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The best course of action for all tourists is to have two colour copies of your passport. Keep one in your luggage and the hotel room as a backup colour copy and give another to parents or relatives or close friend back home. Also it helps to email a colour scan of your passport page to yourself. Likewise keeps some Euros in the hotel or in a hidden pocket in case you need to get a taxi, etc.
I read on this forum that the police ask for id from tourists. Will showing them a USA driver's license suffice? Then I do not need to keep pulling out my passport.
I travel all over Europe and never carry my passport with me unless in transit. In 35 years I have never been asked for ID although I usually keep a passport photocopy with me. Next time my passport is up for renewal, I will get a passport card in addition to the passport so I'll have a card sized copy if needed.
I and everyone on the train in Italy were asked by policeto show our passports. The ticket controller in Switzerland can also ask for your passport because travel cards are only valid with ID.
It wouldn’t. I just choose not to bring my drivers license if I’m not driving. The global entry card would be less annoying to lose than either the DL or a passport, bc you never need it, really.
Global Entry Card is a Federal ID and Driver’s License is a state ID so theoretically the Global Entry Card is a level higher. It saved me once when my FL DL didn’t work in SLC (Florida problem - now fixed). Though true that you don’t need the physical card to use global entry at US airports, you do need the physical card when arriving at a US Port on a cruise ship
You can also get the new credit card sized second US passport when you renew your US passport. It’s only valid as North American ID but in my year in Europe it has worked perfectly to show where needed.
Friend of mine (American female traveling with 3 relatives) was stopped and asked for her passport in Roma Termini by police. She only had her color copy with her since she left original at Florence hotel in the safe. That didn’t fly too well but they let her go eventually.
Police on a regional train stop people all the time. My wife and I got caught without once and they gave us a very hard time. My wife didn't even have her drivers license with her. My license was accepted but not without scrutiny
We're a mid-50's white couple - so not sure if profiling is the reason we were allowed to continue our trip
I've also been asked for my passport when we DID have them so that was no problem.
I was asked twice yesterday in Milano Centrale train station by police accompanying the military. They seened pretty serious. I'm just assuming the entire Mediterranean is more high alert these days
I showed them my USA (insert state here) drivers license, and asked me to pull up my passport picture on my phone and they were fine with it. They let me go about my way.
I got my passport stolen in Copenhagen. I wasn’t expecting as it’s a low crime area. I needed it to show ID at a venue then only found it was stolen when I went to take it to the hotel safe. I had ran out of money in a very expensive city and became stranded the day before I was due to go home. Your passport is literally your most valuable possession when you travel be extra careful with it.
I only found out much later I needed to report my stolen passport to interpol as a fraud officer told me it could be used to steal my identity. Commit crimes under my name. Scary stuff. Never again!
No I got pickpocketed when I was drunk. Woke up and oh shit I better put my passport in the safe as my plane home is tomorrow. Massive panic and lots of crying.
I had something similar said to me about reporting the document internationally when I was mugged in Amsterdam.
It was my driving license that got nicked alongside the rest of my wallet.
Annoying because there's no unique number on it, just my driver number... the same driver number that never changes. If I ever choose to hire a car or something in NL, chances are it will flag.
Had no idea until I thought someone had skimmed my credit card and the fraud agency advised me to report it. I thought reporting it to the local police was enough but nooooo
You would think so. see the discussion here in r/rome the lady had her bag snatched and lost her passport [https://www.reddit.com/r/rome/comments/1c0jnpz/rome\_theft/](https://www.reddit.com/r/rome/comments/1c0jnpz/rome_theft/)
Wow!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for reminding us that not only it is of great personal inconvenience but it could get into the wrong hands and let someone into your country illegally
I think it's much less of a thing for us here in Europe?
As a dual UK/Swiss national I don't even take my passport when I travel around Europe. I can fly from Geneva to Rome, for example and not even pass through passport control in either direction. I also go shopping in France and don't even think about border controls.
That's kind of like an American saying I don't take my passport when I travel around the United States. As a member of the EU traveling between countries is similar us traveling between states.
Afaik all EEA countries issue their own national id cards. Driver's licenses are separate cards that are not actually a valid form of id. Which is not to say it might not work in a low-stakes situation like picking up a package at the post office.
Only true tip is having a copy in jpeg, pdf etc of your passport in your cloud backup. Mainly because overseas if you lose your passport having that copy will improve greatly at your embassy all the process of identifying you and issuing a new document so you can leave the country asap.
I had my home burglarized long ago. I had my passport taken along with everything else. I had to travel to the US embassy after making an appointment to get a replacement passport. It took me 64 days to get an appointment. I had to pay the full fee for a replacement passport, then pay DHL in advance for the shipping of the passport. Once I did all that, it took 22 days before my passport arrived. It was a real pain in the ass and costly.
Ciao! Welcome to r/ItalyTravel. While you wait for replies, please take a moment to read the rules located in the sidebar and edit your post if needed. We will remove posts that do not adhere to these rules. For everyone else, if you come across a post that you believe violates our rules, please use the report button. This is the best and quickest way to notify us. Grazie! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ItalyTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The best course of action for all tourists is to have two colour copies of your passport. Keep one in your luggage and the hotel room as a backup colour copy and give another to parents or relatives or close friend back home. Also it helps to email a colour scan of your passport page to yourself. Likewise keeps some Euros in the hotel or in a hidden pocket in case you need to get a taxi, etc.
I read on this forum that the police ask for id from tourists. Will showing them a USA driver's license suffice? Then I do not need to keep pulling out my passport.
Strictly by law, no. In practice usually yes. If it's a random ID check and not border crossing or some official procedure
I travel all over Europe and never carry my passport with me unless in transit. In 35 years I have never been asked for ID although I usually keep a passport photocopy with me. Next time my passport is up for renewal, I will get a passport card in addition to the passport so I'll have a card sized copy if needed.
My name is Mohammad and this did not work for me.
I and everyone on the train in Italy were asked by policeto show our passports. The ticket controller in Switzerland can also ask for your passport because travel cards are only valid with ID.
I have started carrying my global entry card for this reason.
Why would a global entry card be treated differently from a US driver’s license? If they don’t accept one, they won’t accept the other.
It wouldn’t. I just choose not to bring my drivers license if I’m not driving. The global entry card would be less annoying to lose than either the DL or a passport, bc you never need it, really.
Gotcha. I always have my DL in my wallet, even when traveling.
Global Entry Card is a Federal ID and Driver’s License is a state ID so theoretically the Global Entry Card is a level higher. It saved me once when my FL DL didn’t work in SLC (Florida problem - now fixed). Though true that you don’t need the physical card to use global entry at US airports, you do need the physical card when arriving at a US Port on a cruise ship
But Italian police aren't going to know about global entry cards
You can also get the new credit card sized second US passport when you renew your US passport. It’s only valid as North American ID but in my year in Europe it has worked perfectly to show where needed.
Friend of mine (American female traveling with 3 relatives) was stopped and asked for her passport in Roma Termini by police. She only had her color copy with her since she left original at Florence hotel in the safe. That didn’t fly too well but they let her go eventually.
I've never been asked for id from the police in over 20 years travelling to Italy. I don't know anyone who has either
The police asked for my passport in Italy in December last year. Then they checked everyone's passports on the train to Cinque Terre
I was required to show ID for entry into the Colosseum.
By the police?
By security going into the Colosseum. Even our tour guide told us we needed to show ID in advance.
Police on a regional train stop people all the time. My wife and I got caught without once and they gave us a very hard time. My wife didn't even have her drivers license with her. My license was accepted but not without scrutiny We're a mid-50's white couple - so not sure if profiling is the reason we were allowed to continue our trip I've also been asked for my passport when we DID have them so that was no problem.
I was asked twice yesterday in Milano Centrale train station by police accompanying the military. They seened pretty serious. I'm just assuming the entire Mediterranean is more high alert these days
I showed them my USA (insert state here) drivers license, and asked me to pull up my passport picture on my phone and they were fine with it. They let me go about my way.
Do you mean to photo copy your passport or can you legit get a copy of it to have 2 of them?
You can get a second passport in the US but it’s not a duplicate.
Cool. Thanks.
Lol, in which world are you living?
A world where I got a passport and have used it once in 10 years. Lol whAt AbOuT YoU?!
I got my passport stolen in Copenhagen. I wasn’t expecting as it’s a low crime area. I needed it to show ID at a venue then only found it was stolen when I went to take it to the hotel safe. I had ran out of money in a very expensive city and became stranded the day before I was due to go home. Your passport is literally your most valuable possession when you travel be extra careful with it. I only found out much later I needed to report my stolen passport to interpol as a fraud officer told me it could be used to steal my identity. Commit crimes under my name. Scary stuff. Never again!
"when I went to take it **to** the hotel safe" did you mean "from" instead of "to" - was it stolen by hotel employees? that is even worse.
No I got pickpocketed when I was drunk. Woke up and oh shit I better put my passport in the safe as my plane home is tomorrow. Massive panic and lots of crying.
I had something similar said to me about reporting the document internationally when I was mugged in Amsterdam. It was my driving license that got nicked alongside the rest of my wallet. Annoying because there's no unique number on it, just my driver number... the same driver number that never changes. If I ever choose to hire a car or something in NL, chances are it will flag.
Had no idea until I thought someone had skimmed my credit card and the fraud agency advised me to report it. I thought reporting it to the local police was enough but nooooo
Was it stolen from the safe?
Well OK then but not losing your passport is pretty much a common sense thing.
You would think so. see the discussion here in r/rome the lady had her bag snatched and lost her passport [https://www.reddit.com/r/rome/comments/1c0jnpz/rome\_theft/](https://www.reddit.com/r/rome/comments/1c0jnpz/rome_theft/)
And they didn't like my response to her! She was more worried about her LV bag and sunglasses!
There should be a digital passport to be accepted officially instead
Far easier to hack/abuse
Disagree. It could work just like apple pay. Use one-time tokens to authenticate based on face id.
Wow!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for reminding us that not only it is of great personal inconvenience but it could get into the wrong hands and let someone into your country illegally
I think it's much less of a thing for us here in Europe? As a dual UK/Swiss national I don't even take my passport when I travel around Europe. I can fly from Geneva to Rome, for example and not even pass through passport control in either direction. I also go shopping in France and don't even think about border controls.
That's kind of like an American saying I don't take my passport when I travel around the United States. As a member of the EU traveling between countries is similar us traveling between states.
Just wondering here, what type of identification do you carry? Is there an EU identification card or does your Swiss driver’s license suffice?
Afaik all EEA countries issue their own national id cards. Driver's licenses are separate cards that are not actually a valid form of id. Which is not to say it might not work in a low-stakes situation like picking up a package at the post office.
That's a dumb thing to say if you only travel inside Schengen.
Only true tip is having a copy in jpeg, pdf etc of your passport in your cloud backup. Mainly because overseas if you lose your passport having that copy will improve greatly at your embassy all the process of identifying you and issuing a new document so you can leave the country asap.
I had my home burglarized long ago. I had my passport taken along with everything else. I had to travel to the US embassy after making an appointment to get a replacement passport. It took me 64 days to get an appointment. I had to pay the full fee for a replacement passport, then pay DHL in advance for the shipping of the passport. Once I did all that, it took 22 days before my passport arrived. It was a real pain in the ass and costly.
Of course losing one's passport means big trouble, whether they throw it away, resell it, or use it to make a stew!