Passport security

Hi Tom, you'll get a bunch of different answers on this, but I carry my passport in my money belt. I'd rather have it on my person than leave it back at the hotel in the event that I need it for identification purposes, fleeing the country, etc. I know several people who locked it up in the hotel safe and forgot it. Just something I don't want to have to think or worry about.

Basically two schools of thought on this issue. One camp uses money belts and keeps extra cash, credit cards, passports on them when out and about. The other one tends to feel that it's not needed or that they feel it's safer to have it back at the hotel. Some carry a copy of the information page of their passport.

Whichever way you go it's probably a good idea to have some form of picture ID with you.

Tom, it varies between countries, but in many, it is a legal requirement to carry ID. And, for non-EU foreigners, the only valid ID is a passport.

But, then, how often have you actually been stopped by the police and asked for your name? In my case, not for many years. If stopped, and you do not have ID (no passport) the police could take you to the station until you could prove your ID.
Do you want to follow the law, or are you going to "wing it"? Your choice.

P.S. 1: Carrying ID is a requirement in Germany, France and Switzerland, not in the UK. I am unsure for other countries.
P.S. 2: The only legal ID is a national ID card from an EU country, or a passport. A driving licence is not legal ID, though a private person or business can accept whatever they want, a policeman will want to see a passport.
P.S. 3: You of course need to carry your passport when crossing borders, even if it is a Schengen border with no regular checks, you could hit a random spot-check.
P.S. 4: I am not paranoid about security. Everybody else in the city is carrying an ID card or a passport, why would they pick on me? If I have a pocket with a zip it goes in there with my cash and cards. Hence my passport is somewhat posterior-shaped.

In practice some people feel it is safer on them, some feel it is safer locked or hidden in the hotel room. My personal strategy is to leave it in the hotel room safe IF I am staying in the city and can retrieve it easily. If I leave the city on a day trip I take it with me. If I am driving I will have it. If I am in a country outside Europe where random checks occur I will have it.
I do keep a color copy of it with me.

Others will strongly disagree and keep it on them at all times.

Technically yes, but logic dictates that circumstances should enter the decision.

As for example, how would you carry a passport while swimming? A waterproof pouch would be an extreme, while leaving the passport with your towel would be risky.

I don't carry my passport while cross country skiing at resort villages keeping it in my room out of sight. But I will carry my passport on a multi-day hut to hut trip or on inn to inn walk/bike trips where I can secure my passport in my pack.

I've been going to Europe for 15 years and I have yet to be asked for my passport on the street. I usually keep a copy of the information page in my purse or daybag and keep the original at the hotel. I feel a lot safe having it there than carrying it around with me.

Again, YMMV.

I carry mine with me all the time. The one time I will need it will be the same time that I don't want to go rushing back to the hotel to try to get it. It's tiny - I keep it in my neck pouch.

I carry mine with me all the time, too, and I travel to Europe almost annually.

I carry mine as well. The law of various countries is, I think, that you must have valid national identification, which is why a state idcard won't do.

We always carry the passport since it really is the only thing that proves you are legally in the country. Copies are worthless because they can be easily forged. In nearly a full year of travel in Europe over the past 25 years we have been stopped twice unexpectedly. Glad we had the passport each time. The classic question. Is it better to have it and not need it or to need it and not have it. Your call ----

Without trying to sound completely paranoid, I want my passport, money and cards (in my money belt) with me at all times in case I can't get back to my hotel and/or have to develop a quick exit strategy.

That depends on where I am or if I am solo, etc. Mostly, I carry it with me, at least, the last few most recent trips. I don't use the room safe at all. If I am going on a day trip r/t, ie, outside the city, the passport is certainly not in the room safe, it's on me. The chances are a million to one, but what if you're stopped by the police and are asked for ID. Are you going to present your state Dr Lic?

The United States Passport states (on an inside page) that you may carry a copy of your passport while travelling. I make a color copy with no problem.
In my opinion, it's a good idea to do this - carry the copy in a neck pouch or moneybelt - and leave your original passport in a safe place.
If your original passport should "go missing", you will be able to get a replacement easily.

I have both a passport and a passport card. I carry the passport in my money belt and the passport card in my wallet. Quite often I'm asked for photo i.d. when using my credit card so I show the passport card. I'd rather take a chance of losing that than my driver's license overseas.

The United States Passport states (on an inside page) that you may carry a copy of your passport while travelling.

What the US government says is irrelevant, they do not write the laws in other countries. What German, Swiss, French etc. law says is that non-EU foreigners must carry their original passport. By all means make a copy and keep it somewhere else, but the original it is the only legally acceptable ID.

Does anyone know if a NEXUS card is legal ID for these purposes? It's US or Canadian government issued and has name and photo. It is also smaller and easier to carry and will create less trouble if it is stolen

Mira, NO, NO, NO. It doesn't matter what the US government says. This is all governed by international treaties. These say a valid travel document is a passport, which has an agreed format and standard, and that is written into French, German etc. law.
The only exceptions are when countries agree between themselves to accept other documentation. Which is what happens inside the EU with national ID cards.

If the US were to ask EU countries to accept NEXUS (or other) cards, the EU would want something back, that the US accept National ID cards from EU countries. And, if you accept ID cards, you cannot stamp an entry date on them, so these are only acceptable if both countries agree there are no limits for how long their citizens stay. I can't see the US government accepting EU citizens entering the US with ID cards only, and having no limits on how long they stay.

One thing that has not been mentioned is the heightened state of alert throughout Europe due to acts of terrorism. There simply is more security presence, and as a result, the possibility of additional checks. If an incident does occur in your vicinity, having ID, and preferably your passport would be critical.

I for one was less likely to carry mine, always would if boarding a train or leaving the city, less likely in the city. I now carry it within the city for all but maybe popping down to a local bar for a nightcap or coffee.

Yes, I know a passport is required for entry into the country.

However, entry permits and ID are separate things. Is the issue that the country you are in requires you to carry your proof of legal entry into the country or simply something issued by your nation identifying you by name and photo? The former would obviously be a passport. The latter could be a NEXUS card or federal ID card if your country offers one. I assume some non-EU countries have national ID cards. Do citizens from those places need their passports on them (obviously needed for entry!). At this point I'm just curious as to the details - is it state ID required or proof of legal entry required?

Mira, If the police stop you, Proof of ID including of being legally in the country is required. So it is the same requirement as entering the country.
Plus, the police have only been trained to recognise national (and other EU) identity cards, and passports (which are to an international standard). They have probably never heard of a NEXUS card (I am not sure what it is).
And it is only EU/Schengen ID cards which can be used for entry or ID, as only EU/Schengen citizens are exempt from the 90-day limit and do not require their passports stamping.
It also comes down to police training, they cannot be expected to know ever ID any local authority anywhere in the world issues, and tell if it is genuine or just something someone created on their computer. Passports are to an internationally agreed anti-counterfitting standard which the police have been trained on.

I carry mine with me, not because I think I'll be stopped by police, but because I often drive in Europe, or I use a US credit that defaults to a signature, and the clerk wants to see an ID with my signature on it (had this happen to me in France recently). On other occasions, they want to see ID when I buy a SIM card, or when I rent a bike or an audioguide at a museum. It's just more convenient to have than to leave it at the hotel.

I carry my passport. I know people think it's inconvenient but it is your only valid ID plus proves you are in the country legally (unless the police ask you while you're working; on a tourist visa).

It's like your Driver's license. I carry mine all the time even though I'm only asked for it rarely.

Just wondering if anyone has first hand experience (or credible second hand experience) of being stopped without one's passport . What would be the consequences of not having one's passport?

I'm also wondering how locals deal with identification when engaging in activities not conducive to carrying documentation. Swimming, diving or even running a marathon or other competitive actives being extreme cases where secret passport pouches are difficult if not inconvenient.

The statement about copies (pg 6, item 4 on my passport) is not so that you can use the copy instead of the passport, it's so you can get a replacement if the original is lost or stolen.

Personally, I consider my neck wallet the most secure place I can carry my passport. BTW, the hotel safe once failed to open for me, and the manager came with a master code (who else might have that). When that didn't work either, he brought a special tool (who else might have that tool) and took off the cover to open it. Of course the safe is in a locked room, right? A couple of days later I came back to my room at the end of the day to find the maid's key still in the door.

BTW, in over 15 years, the only time I've been asked for my passport is when entering and leaving Schengen, never when checking into a hotel.

Another question that this thread brings up.

If the passport entry stamp is my proof of being in the country legally, what happens if the stamp is smudged or otherwise illegible? Looking back in my passports I see several that I remember as being partials or just lightly inked at the time of issuance.

Lee, that's odd. I have travelled to most European countries and often had to provide a passport or ID card when checking in. In fact, in the old days I used to carry photocopies of my passport with me should the hotel not have a photocopier and would want to hold on to the passport to register me. A bit paranoid, I admit.

Out of curiosity, and I realise this is not exactly pertinent to the topic, but do most people in the US carry some form of ID on them in their daily lives or is it not common practice? I always carry my ID card in my wallet at home and a passport when travelling outside Europe and would feel a bit odd walking around with no (legal) ID.

A few bits of information....

To cross borders, an American must have a passport. However, there are other types of U.S. issued ID that are accepted worldwide. One such example is a military ID. A soldier on orders may not have a passport if he entered a country via a military installation.

A U.S. Passport Card is tied to a passport. Since everything is done electronically now, and the U.S. Passport Card has the same number as your passport, I doubt any law enforcement officer would give you a hard time. In fact, the U.S. Passport Card is basically the same as the photo page on the passport including the bar code. The Passport Card proves you are an American Citizen while a driver's license will not.

A Global Entry or Nexus Card does not prove nationality as legal aliens in the U.S. can apply for both of those.

In regard to showing passport in Germany, yes, normal hotels do request it. However, when you stay in very small hotels, or cheap B & B's where you pay cash, it means they are not officially registering you and pocketing the cash. It's done all over.

Contrary to Frank's experience, the countries I've visited often ask to see my passport. During our recent trip, both Swiss hotels requested a passport, "a" as in only one was required in checking the two of us into one room.

Re showing the passport at check-in: I have noticed this on recent trips, ie, the last ten years. When I check in at a hotel or a Pension in Germany, Austria, France, London where I am unknown to them, they ask for the passport regardless how I booked the reservation, on-line direct with the hotel, through booking.com or by way of a direct phone call. Where I am a repeat customer and show up at check-in, they sometimes don't ask. If the clerk recognises me from the year or two before, I'm not asked...just depends. I assume I must be in their "system"

Not so in London. I 'm always asked at B&Bs to let them look at the Passport at check-in, regardless if I've stayed there before. Or, in Germany, they may not literally check your Passport but you have to indicate its number on the :"Meldeschein." you fill out.

I looked it up one time. Most every country in the old soviet block and Belgium REQUIRE you to carry your original passport with you at all times. You can find this in the various country sections of the Department of State website. For instance: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/hungary.html then click on Special Laws and Circumstances. Anything less than the requirement of the law of the country your are a guest in is inappropriate.

In response to Rockets question on passport stamps; the stamp is a reference, but yes, it may be smudged or non-existent. the real record is the scan the officer makes in the system. Problem may be that there may be a delay from stop, to check being confirmed.

I live here and do not carry my passport. The only time I take it is for traveling over borders or flying. None of the hotels in Germany I have checked into have asked for it either.
That said, I have had some situations where police were involved, where I saw a crime committed and they asked for my eyewitness account and this past weekend when a deranged man shoved me down on the train and I hit my head quite badly. (yes, they caught him) Both times, my military ID sufficed. You do NOT have to carry ID in Germany, you only have to have legal ID and have 12 hours to produce it to the police or if needed, they will go with you to your residence to see it.

I use hotel safes. Having been in the hotel business, yes, the manager needs to be able to get into the safe, but nobody else has access to these keys. If safes were being robbed, a hotel would lose all of their business due to those instant reviews on TA. In all the years I have spent on this forum and on Trip Advisor and on Fodors, not ONCE has anyone reported something being stolen from their hotel safe.

Poor Jo!!!

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that!!! There's no excuse!!

I hope you're on the mend and it doesn't affect you too badly.

O' Jo -- sad to hear. Get well. We need the "local" input. I am sure that a US military ID carries a lot of weight in Germany. I don't think my local driver license id would work as well.

Of course your drivers licenses is valid ID. It is official and it has your photo and description on it. Probably a better photo than in your passport. :-)

A U.S. Passport Card is tied to a passport. Since everything is done electronically now, and the U.S. Passport Card has the same number as your passport, I doubt any law enforcement officer would give you a hard time. In fact, the U.S. Passport Card is basically the same as the photo page on the passport including the bar code. The Passport Card proves you are an American Citizen while a driver's license will not.

A Global Entry or Nexus Card does not prove nationality as legal aliens in the U.S. can apply for both of those.

Frank II appears to be a bit misinformed. It is entirely possible to apply for a U.S. passport card without applying for a passport book. Don't believe me? Take a look at the current application. There's the option to apply for a book, a card, or both. I have both a passport book and passport card and the numbers are not the same.

While non-U.S. citizens can apply for Global Entry and Nexus cards, the nationality of the holder is clearly stated on the card and CBP does accept them as proof of U.S. citizenship at land border crossings. Now, will a European police officer accept it? That's an entirely different question and I certainly wouldn't bet on it. But, it's not correct to say that a Global Entry or Nexus card does not prove nationality.

I stand corrected.

A Passport Card clearly states it is from the United States of America. The Global Entry card just says your nationality. It is doubtful that a local police officer in Europe has heard of Global Entry however the Passport Card clearly states where it is from and what it is.

To add to this lengthy and good discussion. Actually a very good one for people to consider.

In considering Europe (not any other places that RS occasionally covers);

Is it safer to keep my passport on my person or leave it locked in my room / safe at hotel?

Am I liable to need my passport that day - eg to convert currency (some banks require this)?

Am I carrying other forms of ID?

Am I in a country that has heightened security measures? Due to either terror threats and/or refugee issues.

Previously I had lived in Poland for some time from 2011 for awhile. I never used to carry my passport but had my drivers licence. In Warsaw the police do random checks and are crazy about ticketing people for crosswalk light violations. I only ever produced my DDL with no problem. I now hop back and forth to US and Europe. I have noticed a change over the last couple of years - since 2015.

Easy rule to try - if on a short tour / trip just keep it with you. If you are now longer term (like the military person in Germany) leave it and have other ID options on you. Most police will be happy with your no passport photo ID (speaking as an American). If not can always do the hotel shuffle. Remember Police are busy if you are what you look like a harmless lost tourist probably good to go. As I noted above - my two recent trip to Germany from Poland I was checked by Polizi on the train and bus at inter border locations. Basically have some form of ID and be polite. Know where you are staying and when you plan to leave.

Last reason to have ID with you, you never know when you will be incapacitated suddenly and have contact number with it for people at home. The US pass[prt has a page for this - I put a yellow sticky note there with info.

Maybe it's a matter of chance or by what means of transport or even countries? When I did the day trip last May Wien-Brno on the CD train r/t, not checked, likewise on the day trip from Dresden to Prague in June, r/t. With a car you would still be less likely checked. No checked either in June on a day trip to and fro from Berlin to Küstrin an der Oder, in Poland, when I was a car passenger Of course, on all three occasions I had the passport on me.

Fred
yes at some level is chance. But countries are stepping up checks at points of entry. Hell I was at the same Christmas Market in Berlin 2 weeks before the terror attack. And the Istanbul airport a couple weeks before it was attacked in June. Stuff is going on.

On the train from Poznan to Berlin in Dec the police came through the train as it neared the German "boarder" checking every ones ID / passport. Not like at the official Sheghan boarder, just a cursory check - they were definitely looking for non documented people. Where not looking at entry / exit stamps. Same on bus the year before from Nuremburg to Praha - bus pulled over (or was pulled over) and Polizi came on and did a papers check near the "boarder". I can say the same in Austria at Slovenia border - they had up check points.

Many Nordic countries are continuing with controls they put in place at the end of 2015 and into 2016. Good politics right now.

@ lonTravel...Of course, when those events you mention took place there would be evidence more security. In May/June 2015 I saw the Bavarian police go through the ICE with the DB checking passports and visas (that was announced "visas" specifically in English) trains (my coach too) once it crossed the German border from Austria....looking for stowaways. They got six of them, I saw them since my seat was the 2nd from the door, and when the door was left open, I could hear the questions put to these six, who were asked in English, not German. As you can guess, they had no passports, tickets, and were from Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan. In June of 2016, I didn't encounter any passport checks when crossing borders, only the ticket was asked on the day trips r/t from Dresden-Prague or Vienna-Brno, and on the Munich to Salzburg corridor.

Fred
Yes. I think what you and I are talking about is the new norm. On and off again as threats go up and down. And if another refugee crush. I am heading to Poland in 3 weeks. I worked the refugee crisis for awhile in Croatia. Was crazy down in that region for awhile.

@ lonTravel....Very true as it could be the new norm. If one knew nothing at all about the migrant/refugee crisis in the fall of 2015, one would not notice anything different in the June of 2016 in Germany and Austria, nothing out of the ordinary, unless you know what to look for as something different. I do know what to look for.

Yes, Croatia had the problems, that was on the news back then. Poland's policy is different plus the migrants don't want to go to Poland for various reasons, one of which it is perceived to be unwelcoming. The key word here is "perceived." .

I've been travelling all over the world for over 20 years and have always left my passport in the hotel safe. I've never been asked to produce ID other than at passport control or when checking into the hotel. I have a drivers licence with my photo in my wallet which I believe will be sufficient in most cases. If the authorities really insist on seeing my passport then they can accompany me back to the hotel. The likelihood of being asked to produce my passport is so low that the risk of losing it or it being stolen far outweighs the chance of being asked to produce it.