hi all!
Touring at the Vatican or the Uffizi - we need to show ID. Carrying our passport feels risky and to be honest I do not think I have done this in France, Greece, the UK...Amsterdam? But on other platforms people warm that police can arrest you in italy without ID? Do I really need to carry my passport around with me in Italy? Is a picture of my passport along with tickets not ok?
Thank you all
Dozens of threads on this topic
You are required by law to carry your passport
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/carrying-our-passports-in-italy
Carry it secure on your person
Nobody wants to steal your passport
This argument goes around and around. I don't understand the resistance to carrying a passport. Carry it, it is not that hard. Personally I feel naked without as it is the only thing that proves I am in the country legally. Is that important ??? -- it is, if someone asks. A copy is only useful if it is acceptable to the person asking to see it.
? Is a picture of my passport along with tickets not ok?
Depends who asks. Your passport is your only legal form of ID when outside your home country. Think of it this way - at home, if the traffic police were to ask to to see your DL, would they be satisfied with a photocopy or a picture of it on your phone?
Any ID, no matter what it is, should always be carried securely. If you do that it is not risky. No one wants to steal modern passports anyway.
Carry it!
If some sort of emergency should happen, your passport might get you on that plane, or into an embassy. It’s not that big a deal, until you might need it.
Yes, it is the only form of ID legally recognized in Italy.
Just get an underclothing money belt, put your pp in a ziplock bag, then wrap that in a paper towel to keep the sweat off inside the money belt.
Then it’s with you in case you are asked for it.
I’ve been going to Italy since 1986 and have been asked to produce my pp a number of times by police out on patrol.
Easy.
I understand your nervousness about carrying round your passport, but it is a legal requirement, so you should comply with the law.
Re your reference to the UK, it's not a legal requirement to carry ID there, so that is a different situation.
As others have stated, it is the law in Italy. Every country has their own law regarding identification.
I also carry it for another reason. I firmly believe that with my passport, a credit card and my phone I could always get home should some emergency arise and I can't get back to my hotel to get my stuff.
The likelihood is small but anything can happen--terrorism, fire, flash flooding, etc. My passport is in my "hidden pocket" moneybelt with back up credit cards. My phone is tethered inside a pocket of my pants.
yout tickets are not relevant. This is nothing to do with controlling foreigners, many European countries have national ID card requirements for residents and the police can carry out checks, passports are the alternative for foreigners. The UK is the main exception.
A picture of a passport can be easily tampered with, so it is not a valid ID. The Italian law is somewhat complex, but for non-EU foreigners you must have either your passport or your permit to stay if you are a long time visa. If you do not have, police may accept a fotocopy or a scan, but they may not, and if they have the time and the will, or they simply have a control quota to comply with, they can give you some hard time. The most likely outcome could be being kept till your identity is controlled, but it they want to get nasty you can be arrested or get a fine.
For sights like Vatican and Uffizi, the recent trend is asking documents in original. Of course, the worst it can happen is that you may lose your access slot and ticket.
As others have said, you are required to carry your actual passport, not a copy. Will you be stopped and asked for it? Maybe, maybe not; it's more likely in heavily-touristed areas like train stations. I spent 3 weeks in Italy without being asked for it, but I know others have, and I always kept it on me. Anyone who says "a copy is OK" is not giving advice in alignment with Italian law. Your own risk tolerance is ultimately up to you
A point not mentioned, I have been stopped and asked for my passport by police when in Italy recently, and they used a handheld device, about the size of a phone to scan the passport, can't say whether it was just the bar-code or the RFID chip, but they would want the actual document to scan.
And if you’re worried about trying to get it out of your under clothing money belt in public if asked for it, don’t worry.
The police don’t care.
My wife and I normally get a Swiss Travel Pass in Switzerland or a DB pass in Germany. We have to show the pass often on trains. On a few occasions we've had to show our passports when showing the pass to a ticket person.
Carrying our passport feels risky
Why?
I suspect you probably have other items you carry with you that are as easy to steal and much more 'marketable' than a passport. ( e.g., phone, camera, wallet, purse)
When they scan your passport, they are reading the chip information inside.
Anyone can download an app that can do this. I have one on my phone when I wanted to check my passport to make sure the chip wasn't damage when my passport got wet.
Just because you have travelled all over without carrying your passport doesn’t negate the law that says it is required
If you hadn’t won your argument in Athens you would have missed out on visiting that site
If you want to take the chance of always winning these arguments then go ahead and leave your passport
Frankly I consider my passport the most important thing in my possesion when I travel
Passport along with a credit card would get me home or thru an emergency situation
Why would I leave it behind? To me that is a risk. Carrying my passport is not a risk at all.
I am not complaining. I am looking for advice. Thank you for all the helpful feedback. People on forums are looking for arguments. That is not my intention. Looking for help and feedback. Thank you all
Without wanting to prolong this discussion unnecessarily, can you not just carry your national ID card, given you're an EU citizen? Apologies if I'm missing something.
Only passport. I do not yet have the ID card
Travelling with a copy of your passport may help you replace it faster than if you hadn't. But it won't be accepted as a true passport.
First, nothing replaces the real thing, so you really ought to carry it. If you are nervous, pack it deep and carry a photo that is easier to reach. For tickets and passes show the photo, it might work. If not, and always for cops, dig out the real thing. My passport, DL, Residency Card, Health Card, are all in my Google Wallet and sometimes, like for the metro, I show the Google Wallet photos. But I also carry what I am required to carry.
I used to have a couple of Airbnbs. I've recovered quite a few forgotten passports from the safe. So that's not always a good idea.
