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During the most recent trips, we started wearing thin fanny packs (edit: called money belts) from Amazon under the shirt or even under the pants, in response to this but also the pickpocketing risk. Some are made specifically to fit passports. It might be excessive, but I would not take the passport from the hotel without extra measures against thieves.
[This](https://a.co/d/at12xyP) is what I got. It fits up to 6 passports, a backup card, and emergency cash in the front. But there are many others, like the one posted above. When outside the pants, I also used a small climbing carabiner hook to attach it to the pants/belt as an extra step. I found it super secure if I could fit it inside the pants or cover it with an oversized shirt. That’s a lot, but that passport is more valuable than any other object.
We just got back from Italy and my son wore one of these - worked out well. My husband brought a few shirts that had built in inner pockets for his wallet - he either used them or put his wallet in his front pocket. Both of us left our wedding rings at home as well.
I have written multiple comments this week stating that I ALWAYS have my passport on me because if you tangle with authorities they aren’t just going to let you go back to your hotel or hostel. I have never not had it.
This is a rule in most European countries... You must always carry your passport if you are not an EU citizen. In Belgium and Netherlands, the police can randomly stop you and ask for your ID. Not having it, is risk of fine up to 400 euro and detained until they can identify your identity which takes up to 8-24 hours.
We had to produce our passports in an Italian train station for the same reason. My husband and son experienced the same thing in
Switzerland. It’s pretty common to be asked for a passport by the police I hear.
Yep. Whenever I studied abroad in the Netherlands a few years ago we were told to always carry our passports with us.
The US Passport is basically your "driver's license" in Europe. Your actual driver's license means essentially nothing overseas.
I think for me I knew that a US driver's license doesn't mean anything abroad, but it's more the idea of having to have an ID, on your person, at all times, even if you're not doing an activity where it needs to be checked (checking into a hotel, driving, going to a bar, etc.).
You do not need to carry ID in the US as a pedestrian just going about your business (I go out without my license frequently, when I'm not driving, and millions of adult Americans have no ID at all). Apparently at least some countries in Europe are different.
>You do not need to carry ID in the US as a pedestrian just going about your business
It's the same in Europe, but only for citizens of each singular state - i.e. Italian citizens are allowed to go around in Italy without any ID document. Same for French ones in France and so on.
Non-citizens have to carry around their state issued ID card or their passport (if they are EU citizens), while non EU citizens have to carry their passport with them all the time.
And, as you discovered, photos/photocopies in Italy are not considered valid alternatives to an ID document - it has to be the original document
This is not true. The laws vary by country in the EU. For example, in Germany, as a citizen, you are not required to carry your document on your person, just to be able to produce it (even if it’s with delay) when asked. So going home, getting it, and bringing it to the police station is acceptable. Whereas in Belgium, citizens are required to have it on their person.
Laws by country can be found here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_identity_card_policies_by_country
The Italian part of the wiki page is confusing as best: everyone has a carta d’identità, even if many people don’t have the electronic one. They will replace it when the old id card expires. It is not mandatory to replace the paper id card with the electronic one if the old one is still valid. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t carry it or a driving license around (excluding children).
The person you replied to said that as a national you don't have to carry an ID with you. You replied literally stating the same thing.
You are both right, do you see it?
Yes, it’s the bit about being valid for all of Europe that I was disputing. For example, in Belgium, even as a citizen, you must carry your document with you. It’s important because there isn’t a blanket law for all of Europe, so it pays to check for whatever country one wants to visit in case of law changes etc.
Wait, what? I thought Italian citizens were required to have ID on them too. At least that’s how I behaved since being able to go around without parents (but when I was a child my mother just gave a photocopy because well, I was knows to lose things)
It's all a matter of being convincing with your story (and how much time they want to waste on the paperwork afterwards). If you want to avoid the risk then show the driving license (most of the people have it anyway) and you're good to go.
No, false. Italian citizens have to give their information when requested by a "pubblico ufficiale". Since being brought to a police station is the result of a zealous "pubblico ufficiale" that is not satisfied with your answer people just avoid that risk by having an ID with them. Considering that many drive their car and that the driving license is an ID the issue is basically not existent.
Remember, this is for Italian citizens only. Foreigners in general have the duty to carry an ID. EU nationals whatever ID card they have, non-EU nationals only the passport.
This is not entirely true. As someone else has posted below, "foreigner" as defined by law in Italy is anyone that is not an EU citizen, so EU citizens are not required to carry an ID either.
On top of this, all EU citizens are supposed to be treated equally in all EU countries, so if that was the case (it isn't), Italy would be breaking EU law.
I responded to this in another similar post. While there is no law that explicitly say one must have the ID with them, it is compulsory to show it to the police whenever is requested. Failing to do so can bring fines and even worst. Normally, they can put you in state of arrest and escort you to the police station and keep you there until they have you identity verified.
In short, and for all practical purpose, every person in Italy, including Italian citizen, shall have their ID with them at all times.
No. You don't have to show any ID to the police. You simply don't. No fine can be applied.
You will be brought to the police station to be identified but you are not considered to be arrested and if you are not resisting using violemce they won't and can't do anything to you. Once you're identified you're free to go.
The reason why people carry IDs is to avoid the hassle to go to the station if you find zealous yet legit in their actions policemen.
So for any practical purpose (I.e. not getting escorted to a police station and kept there until identification in completed) one shall always have their ID with them.
Nope. If you're an Italian citizen you are always obliged to give "generalità" (name, surname, address, etc) to any law enforcement asking but you're not required to have an ID with you.
Of course if they need to *identify* you and not simply collect your "generalità" and you don't have an ID with you the only option the law enforcement officers have is to escort you to a precint to identify you. That's often an inconvenience due to the time wasted by you and the officers, that's probably the reason why so many Italian citizens keep an ID with them all the time...just in case.
If you can read Italian here's an interesting article from a popular Italian law discussion website, curated by attorneys
https://www.laleggepertutti.it/143115_documenti-cosa-succede-se-cammino-senza
Those of us who are not EU citizens do not have to have our passport if we have a residency document for an EU country. I never carry my passport except at the airports.
My physical TX DL along with my usa passport pic on my phone sufficed when federal italian police checked mine. No way in hell im risking losing my passport.
Someone said this already, but I am going to reiterate it just to make sure more people will read it. DO NOT offer cash to policemen in Italy! In Italy we have many issues, but policeman giving you trouble in order to get cash out of you is definitely not something that happens. You will be in much much bigger trouble if you tried to give money to a policeman.
there might be some confusion here. if you have committed a violation, the authorities have the power to fine you on the spot and ask you for that fine. this is not asking for a bribe. when they take your money, they wil give you a receipt. this can be surprising and misinterpreted by americans not used to this procedure. i once committed a traffic violation for which i knew was illegal. got caught correctly. so there i was, in the car with a carabiniere with his mitra in my belly demanding money on the spot. it was all of 5000 lire. i paid up, he smiled and gave me a receipt, and that was it. far better than being dragged down to a county courthouse.
You can refuse to pay on the spot, the moment you pay you can't file an appeal anymore. It's like pleading guilty and thus saving the mailing costs and the administrative fees. A foreigner living outside the EU would save quite a lot, sending a fine via registered letter is expensive.
Yes, it’s great that you clarify that authorities can fine you on the spot and ask you for money to pay the fine.
In some other countries, I have heard stories of policemen giving you trouble even if you did nothing wrong, and you are expected to give them money to be let go. I meant to say that this will not happen in Italy. If OP here had assumed it was one of those situations and had handed over the officer 100€ to be left alone, his situation would most likely be worsened, rather than cleared.
Will a residence/work permit from a Schengen country be sufficient for these checks in Spain? Asking because I will be traveling to Spain from Switzerland next week
I'm a French citizen but I live in the U.S. (which I am also a citizen of).
Several years ago I applied to get a French ID card (I hadn't had one in decades) because I don't want to carry a passport everywhere I go when I'm in Europe. My wife is American but I advise her to just carry her California driver's license, which has the same address as my French ID. We're both middle-aged folks and I'm not really worried we'd get in trouble in most European countries just because she's not carrying her U.S. passport.
The likelihood of your wife getting in trouble for not carrying her passport are very low, but it definitely helps that she carries her drivers license and the address matches the one on your ID.
As an Italian, it’s absolutely obvious for me carrying an ID everywhere. Police can do random checks and you have to show an ID.
The same is valid for tourists.
Honestly I don’t think that the current government has anything to do with this matter. It have always been the same, it’s part of our law and our culture; I want to point out that in many EU countries it’s the same, for example in Spain and France.
Moreover, I want to point out that police in Italy is not corrupted, as you thought, they won’t ask you for money, never and ever. It’s totally impossible, it’s completely outside our culture. If you offer money, they will arrest you for trying to corrupt them. So, as a general advice to everyone in this post, don’t do it: you can receive from 3 to 8 years of prison.
In this sub Italy sometimes is described with tons of stereotypes given from I don't know where especially regarding the way italians act against tourists. Scamming people at a restaurants is terrible but happens in all of the world, but saying that police want money from tourists is actually a terrible things to say. If I don't have the passport in the US they will probably treat me the same.
>I talked to an Italian friend, and with the right-wing/anti-immigrant government in charge there now, they (though not aware of this law either) believe it may become more common than it has been in the past for tourists to be questioned like this.
This is another no sense sentence
Yeah, as if a change of government could have any effect on the everyday behavior of individual police officers and how kind or rude they are to random tourists.
The law is the law. It’s not like Meloni invented that you have to carry a document when you go around or can set quotas or a performance evaluation system on how rude with tourists cops should be when asking for documents.
I doubt that would happen in the US. Police officers have to have probable cause to make such a request. Yes, they could make something up but that could be risky and for what purpose. You should always carry a valid ID regardless.
People in the US would protest showing ID for no reason. It is very interesting the cultural differences between countries and how politics and the spirit of the people in a way influence the behavior of the police.
**we recommend you always carry your passport**
This is the embassy of the US regarding the matter, because every state has different laws and in some is a must to have the passport
The only time you need a passport in the US is when entering the country. We don’t have ID laws like that because they are just used to racially profile people.
Have you ever walked around US inner cities as an immigrant and not as an US citizen? Your rights and the way cops treat you are totally different.
In Italy you are a foreigner, not a citizen, and cops deal with you as someone that must prove he/she is staying legally in the EU. The "probable cause" is that you are an obvious foreigner.
Hopefully you are correct with regards to corrupt police in the present day. The absence of them that is. But 20+ years ago there were most definitely corrupt police in Italy. Randomly checking up on tourists and demanding money for "something" and being downright nasty about it.
I am Italin and I agree. I also would like to add that I’ve also never heard of any tourist going to prison for this reason. So that’s completely our of the question. It would be absurd given how costly and long a trial is and how crowded prisons are.
You are not obliged to bring your ID on you alla the time (if you’re an Italian citizen) although without it the police can take you the precinct to verify your identity if they don’t believe you.
I OP understands that carrying ID is common. They had an ID with them (drivers licenses). They just didn’t realize they needed to carry their passport with them as foreigners. Now they know.
I think you’re conflating ID with a passport. They did have IDs on them. I don’t generally carry my passport around because if it’s stolen you’re quite fucked.
We took a regional train from Lucca to Pisa. We were checked while we were sitting on the train in Lucca before it left. Always, always have your passport on you. We are a family of four and it was just before the new year.
I live there and not a migrant, however I pass through the train station every day, and I've been stopped more than anyone else I know, so yeah, maybe I just look like a drug dealer, but they stop a lot of people, and they're quite zealous
Yeah I'm white, don't worry BTW, here they stop a lot of black people (much more than white people in proportion) but they don't mind being overly zealous with white people too. I once was going by bike through the station (a thing commuters do, but I was doing it after a night out and it was 2am) and they told me to get down the bike and walk or I would have been fined. I was like, yeah, I'll do it, but I couldn't not think of commuters who do it daily, lmao
you're just lucky you weren't in Mexico because the cops would've searched you and told you you would've had to pay a fine or you were going to jail. And of course the fine would be exactly the amount of money you just happen to have on you
Is this like the Facebook warning that prevents them from using my face in ads?
The image states that this is for the state of Quintana Roo so must be a state law, not a federal law.
I'm a bit ocd about keeping my passport with me because i can't afford to lose it while travelling ( my country has almost no diplomatic outposts anywhere in Europe lol thanks Zimbabwe) however i have been going to italy particularly Como every 6 weeks for about a week for the last 7 years and this has never happened to me..good to know though
I can confirm that this is a thing. My husband and I are a very harmless and well-behaved couple in our sixties. We were stopped by a group of police at Milan station who were doing a spot check of all passengers getting on the train to Genoa. We apologised profusely and offered to go back to our aparment to get the passports. The police very sweetly allowed us to go on our way, but it was made perfectly clear that they could have made an example of us if they had felt so inclined
Lol, you really thought the POLICE was trying to shake you out?
Of course you should bring your passport on your person all the time, it’s the law in the EU.
We saw a pair of cops in Verona a few weeks ago that appeared to be doing random ID checks on the street. We didn’t have passports on us, but the cops were in the direction we needed to go and we just walked that way anyway more or less right toward them so it was clear to them that we saw them and weren’t at all avoiding them and fortunately they chose someone else to check. Have to admit though that I had no idea there was potential of anything other than a hassle from not having the original with me. I used to always carry it but at some point got the bad advice to keep it hidden in the room and carry a copy, which over time turned into a photo on my phone. Will definitely go back to carrying the real thing in the future.
Thanks for sharing. I am concerned about losing or having my passport stolen but now I guess I’ll wear one of those anti theft passport things (you wear around your neck under your shirt) just to be sure.
And take photocopies in case the worst does happen!
You can see guards asking for ID pretty much everywhere in Italy. Japan is the same and it's actually a criminal offense to not carry your passport with you.
I have been in Russia and they give you a small paper to keep with your passport. If they stop you and you don't have with you, you go to the police station with them, no discussion
Oh lord.
Let's ignore the fact that things aren't "shady" here and cops won't be trying to shake you for money (wtf, seriously), the current government has nothing to do with these policies.
This has been the law since forever, and I was told almost twenty years ago, when U got my first paper ID as a teenager "you must carry this with you at all times".
Sorry this happened to you, and I understand you're upset, but the way you talk about what happened would make any Italian cringe and would piss us off.
TLDR: your friend doesn't know what he/she is talking about and while I am sure you're decent individuals, your words make you sound like an "ugly American" (no offense).
Right? I usually don't get upset about this kind of stuff but this post is just... Bah. OP comes as a tourist without researching basic information about the rules and then decides to be overdramatic and call the place shady just because the police told them off for breaking the rules and made them sit for 5 minutes? Come on.
Alot of americans are like this, they think american laws apply everywhere. Im not saying op is this stereotype but his post isnt doing him any favours
This is common, your passport is your ID just like your drivers license in the US. I'd never leave that in a hotel anyway on the chance it gets stolen.
Let me add my two cents:
As an Italian living in Florence, I have been stopped maybe twice in 30 years. The most recent time I was a student, walking home with my partner in the station area.
My guess is that they stopped us, instead of any of the other dozens of potentially “more dangerous looking” people who frequent the station, because as young students we would not protest or resist in any way, thus making the ID checking job for the police a lot easier than with any more polemical person who might have complained.
We were the “easy” targets for the policemen who apparently had a certain number of IDs that they needed to check that day, and who just wanted to get it done with as fast as possible and with the least hustle.
Nothing homophobic my dude, they can ask anyone documents. They probably heard you speaking English and wanted to check your passport to see if you had everything in order.
You didn’t research properly and were caught off guard,it happens.
I should show this to my sister! We qualify for Italian citizenship, I was recognized last year and my sister had her appointment a few weeks ago. The consulates in the US finally started offering appointments to get Electronic Identity Cards and I got one, and she asked me why. I explained this way I didn’t have to carry a passport with me while I was in the EU and she kind of scoffed and said “Oh, I never carry my passport around with me anyway.”
I was starting to think I might just be a paranoid dweeb but glad to know passport/ID checks definitely happen.
Our passports (US) were requested by police at the train station terminal. They asked for our documents and took a picture of them. Since that day I'm definitely convinced it is a good idea to always carry your passport. I always carry it anyway this just made me feel more valid in my thinking.
I'm getting a passport card this renewal and I'll carry that on my person at all times in Mexico or Canada and lock my passport in the safe. I may carry that in non tourist areas of Europe or when just leaving my rental for quick walk to a shop in the neighborhood.
I'm not saying this to be mean as I don't think many people know better, but you're really supposed to have your passport on you all the time when traveling abroad. There are many reasons, apart from just the local laws (in more than just Italy). You're not in your home country, and no other form of ID you're carrying around will mean anything to the locals. You need your passport in case any sort of emergency takes place or you get pulled over. The fear of losing it is legit, but that's why so many people recommend tourist wallets, fanny packs, etc. rather than leaving it in a hotel safe.
I work for the DoD with a security clearance. We are told over and over to NEVER leave anything with identifying info in the hotel safe. Always keep it on your person.
As an Italian, some of the things written in this post really did get under my skin. Not to mention the ignorant or outright hateful comments down here. Internet users are pathetic sometimes.
Not to say this can never happen but having spent almost 6 months in Italy over various trips I’ve never had this happen. I would much rather have my passport locked up in the safe in the hotel.
I mean I'm posting this because it literally happened to me, 5 days ago, lol. I acknowledge it's probably rare, but it can, and obviously does, happen.
The date probably was a factor too.
25th of April we celebrate the liberation from nazifascism, and given our current government..simpaties.., added to the international situation, security forces were on high alert, especially in crowded popular places like Florence
This had me thinking because I don't like the idea of carrying my passport with me. I have a digital copy and always my ID card.
I went to Italy last year and fortunately never ran into situations like this. I am visiting again and this time will go to the Olimpico in Roma to watch a game and the rules of conduct say you need to have an official ID with a photo.
I still think I won't carry my passport since the idea of losing it is not very appealing.
The Access to Serie A match is a different law, years ago to fight against violence at football matches they introduced named ticket and ID mandatory but it's related to that particular situation.
Who goes abroad without ID?? I don't carry my passport when I'm out of my country but a recent copy of it with the stamp with the date of entry in the country
Just for info: Italians don't have to carry an ID, but they're required to give their name and address of residence when asked by cops. The only ID you have to carry is the driving license when you're driving
Sounds like this was a 15 min interaction that ended with no consequences. Sorry this impacted your trip. Try to think of it as a good story.
I can only speak for our trip, we never needed our passport and felt way more reassured to have passports in the hotel. We were never asked for passports even though we chatted with police and accidently took a train we didn't have tickets for.
I hope it wasn't homophobia, but that is very possible
I will never walk around with my passport
Didn't bother us too much! But if you are in Italy, just know you are assuming some risk walking around without it. The Italian law explicitly requires it, so it's just a matter of luck with which cops you draw if you happen to be asked.
Homophobia? Stop saying things like this about italian police, it's a law, if in the US they stop me and I am not without my passport as an Italian they will be angry exactly the same, it's their job
What is the actual consequence of not having your passport assuming they bothered to take it that far rather than just tell you off like they did? I would weigh that up against the hassle of having to get a new passport if you lose yours which is more likely if carrying everywhere. I've never carried my passport in Italy (or any country for that matter) outside and think it is overkill to do so but perhaps I'm underestimating the consequences if you actually get in trouble for it?
2,000 euros, and I guess theoretically even arrest/jail time are possible per the letter of the law, though I'm sure they'd do the fine in 99.9% of cases.
I just want to reassure you and everyone else who's reading that "up to one year in jail" pretty much means "no jail time" in legalese.
But yeah carry your ID with you
I can't fathom ever keeping my passport in a hotel while traveling anyways. What if you get into a accident and needed to go to the hospital, what if a protest turns violent and you're caught in it, what if you miss the train back from your day trip and need to stay overnight somewhere else, what if hotel staff stalls it. So many reasons to always have your passport on you while traveling. Just thinking about leaving it elsewhere gives me anxiety lol
In an alternate dimension, you knew this law, carried your passport, and instead of getting stopped by the police, you were mugged and had your passports stolen.
Can’t win. Either way you take a risk. Everyone just needs to weigh which risk they’d like to take.
Regardless of your point if entry in the European Union you can stay up to 90 days every 180 days with a Schengen Visa. Those 90 days are calculated from the first day of entry.
There's a useful Visa stay calculator on the European Union website:
https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en
Very very odd. I have visited Europe for 25 years and have literally never had to show my ID to police at all. No one has ever stopped me or my family. Though admittedly we don't go get drunk or go to bars and I am a petite white female.
I always leave my passport in the hotel safe and carry a photocopy-which it seems you didn't have. Maybe I've just been really lucky or I look older and "safe".
We had pictures on our phone, but they wanted the physical copy! I do think it's rare though, so never having it happen is probably the norm. This was my 5th trip to Europe in the past 6 years, and before that I had studied abroad for 2 months a few years earlier, and it had never happened to me until now!
I have a photo of my tourist passport and my sojourners permit on my phone for when I am just out and about. I do bring my tourist passport if im making an overnight trip somewhere.
I have photo of my passport on my phone and I carried my US drivers license since it’s smaller than passport and never had issues with that combo. I got VAT stuff with passport cell phone pic.
You should bring an ID/Passport in every foreign country. If you're a US citizen in the US you can be identified by just your data because you are already in the system. The same applies for Italy, italians can identify themself with names and date of birth because they are in the system... It's impossibile to identify an italian stopped by US police and it's impossible to identify a US citizen in Italy because no record of your birth exist in that country...
I thought this was sort of common sense? Your drivers license is valid ID only within the United States. As soon as you leave the country your passport now becomes your only form of valid ID (you are traveling abroad and needed to clear customs to get a stamp gain entry to the country).
In the United States, you would not need any sort of ID for that outing regardless of your nationality. It’s not that you need the passport for ID that’s surprising, it’s needing ID for a walk.
Paris is even worse. A friend of mine left his Airbnb to get some food for himself and his wife right down the street from his Airbnb so he only took his key with him. On his way, he was stopped by police who asked for his passport. He explained that he is American and wasn’t aware that he had to carry his passport with him. He said he was just going to pick up some food down the street. He told them that his Airbnb was across the street but the police wouldn’t let him go get his passport. They took him to the police station, held him for hours, and wouldn’t let him call his wife. It was a real mess.
This happened to me and my gf
In rome, Florence, bologna and venice
They were really aggressive about it, although we were super cooperative and produced our passports right away from my backpack.
Even with us being within our visa limits they still scolded us?
Edit: we’re both Americans
To be honest, most European countries have the same law in place. Carrying an ID is compulsory at all times. For EU citizens, a drivers license or national ID is enough, but if you're not an EU citizen, you're supposed to carry your passport with you. In reality, like you said, it's very rarely enforced.
You don't need to carry your passport, only your ID, it probably had something to do with your appearance or skin colour, racial profiling is very common here in Italy and i always witness it when I am with my wife which is a poc, while with my white friends they never ever stopped me.
Yes this is very important and probably a good idea for wherever you travel. Think about it ..what if you were out and about and something crazy happened like a war started or a scary event and you needed to flee….you wouldn’t have time to go back to your hotel ….if you have your passport on you in a money belt beneath your clothes, you could flee, drive out of the country, fly out, etc if you have your passport on you. Hopefully you never find yourself in a crazy situation like that but it’s better to be safe and have it on you at all times.
I was asked for ID in Milan, i only had my (Texas) drivers license, and they knew I was from USA, and they asked me for a pic of my passport, which i showed them. They let me go about my way in less than 5 minutes.
Italian hotels used to ask you to leave your passport at the desk, maybe they don't anymore. Haven't been asked in a few years. When asked, I've always insisted on only leaving my driver's license.
We have traveled to over 30 countries since I was in my 20's. My husband and I have always carried our passports with us. It has never occurred to us that hotel is safe enough to leave money and passport behind. It is not just my personal opinion. I travel for work internationally and before my first trip oversea for work, we were trained professionally not to EVER leave laptop, phone, passport, and money behind in the hotel. In case anything happens and we need to head to airport right away, we are good to go.
As someone who’s had to get an emergency passport in another country before because mine was stolen, I’m taking my chances with leaving it in the hotel. I’ve been traveling around Europe for months now and this has never happened anywhere, so it’s rare enough that I’d risk explaining to the cops rather than risking getting it stolen
Curious if anyone carries the new-ish US Passport ID card rather than the full passport in them. I’ve found that most hotels, etc… don’t know what it is
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During the most recent trips, we started wearing thin fanny packs (edit: called money belts) from Amazon under the shirt or even under the pants, in response to this but also the pickpocketing risk. Some are made specifically to fit passports. It might be excessive, but I would not take the passport from the hotel without extra measures against thieves.
It's called a moneybelt! Every traveler should have one.
Do you have a link to the type of product you’re referring to?
I highly recommend Lewis N. Clark RFID Hidden Travel Wallet with two belt loops. Tried and true.
https://www.amazon.com/Silmarils-Blocking-Travel-Hidden-Sleeves/dp/B07JG65WQW?pd_rd_w=Finbd&content-id=amzn1.sym.b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_p=b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_r=X96HNHXDSG5DJB1RNK4Y&pd_rd_wg=Yqiyh&pd_rd_r=89bc189c-f91a-42d7-86e5-e21e163d240c&pd_rd_i=B07JG65WQW&psc=1&ref_=pd_basp_m_rpt_ba_s_oos_1_sc
This is no longer available when I check that link.
There are many similar styles from different brands available
[This](https://a.co/d/at12xyP) is what I got. It fits up to 6 passports, a backup card, and emergency cash in the front. But there are many others, like the one posted above. When outside the pants, I also used a small climbing carabiner hook to attach it to the pants/belt as an extra step. I found it super secure if I could fit it inside the pants or cover it with an oversized shirt. That’s a lot, but that passport is more valuable than any other object.
this is what I have [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLGC5NQH?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLGC5NQH?th=1)
Rick Steves has a good one, just google it
I had a travel partner get their passport stolen in Italy specifically so I agree, caution like this is best.
What do you do if you're going to the beach?
We just got back from Italy and my son wore one of these - worked out well. My husband brought a few shirts that had built in inner pockets for his wallet - he either used them or put his wallet in his front pocket. Both of us left our wedding rings at home as well.
I have written multiple comments this week stating that I ALWAYS have my passport on me because if you tangle with authorities they aren’t just going to let you go back to your hotel or hostel. I have never not had it.
This is a rule in most European countries... You must always carry your passport if you are not an EU citizen. In Belgium and Netherlands, the police can randomly stop you and ask for your ID. Not having it, is risk of fine up to 400 euro and detained until they can identify your identity which takes up to 8-24 hours.
We had to produce our passports in an Italian train station for the same reason. My husband and son experienced the same thing in Switzerland. It’s pretty common to be asked for a passport by the police I hear.
Yeah, it happened to me at a train station in Sicily. I found it a bit unnerving but the European friend I was with explained that it’s very normal.
Happened to me once at the Munich train station also.
Yep. Whenever I studied abroad in the Netherlands a few years ago we were told to always carry our passports with us. The US Passport is basically your "driver's license" in Europe. Your actual driver's license means essentially nothing overseas.
I think for me I knew that a US driver's license doesn't mean anything abroad, but it's more the idea of having to have an ID, on your person, at all times, even if you're not doing an activity where it needs to be checked (checking into a hotel, driving, going to a bar, etc.). You do not need to carry ID in the US as a pedestrian just going about your business (I go out without my license frequently, when I'm not driving, and millions of adult Americans have no ID at all). Apparently at least some countries in Europe are different.
>You do not need to carry ID in the US as a pedestrian just going about your business It's the same in Europe, but only for citizens of each singular state - i.e. Italian citizens are allowed to go around in Italy without any ID document. Same for French ones in France and so on. Non-citizens have to carry around their state issued ID card or their passport (if they are EU citizens), while non EU citizens have to carry their passport with them all the time. And, as you discovered, photos/photocopies in Italy are not considered valid alternatives to an ID document - it has to be the original document
This is not true. The laws vary by country in the EU. For example, in Germany, as a citizen, you are not required to carry your document on your person, just to be able to produce it (even if it’s with delay) when asked. So going home, getting it, and bringing it to the police station is acceptable. Whereas in Belgium, citizens are required to have it on their person. Laws by country can be found here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_identity_card_policies_by_country
The Italian part of the wiki page is confusing as best: everyone has a carta d’identità, even if many people don’t have the electronic one. They will replace it when the old id card expires. It is not mandatory to replace the paper id card with the electronic one if the old one is still valid. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t carry it or a driving license around (excluding children).
The person you replied to said that as a national you don't have to carry an ID with you. You replied literally stating the same thing. You are both right, do you see it?
Yes, it’s the bit about being valid for all of Europe that I was disputing. For example, in Belgium, even as a citizen, you must carry your document with you. It’s important because there isn’t a blanket law for all of Europe, so it pays to check for whatever country one wants to visit in case of law changes etc.
Wait, what? I thought Italian citizens were required to have ID on them too. At least that’s how I behaved since being able to go around without parents (but when I was a child my mother just gave a photocopy because well, I was knows to lose things)
No, there is no obligation. The obligation is to give your information. Not to provide an ID.
Yeah, but I always thought if you don’t have proof they can bring you to a station to assess if you really are who you say you are.
It's all a matter of being convincing with your story (and how much time they want to waste on the paperwork afterwards). If you want to avoid the risk then show the driving license (most of the people have it anyway) and you're good to go.
They can they can.
No, you are wrong. But cops pretend to ignore the Court of Cassation changed the law and keep on asking For ID
When did it change?
They do. We are supposed to have our carta di identità on us at all times.
No, false. Italian citizens have to give their information when requested by a "pubblico ufficiale". Since being brought to a police station is the result of a zealous "pubblico ufficiale" that is not satisfied with your answer people just avoid that risk by having an ID with them. Considering that many drive their car and that the driving license is an ID the issue is basically not existent.
Honestly didn't know this, and neither did my girlfriend. Thanks
Remember, this is for Italian citizens only. Foreigners in general have the duty to carry an ID. EU nationals whatever ID card they have, non-EU nationals only the passport.
This is not entirely true. As someone else has posted below, "foreigner" as defined by law in Italy is anyone that is not an EU citizen, so EU citizens are not required to carry an ID either. On top of this, all EU citizens are supposed to be treated equally in all EU countries, so if that was the case (it isn't), Italy would be breaking EU law.
I responded to this in another similar post. While there is no law that explicitly say one must have the ID with them, it is compulsory to show it to the police whenever is requested. Failing to do so can bring fines and even worst. Normally, they can put you in state of arrest and escort you to the police station and keep you there until they have you identity verified. In short, and for all practical purpose, every person in Italy, including Italian citizen, shall have their ID with them at all times.
No. You don't have to show any ID to the police. You simply don't. No fine can be applied. You will be brought to the police station to be identified but you are not considered to be arrested and if you are not resisting using violemce they won't and can't do anything to you. Once you're identified you're free to go. The reason why people carry IDs is to avoid the hassle to go to the station if you find zealous yet legit in their actions policemen.
So for any practical purpose (I.e. not getting escorted to a police station and kept there until identification in completed) one shall always have their ID with them.
Nope. If you're an Italian citizen you are always obliged to give "generalità" (name, surname, address, etc) to any law enforcement asking but you're not required to have an ID with you. Of course if they need to *identify* you and not simply collect your "generalità" and you don't have an ID with you the only option the law enforcement officers have is to escort you to a precint to identify you. That's often an inconvenience due to the time wasted by you and the officers, that's probably the reason why so many Italian citizens keep an ID with them all the time...just in case. If you can read Italian here's an interesting article from a popular Italian law discussion website, curated by attorneys https://www.laleggepertutti.it/143115_documenti-cosa-succede-se-cammino-senza
Those of us who are not EU citizens do not have to have our passport if we have a residency document for an EU country. I never carry my passport except at the airports.
That’s bullshit, you always need to have your ID on you, even if you are Italian, you can be fined for that
>You do not need to carry ID in the US as a pedestrian just going about your business Hate to be the one to tell you this but you aren't in the US.
Would an international driving license be sufficient?
My physical TX DL along with my usa passport pic on my phone sufficed when federal italian police checked mine. No way in hell im risking losing my passport.
Someone said this already, but I am going to reiterate it just to make sure more people will read it. DO NOT offer cash to policemen in Italy! In Italy we have many issues, but policeman giving you trouble in order to get cash out of you is definitely not something that happens. You will be in much much bigger trouble if you tried to give money to a policeman.
there might be some confusion here. if you have committed a violation, the authorities have the power to fine you on the spot and ask you for that fine. this is not asking for a bribe. when they take your money, they wil give you a receipt. this can be surprising and misinterpreted by americans not used to this procedure. i once committed a traffic violation for which i knew was illegal. got caught correctly. so there i was, in the car with a carabiniere with his mitra in my belly demanding money on the spot. it was all of 5000 lire. i paid up, he smiled and gave me a receipt, and that was it. far better than being dragged down to a county courthouse.
Yes for example, riding a train without a ticket. Immediate fine. They literally say "cash or card".
You can refuse to pay on the spot, the moment you pay you can't file an appeal anymore. It's like pleading guilty and thus saving the mailing costs and the administrative fees. A foreigner living outside the EU would save quite a lot, sending a fine via registered letter is expensive.
Yes, it’s great that you clarify that authorities can fine you on the spot and ask you for money to pay the fine. In some other countries, I have heard stories of policemen giving you trouble even if you did nothing wrong, and you are expected to give them money to be let go. I meant to say that this will not happen in Italy. If OP here had assumed it was one of those situations and had handed over the officer 100€ to be left alone, his situation would most likely be worsened, rather than cleared.
I think this is fairly common in European countries. It's definitely also the case in Spain.
Will a residence/work permit from a Schengen country be sufficient for these checks in Spain? Asking because I will be traveling to Spain from Switzerland next week
I'm a French citizen but I live in the U.S. (which I am also a citizen of). Several years ago I applied to get a French ID card (I hadn't had one in decades) because I don't want to carry a passport everywhere I go when I'm in Europe. My wife is American but I advise her to just carry her California driver's license, which has the same address as my French ID. We're both middle-aged folks and I'm not really worried we'd get in trouble in most European countries just because she's not carrying her U.S. passport.
The likelihood of your wife getting in trouble for not carrying her passport are very low, but it definitely helps that she carries her drivers license and the address matches the one on your ID.
As an Italian, it’s absolutely obvious for me carrying an ID everywhere. Police can do random checks and you have to show an ID. The same is valid for tourists. Honestly I don’t think that the current government has anything to do with this matter. It have always been the same, it’s part of our law and our culture; I want to point out that in many EU countries it’s the same, for example in Spain and France. Moreover, I want to point out that police in Italy is not corrupted, as you thought, they won’t ask you for money, never and ever. It’s totally impossible, it’s completely outside our culture. If you offer money, they will arrest you for trying to corrupt them. So, as a general advice to everyone in this post, don’t do it: you can receive from 3 to 8 years of prison.
Thanks for the last part. We ain’t a third world country wtf, do not ever even try corrupting anyone here, that’s a free pass to jail
In this sub Italy sometimes is described with tons of stereotypes given from I don't know where especially regarding the way italians act against tourists. Scamming people at a restaurants is terrible but happens in all of the world, but saying that police want money from tourists is actually a terrible things to say. If I don't have the passport in the US they will probably treat me the same. >I talked to an Italian friend, and with the right-wing/anti-immigrant government in charge there now, they (though not aware of this law either) believe it may become more common than it has been in the past for tourists to be questioned like this. This is another no sense sentence
Yeah, as if a change of government could have any effect on the everyday behavior of individual police officers and how kind or rude they are to random tourists. The law is the law. It’s not like Meloni invented that you have to carry a document when you go around or can set quotas or a performance evaluation system on how rude with tourists cops should be when asking for documents.
I doubt that would happen in the US. Police officers have to have probable cause to make such a request. Yes, they could make something up but that could be risky and for what purpose. You should always carry a valid ID regardless. People in the US would protest showing ID for no reason. It is very interesting the cultural differences between countries and how politics and the spirit of the people in a way influence the behavior of the police.
**we recommend you always carry your passport** This is the embassy of the US regarding the matter, because every state has different laws and in some is a must to have the passport
The only time you need a passport in the US is when entering the country. We don’t have ID laws like that because they are just used to racially profile people.
Non-citizens are required to carry ID and proof of legal status at all times in the US.
Have you ever walked around US inner cities as an immigrant and not as an US citizen? Your rights and the way cops treat you are totally different. In Italy you are a foreigner, not a citizen, and cops deal with you as someone that must prove he/she is staying legally in the EU. The "probable cause" is that you are an obvious foreigner.
I've always had my ID with me since I turned 18, and I had never even thought about it.
Hopefully you are correct with regards to corrupt police in the present day. The absence of them that is. But 20+ years ago there were most definitely corrupt police in Italy. Randomly checking up on tourists and demanding money for "something" and being downright nasty about it.
I am Italin and I agree. I also would like to add that I’ve also never heard of any tourist going to prison for this reason. So that’s completely our of the question. It would be absurd given how costly and long a trial is and how crowded prisons are.
You don't have to show an ID. L'obbligo è di fornire le generalità
You are not obliged to bring your ID on you alla the time (if you’re an Italian citizen) although without it the police can take you the precinct to verify your identity if they don’t believe you.
Ajeje Brazov, e’ lei?
this is false information. It is true only for italian citizens
Of course, travelers need their passport worldwide, or at least a recent copy of it with migration stamps
I OP understands that carrying ID is common. They had an ID with them (drivers licenses). They just didn’t realize they needed to carry their passport with them as foreigners. Now they know.
I think you’re conflating ID with a passport. They did have IDs on them. I don’t generally carry my passport around because if it’s stolen you’re quite fucked.
Wow thank you for this!
We took a regional train from Lucca to Pisa. We were checked while we were sitting on the train in Lucca before it left. Always, always have your passport on you. We are a family of four and it was just before the new year.
There's a lot of migrants in Pisa- they like to check passports on the train into there for that reason lol
I live there and not a migrant, however I pass through the train station every day, and I've been stopped more than anyone else I know, so yeah, maybe I just look like a drug dealer, but they stop a lot of people, and they're quite zealous
I blend in really well in Italy (lol) so when I do get stopped the most common response I get is "pensavo fossi Italiano" haha
They stop you because you are an obvious foreigner, an Italian does not need to show he/she is not overstaying in the Schengen zone.
I'm literally Italian and I've been living my entire life in the same city, I can't get more Italian than that
Are you white? I was trying to be politically correct. Cops racial profile in Italy and couldn't care less if it's wrong.
Yeah I'm white, don't worry BTW, here they stop a lot of black people (much more than white people in proportion) but they don't mind being overly zealous with white people too. I once was going by bike through the station (a thing commuters do, but I was doing it after a night out and it was 2am) and they told me to get down the bike and walk or I would have been fined. I was like, yeah, I'll do it, but I couldn't not think of commuters who do it daily, lmao
you're just lucky you weren't in Mexico because the cops would've searched you and told you you would've had to pay a fine or you were going to jail. And of course the fine would be exactly the amount of money you just happen to have on you
Have you seen the new Mexican law everyone prints out and keeps on them that prohibits this?
No, pls tell me moreb
[https://imgur.com/nL8QlwM](https://imgur.com/nL8QlwM)
Is this like the Facebook warning that prevents them from using my face in ads? The image states that this is for the state of Quintana Roo so must be a state law, not a federal law.
Yes it's a state law
Yes and I had it with me when I was in Mexico in January. To be quite honest the cops taking bribes don't care about a piece of paper
I was pulled over for a random stop and they let me go
Ditto
What does this have to do with traveling in Italy?
I'm a bit ocd about keeping my passport with me because i can't afford to lose it while travelling ( my country has almost no diplomatic outposts anywhere in Europe lol thanks Zimbabwe) however i have been going to italy particularly Como every 6 weeks for about a week for the last 7 years and this has never happened to me..good to know though
I can confirm that this is a thing. My husband and I are a very harmless and well-behaved couple in our sixties. We were stopped by a group of police at Milan station who were doing a spot check of all passengers getting on the train to Genoa. We apologised profusely and offered to go back to our aparment to get the passports. The police very sweetly allowed us to go on our way, but it was made perfectly clear that they could have made an example of us if they had felt so inclined
Lol, you really thought the POLICE was trying to shake you out? Of course you should bring your passport on your person all the time, it’s the law in the EU.
I’ve always carried mine when abroad.
We saw a pair of cops in Verona a few weeks ago that appeared to be doing random ID checks on the street. We didn’t have passports on us, but the cops were in the direction we needed to go and we just walked that way anyway more or less right toward them so it was clear to them that we saw them and weren’t at all avoiding them and fortunately they chose someone else to check. Have to admit though that I had no idea there was potential of anything other than a hassle from not having the original with me. I used to always carry it but at some point got the bad advice to keep it hidden in the room and carry a copy, which over time turned into a photo on my phone. Will definitely go back to carrying the real thing in the future.
Italy is not Mexico… they do that sometimes, specially at train stations, checking tourists passports, definitely not trying to get a bribe
Thanks for sharing. I am concerned about losing or having my passport stolen but now I guess I’ll wear one of those anti theft passport things (you wear around your neck under your shirt) just to be sure. And take photocopies in case the worst does happen!
You can see guards asking for ID pretty much everywhere in Italy. Japan is the same and it's actually a criminal offense to not carry your passport with you.
I have been in Russia and they give you a small paper to keep with your passport. If they stop you and you don't have with you, you go to the police station with them, no discussion
REDDIT IS RUN BY WEAK AND FRAGILE MORONS
Oh lord. Let's ignore the fact that things aren't "shady" here and cops won't be trying to shake you for money (wtf, seriously), the current government has nothing to do with these policies. This has been the law since forever, and I was told almost twenty years ago, when U got my first paper ID as a teenager "you must carry this with you at all times". Sorry this happened to you, and I understand you're upset, but the way you talk about what happened would make any Italian cringe and would piss us off. TLDR: your friend doesn't know what he/she is talking about and while I am sure you're decent individuals, your words make you sound like an "ugly American" (no offense).
Right? I usually don't get upset about this kind of stuff but this post is just... Bah. OP comes as a tourist without researching basic information about the rules and then decides to be overdramatic and call the place shady just because the police told them off for breaking the rules and made them sit for 5 minutes? Come on.
Alot of americans are like this, they think american laws apply everywhere. Im not saying op is this stereotype but his post isnt doing him any favours
This is common, your passport is your ID just like your drivers license in the US. I'd never leave that in a hotel anyway on the chance it gets stolen.
Wouldn't you have more of a chance of having it stolen if your carry it everywhere?
I don’t think it’s that common actually. I live in Italy and I’ve never even been asked once
Sorry I meant common practice to carry your passport at all times as a tourist
I’d think it’s much safer in the hotel.
Thanks for sharing and glad they let you go
I wonder if passport ID is ok.
Let me add my two cents: As an Italian living in Florence, I have been stopped maybe twice in 30 years. The most recent time I was a student, walking home with my partner in the station area. My guess is that they stopped us, instead of any of the other dozens of potentially “more dangerous looking” people who frequent the station, because as young students we would not protest or resist in any way, thus making the ID checking job for the police a lot easier than with any more polemical person who might have complained. We were the “easy” targets for the policemen who apparently had a certain number of IDs that they needed to check that day, and who just wanted to get it done with as fast as possible and with the least hustle.
Fair point!
Nothing homophobic my dude, they can ask anyone documents. They probably heard you speaking English and wanted to check your passport to see if you had everything in order. You didn’t research properly and were caught off guard,it happens.
An american scared by italian cops? Now that's something new
Thanks for this! Just today I was wondering if it was safer to carry my Passport on me or leave it at the hotel/airbnb.
i’ve had the same thing
I should show this to my sister! We qualify for Italian citizenship, I was recognized last year and my sister had her appointment a few weeks ago. The consulates in the US finally started offering appointments to get Electronic Identity Cards and I got one, and she asked me why. I explained this way I didn’t have to carry a passport with me while I was in the EU and she kind of scoffed and said “Oh, I never carry my passport around with me anyway.” I was starting to think I might just be a paranoid dweeb but glad to know passport/ID checks definitely happen.
Our passports (US) were requested by police at the train station terminal. They asked for our documents and took a picture of them. Since that day I'm definitely convinced it is a good idea to always carry your passport. I always carry it anyway this just made me feel more valid in my thinking. I'm getting a passport card this renewal and I'll carry that on my person at all times in Mexico or Canada and lock my passport in the safe. I may carry that in non tourist areas of Europe or when just leaving my rental for quick walk to a shop in the neighborhood.
Also of note: absolutely do not take photos of the police.
I'm not saying this to be mean as I don't think many people know better, but you're really supposed to have your passport on you all the time when traveling abroad. There are many reasons, apart from just the local laws (in more than just Italy). You're not in your home country, and no other form of ID you're carrying around will mean anything to the locals. You need your passport in case any sort of emergency takes place or you get pulled over. The fear of losing it is legit, but that's why so many people recommend tourist wallets, fanny packs, etc. rather than leaving it in a hotel safe.
I work for the DoD with a security clearance. We are told over and over to NEVER leave anything with identifying info in the hotel safe. Always keep it on your person.
As an Italian, some of the things written in this post really did get under my skin. Not to mention the ignorant or outright hateful comments down here. Internet users are pathetic sometimes.
They were a little overzealous, but you need to have your ID with you at all times in any country.
Not to say this can never happen but having spent almost 6 months in Italy over various trips I’ve never had this happen. I would much rather have my passport locked up in the safe in the hotel.
I mean I'm posting this because it literally happened to me, 5 days ago, lol. I acknowledge it's probably rare, but it can, and obviously does, happen.
The date probably was a factor too. 25th of April we celebrate the liberation from nazifascism, and given our current government..simpaties.., added to the international situation, security forces were on high alert, especially in crowded popular places like Florence
I was just in Capri and this happened to my husband and we saw plenty of other people getting their passport/ID checked
This had me thinking because I don't like the idea of carrying my passport with me. I have a digital copy and always my ID card. I went to Italy last year and fortunately never ran into situations like this. I am visiting again and this time will go to the Olimpico in Roma to watch a game and the rules of conduct say you need to have an official ID with a photo. I still think I won't carry my passport since the idea of losing it is not very appealing.
You could wear a garment that has a hidden/zipper pocket and put it in there, to comply with the law and avoid loss.
The Access to Serie A match is a different law, years ago to fight against violence at football matches they introduced named ticket and ID mandatory but it's related to that particular situation.
Who goes abroad without ID?? I don't carry my passport when I'm out of my country but a recent copy of it with the stamp with the date of entry in the country Just for info: Italians don't have to carry an ID, but they're required to give their name and address of residence when asked by cops. The only ID you have to carry is the driving license when you're driving
Sounds like this was a 15 min interaction that ended with no consequences. Sorry this impacted your trip. Try to think of it as a good story. I can only speak for our trip, we never needed our passport and felt way more reassured to have passports in the hotel. We were never asked for passports even though we chatted with police and accidently took a train we didn't have tickets for. I hope it wasn't homophobia, but that is very possible I will never walk around with my passport
Didn't bother us too much! But if you are in Italy, just know you are assuming some risk walking around without it. The Italian law explicitly requires it, so it's just a matter of luck with which cops you draw if you happen to be asked.
If it was homophobia the police would have enforced the 2000 euro fine
Homophobia? Stop saying things like this about italian police, it's a law, if in the US they stop me and I am not without my passport as an Italian they will be angry exactly the same, it's their job
Doesn't happen in the US so not sure what you're on about.
What is the actual consequence of not having your passport assuming they bothered to take it that far rather than just tell you off like they did? I would weigh that up against the hassle of having to get a new passport if you lose yours which is more likely if carrying everywhere. I've never carried my passport in Italy (or any country for that matter) outside and think it is overkill to do so but perhaps I'm underestimating the consequences if you actually get in trouble for it?
2,000 euros, and I guess theoretically even arrest/jail time are possible per the letter of the law, though I'm sure they'd do the fine in 99.9% of cases.
I just want to reassure you and everyone else who's reading that "up to one year in jail" pretty much means "no jail time" in legalese. But yeah carry your ID with you
I would pay a lot of money not to get tangled in the Italian legal system though. It’s messy.
Even the fine it's not like a speeding or ZTL fine. A judge must issue it. In practice, nobody is going to clog the courts with this kind of stuff.
I can't fathom ever keeping my passport in a hotel while traveling anyways. What if you get into a accident and needed to go to the hospital, what if a protest turns violent and you're caught in it, what if you miss the train back from your day trip and need to stay overnight somewhere else, what if hotel staff stalls it. So many reasons to always have your passport on you while traveling. Just thinking about leaving it elsewhere gives me anxiety lol
In an alternate dimension, you knew this law, carried your passport, and instead of getting stopped by the police, you were mugged and had your passports stolen. Can’t win. Either way you take a risk. Everyone just needs to weigh which risk they’d like to take.
He was in Florence, not in new york
Would a copy be fine? Edit: do they also check for "visa" shopping if your Schengen is from say france country but haven't been there yet?
No. Italian law specifically state that copies of ID documents are not considered ID documents.
Does this have to be a passport or a British driving license is fine? Don't feel safe carrying my passport around
Regardless of your point if entry in the European Union you can stay up to 90 days every 180 days with a Schengen Visa. Those 90 days are calculated from the first day of entry. There's a useful Visa stay calculator on the European Union website: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en
I got a single entry visa
[удалено]
Not the US or UK, I'm guessing there are more as well.
Thank you for the heads up! Will definitely be carrying our passports on us in Italy.
Photo of your passport on your phone?
Very very odd. I have visited Europe for 25 years and have literally never had to show my ID to police at all. No one has ever stopped me or my family. Though admittedly we don't go get drunk or go to bars and I am a petite white female. I always leave my passport in the hotel safe and carry a photocopy-which it seems you didn't have. Maybe I've just been really lucky or I look older and "safe".
We had pictures on our phone, but they wanted the physical copy! I do think it's rare though, so never having it happen is probably the norm. This was my 5th trip to Europe in the past 6 years, and before that I had studied abroad for 2 months a few years earlier, and it had never happened to me until now!
I have a photo of my tourist passport and my sojourners permit on my phone for when I am just out and about. I do bring my tourist passport if im making an overnight trip somewhere.
So I'm guessing leaving your actual US passport at the hotel and just carrying a photo copy of your passport isn't a good idea?
I have photo of my passport on my phone and I carried my US drivers license since it’s smaller than passport and never had issues with that combo. I got VAT stuff with passport cell phone pic.
You should bring an ID/Passport in every foreign country. If you're a US citizen in the US you can be identified by just your data because you are already in the system. The same applies for Italy, italians can identify themself with names and date of birth because they are in the system... It's impossibile to identify an italian stopped by US police and it's impossible to identify a US citizen in Italy because no record of your birth exist in that country...
Spent two weeks throughout Italy this past March and never experienced this.
this is a general rule for most places you travel to, just keep the passport in a money belt under your clothes.
I think having a copy is more than enough. The fact that you need to have the actual passport with you at all times is a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
did you even read OP's post?
yeah _coughs_ read that again will you
there is a form that the lodging has to fill in- a declaration of presence- your copy of that is also proof of lawful presence and acceptable.
I thought this was sort of common sense? Your drivers license is valid ID only within the United States. As soon as you leave the country your passport now becomes your only form of valid ID (you are traveling abroad and needed to clear customs to get a stamp gain entry to the country).
In the United States, you would not need any sort of ID for that outing regardless of your nationality. It’s not that you need the passport for ID that’s surprising, it’s needing ID for a walk.
I always have my passport on me - at all times!!
Paris is even worse. A friend of mine left his Airbnb to get some food for himself and his wife right down the street from his Airbnb so he only took his key with him. On his way, he was stopped by police who asked for his passport. He explained that he is American and wasn’t aware that he had to carry his passport with him. He said he was just going to pick up some food down the street. He told them that his Airbnb was across the street but the police wouldn’t let him go get his passport. They took him to the police station, held him for hours, and wouldn’t let him call his wife. It was a real mess.
Same thing in Japan as well. You have to carry it on your person
I strapped ours to my chest using this (https://a.co/d/4116qae) under my ED jacket…. It looked like a cop bodycam but we out of worry
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This happened to me and my gf In rome, Florence, bologna and venice They were really aggressive about it, although we were super cooperative and produced our passports right away from my backpack. Even with us being within our visa limits they still scolded us? Edit: we’re both Americans
They were just bored, as they have a target of id to check when they go on patrolling
To be honest, most European countries have the same law in place. Carrying an ID is compulsory at all times. For EU citizens, a drivers license or national ID is enough, but if you're not an EU citizen, you're supposed to carry your passport with you. In reality, like you said, it's very rarely enforced.
You don't need to carry your passport, only your ID, it probably had something to do with your appearance or skin colour, racial profiling is very common here in Italy and i always witness it when I am with my wife which is a poc, while with my white friends they never ever stopped me.
The only ID that is recognized is your passport, unless you are from a EU country. You should not provide false information
Yes this is very important and probably a good idea for wherever you travel. Think about it ..what if you were out and about and something crazy happened like a war started or a scary event and you needed to flee….you wouldn’t have time to go back to your hotel ….if you have your passport on you in a money belt beneath your clothes, you could flee, drive out of the country, fly out, etc if you have your passport on you. Hopefully you never find yourself in a crazy situation like that but it’s better to be safe and have it on you at all times.
Welcome to EU, a place where everybody have an ID with him all the time. I thought that this is normal in a developed world.
Hanes now makes traveler underwear for men that has a hidden pocket for your passport. I plan to get a few pairs before my trip in September.
I was asked for ID in Milan, i only had my (Texas) drivers license, and they knew I was from USA, and they asked me for a pic of my passport, which i showed them. They let me go about my way in less than 5 minutes.
Ok. But can you carry a copy and not the original? Lock the original in a safe and have a photo on your phone + a printout with you? Or not?
Technically not
Italian hotels used to ask you to leave your passport at the desk, maybe they don't anymore. Haven't been asked in a few years. When asked, I've always insisted on only leaving my driver's license.
What about in France?
We have traveled to over 30 countries since I was in my 20's. My husband and I have always carried our passports with us. It has never occurred to us that hotel is safe enough to leave money and passport behind. It is not just my personal opinion. I travel for work internationally and before my first trip oversea for work, we were trained professionally not to EVER leave laptop, phone, passport, and money behind in the hotel. In case anything happens and we need to head to airport right away, we are good to go.
As someone who’s had to get an emergency passport in another country before because mine was stolen, I’m taking my chances with leaving it in the hotel. I’ve been traveling around Europe for months now and this has never happened anywhere, so it’s rare enough that I’d risk explaining to the cops rather than risking getting it stolen
Curious if anyone carries the new-ish US Passport ID card rather than the full passport in them. I’ve found that most hotels, etc… don’t know what it is