there job easier for them. As I am sure having the numbers would make
it easier to look up. If nothing else just being able yo type in the
name from reading it vs being told may make their job easier. And it
is not like it cost anything.

Makes perfect sense. I took it a step further. Around my neck is a dogtag with a VR code printed on it. Scan the code and all the copies pop up, and energency contacts, insurance, etc.. So they can identify the body if they find it laying on the sidewalk.

IF your hotel room was somehow destroyed while you were out and about for the day, what would you do for a passport if it were in your room?

Just a thought.

As many have said on this forum, with a passport, credit cards and cash, you can get home again or at least away from whatever danger/unpleasantness is present where you are.

Likely to happen? Hopefully not. But is carrying these items really that inconvenient?

See the Covid-19 & Travel board for more thoughts on emergency preparedness while travelling.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/covid19/pre-planning-for-climate-disasters

It gave me some things to think about that I've never considered. Even for domestic travel and road trips.

Even though it is a nuisance, above all in hot weather when you're out and about in 30+ C temperature, I always have the passport on me. Have been asked twice when crossing borders taking the train, once over the Dutch border by their controllers (that was in English, definitely not part of a random check as everyone in my area of the coach was checked for passports/ visas. ) and twice by the Bavarian police (both times in German, I kept the communication as such.) crossing by train between the Munich-Salzburg corridor....ie, only that one.

I don't carry a paper copy of the passport or phone copy. "They" are not merely looking at your name and photo, when you're being checked.

This all may be mute. You cannot make a good copy from the new format passports. I think they are designed not to be copied. I always find this discussion a bit amusing as fail to understand what the big deal is about carrying a passport. Not like it is a ten pound brick. I think there is a little bit of snugness in boasting about not carrying a passport. In fifty years of travel, I have been stopped three times unexpectedly -- France, Italy, and Prague. In all case the officer making the request did not come across as exceptionally friendly. The old question --- better to have it and not need it OR to need it and not have it. I always have it.

I don't carry my passport, but I do carry my passport card. Does anyone else have a passport card?

Is it listed on the Schengen website? If not then you have no legal right to try and use it to meet the Schengen requirement to be able to identify yourself. The official checking your identity might accept it but then again they might not....

The most likely time you'll be checked if there is a security incident and in such situations the police will have something better to that play silly games with people who have not got there ID documents. It will be a case of stick them in the back of a police van and sort them out later.

I love these conversations as I always either feel more at ease with my decision and learn something new.

We do not carry our passports on us, just a copy. The risk of being pickpocketed is higher than the risk of being stopped and asked for it, so based on risk, we choose not to have it on us when we are out and about for the day. We also do not use a money belt or anything like that. If we are traveling for the day with all our luggage we keep our passports handy, just like at the airport.

There has only been one time that my spidey sense told me to take my passport with us for the day while we were in Paris in late October 2015. Nothing happened and we were fine. I get home and a few weeks later the terrorists attacks in Paris happened.

Aside from the legal requirement of carrying proper ID, chances are you will not be stopped in the streets as part of a passport check, if you're a betting person.

Traveling in Europe since 1971 and being asked for the passport in the streets or even in a train station by patrolling police has never been my experience, never happened , not even in commie East Berlin in 1987 or 1989 or in 1973 in commie Prague. Still, I have seen police stop others in the streets asking for their ID. One example of just that I saw in Hannover in 1987.

Admittedly, there have been numerous times I was out about in a city solo in Germany and France without my Passport, and especially, didn't have it on me when out and about among French. That was then, now I carry it regardless, whenever leaving the hotel.

I have always carried mine with me, in deep storage in my moneybelt, which I don’t even feel now that it has become second nature to always put it on every day.
I leave a copy of it at home, and I have another copy in my suitcase.
Look at recently in Maui, when people had no time to get back to accommodations to get their belongings during the tragic recent wildfires.
Like someone else said: you can exit anywhere very quickly if you have your documents with you at all times.
Traveling solo most of the time, I like to be prepared for anything.

The risk of being pickpocketed is higher than the risk of being
stopped and asked for it

Letizia, you really need to come visit more congenial parts of the world.

Exactly, Letizia. The chances of being pickpocketed or having my purse snatched are far, far greater than the chance of my hotel room being destroyed or some such, IMO.

Interestingly, two of the few "official" sources of this law (pertaining to Italy) I could find state the following, "Personal ID
By law, you must always be able to show some form of identification. In most cases a photocopy of the data page of your passport should be enough, but you may also be asked for a second form of photo ID. The police will normally ask for your full passport if you are stopped while driving." https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/print

"Individuals in Italy are required by law to have government ID in their possession at all times. This may be required including when checking into hotels or private accommodation, as well as for entry to sports and other entertainment events. The Embassy recommends that you keep your passport in a safe place, and carry another form of ID, or a photocopy of your passport, with you while moving around Italy." https://www.dfa.ie/travel/travel-advice/a-z-list-of-countries/italy/

Mind you, neither of these sources are intended for North American travellers, but I agree with the recommendation of the Irish Embassy.

I don't use a moneybelt. I've tried. The first time I travelled overseas (to Hong Kong, Macau, and Tokyo), I carried my passport at all times in a moneybelt. I'm short-waisted and petite. The moneybelt was uncomfortable and became bent everytime I sat down. I also suffer a lot from heat (even temperatures in the 70s, if it's at all humid), and the moneybelt made me hotter and got sweaty. My passport was a mess after that--all bent. I tried putting it in a ziploc, and that solved the sweat problem (for the passport. It made it even worse for me), but it did not solve the bending problem.

Now, when I'm in transit, I use a neck wallet for my passport. I wear a loose or bulky top to try to hide it, because, otherwise, it can be seen through my clothing. The straps usually also show at the neckline. Furthermore, it also contributes to me feeling too hot.

Others may not have the same difficulties with moneybelts and neckwallets that I do. That's wonderful for them.

Meanwhile, I will continue to "do me" (not that I need the patronizing permission of anyone here) and leave my passport in the room safe when I'm out and about on a daily basis. That's what works best for me.

BB, you did your homework, and that's what it's all about. But you discovered how hard it can be to find the answer to this question x how many borders some might cross.

I checked a few countries a few years back, all Central and Eastern Europe and it was pretty consistent a government issued ID. Now, I could argue Texas is a government, but I doubt that's the intent.

I have an aquaintance that owns a couple airbnb's in a European city. To the best of his knowledge none of the roughly 900 guests have been victims of pickpockets. On the other hand 2 have left passports in the room safe and one left his credit card in the silverware drawer (that was me).

BB, just stumbled on this. I guess you could google the law if you read Italian.

Yes, you have to carry your passport in Italy. Italian law requires that anyone in a public area must carry an identity document issued by their national government. According to the law of DLGS, 25 July 1998, N. 286, you are always required to carry with you the original passport in Italy.Aug 12, 2023

Laminated copy of passport and US driver's license on my person in a small sling bag of some kind worn in front. Original passport in accommodation. Even checking into accommodation a copy of passport works, they’re just going to make a copy anyway. A us driver's license will work in many situations, picking up 1st class train tickets, other kinds of tickets, sometimes in Spain using a credit card for purchases, etc.
Going on 20 years on independent travel to Europe and Mexico.
Not changing my practice

@James E. I may have used that very same silverware drawer when I was in a European country. g

Funnily enough, I DID usually carry my passport with me when I was in East Central Europe, as I was still fairly new to international travel and more nervous about things then. However, I did not carry it the three times I was going to visit a bath, as I wasn't comfortable leaving it in the locker or locked change room. That was when I hid it in the silverware drawer (assuming I had found a place others wouldn't think of....hmmmm). The ONLY time I was worried about not having my passport was the day we were going to Veli Bej. Certain subway stations were closed down, and there were armed police or soldiers on the street along with fencing. We had no idea what was going on and were worried because we didn't have our passports with us. It turned out to have been the pride parade, but we didn't know that at the time.

I don't read Italian, so thanks for the info and translation. As far as I can tell, it's government-issued ID that is required, not a passport specifically, although, granted, most international travellers would have their passports with them, anyway. I do have a Nexus card, in addition to a passport, as well as a driver's license (admittedly provincial, not federal), and a Certificate of Indian Status (which is federal, but would probably mystify a lot of Europeans, so I don't usually carry that one to Europe).

I actually met someone on a tour in Italy who had been pickpocketed the previous day in Rome. Our apartment host in Portugal also warned us about carrying valuables, because her previous guests had their wallets and ID stolen on the street. So, I tend to worry more about that than about a disaster happening while I'm out for the day. Of course, anything is possible.

I can understand why some people feel more comfortable carrying their passports, but I worry more about losing mine or having it stolen, as the only place I can easily carry it would be in my purse, than I do about the unlikely/rare possibility of needing to show it other than when travelling or checking in to accommodations. I do register my travels with the Canadian government, so in the event of unrest or a disaster, the government would know I was there, and I would still have some form of ID, as well as a copy of my passport, on my person. I feel comfortable and safe enough with that.

Thanks for that info, Gail.

I don't drive in Europe, but I thought one needed an International Drivers' License for that? Am I mistaken?

BB, all fair, well considered and reasonable. My official line is more like:

"I don't always carry my passport. But it is the law in most countries and if I am ever asked to produce it and can not, I recognize that I could end up with a huge inconvenience, maybe cost, and it's no one's fault but my own. The fact that I have only been checked a few times in 20 years changes nothing"

There is a way around this. Passport Card and a Global Entry card is a national government issued ID. Meets the letter of most laws, but if the officer doesn't recognize it, may still be an issue. I don't carry my passport any longer, but I have a Hungarian issued Residency card. But the bank still wanted to see my passport the other day.

I would definitely take responsibility if I knowingly or unknowingly did not follow the exact letter of the law and got detained or fined for it. I just don't think it's likely.

An IDP may or may not be needed. In Iceland it is not as long as your license is is English.