3 ms·

> AFAIK, having a legal identification document at all times is a legal requirement even for citizens in the EU, or at least in Slovenia. Nowhere in EU countri

by gioele 12y ago

> AFAIK, having a legal identification document at all times is a legal requirement even for citizens in the EU, or at least in Slovenia. Nowhere in EU countries there a requirement for their citizens to _carry_ a legal ID. Some may require you to _possess_ at least a valid one (at home maybe) and all of them require that you are _able to be identified_ by police officers (this means you accept to go to a police station to check your identity).

jabbernotty 12y ago
Did you do a web search before you wrote that? The first hit when I did: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/living/official-matters/compulsory-identification http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/living/official-matters/comp... "In 2005 the Dutch government introduced a law to improve public safety stating that everyone must be able to produce valid identification when requested by the police or supervisory officials. Those who fail to produce vailid identification risk being fined. Read on to learn more about valid identification, and to whom the law is applicable."
- wila 12y ago
  That's correct. Everybody needs to be able to produce an ID when asked for it by the police. Note however that it is not common for police to ask you for your ID, so not everybody carries it at all times. You get a fine if you don't have it on you or the police can take you to their station. link (in dutch) http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/paspoort-en-identificatie/vraag-en-antwoord/wat-gebeurt-er-als-ik-geen-identiteitsbewijs-kan-laten-zien.html http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/paspoort-en-identifi...
corford 12y ago
I'm fairly certain it's a requirement in France.
- a3_nm 12y ago
  Not that I know of. At least, for French citizens, within the scope of identity checks ("contrôle d'identité"), you need to be able to prove your identity but there is no required list of established means to do so (and some are not even documents, e.g., appeal to a witness): http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1036.xhtml#N10101 http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1036.xhtml#... The relevant article of the penal procedure code ("Code de procédure pénale"), 78-2, is especially broad: "by any mean" ("par tout moyen"). To my knowledge, the French state does not even require that a French citizen even requests or obtains an identity card or a passport (although having some ID document may be useful in practice).
  - corford 12y ago
    From living in France, I always had the impression it was mandatory. All of my French friends thought it was bizarre that I would go out without my UK passport on me as they always kept their ID card with them at all times. My girlfriend's (whose French) parents never drive anywhere without ID on them (in addition to their driving license) and used to have a go at me for not doing the same. All anecdotal though and maybe you're right that the letter of the law does not require it. The UK certainly doesn't. I never had an encounter with the gendarmes in the 5 years I lived there so I never found out first hand. Edit: looks like you're right. This article does a nice job of breaking it down: http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2011/12/26/fouilles-controles-didentite-amendes-10-choses-savoir-227693 http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2011/12/26/fouilles-controles-did...
    - a3_nm 12y ago
      What I said applies to French citizens, not foreigners. For foreigners the situation is less clear, in some cases you need to be able to show your passport and visa http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F31208.xhtml http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F31208.xhtml -- if you are within the scope of a visa exemption I would imagine that you would need to justify it by producing a passport of the correct nationality and supporting documents if any. (Personally, I always keep my passport with me when travelling abroad.) In France I always have my ID with me but I know friends who don't (e.g., did not bother replacing a lost ID). Having lived 24 years in France I have never been asked to produce ID by the police or gendarmes. (That said, I am white, not often involved in demonstrations and such, etc.; other people's experiences may vary. :-/)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
roel_v 12y ago
Please do not post authoritative-sounding advise when you obviously don't know anything about the issue. There are several EU countries where carrying legal ID at all times is law.
gioele 12y ago
> Nowhere in EU countries there a requirement for their citizens to _carry_ a legal ID. To all the downvoters: please PROVIDE A SOURCE (bill, act, legal review, any language is OK) that states that a citizen of a EU country must _carry_ a legal ID while staying in that country. Please note I wrote in the original comment and in this comment _carry_, not _provide_. As I wrote, there are states that require you to _provide_ an ID to police officers. But that doesn't mean that you have to _carry_ it with you all the time, just that you can go back home to take it or go to a police station and be identified there.

by gioele 12y ago

jabbernotty 12y ago

Did you do a web search before you wrote that? The first hit when I did: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/living/official-matters/compulsory-identification http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/living/official-matters/comp... "In 2005 the Dutch government introduced a law to improve public safety stating that everyone must be able to produce valid identification when requested by the police or supervisory officials. Those who fail to produce vailid identification risk being fined. Read on to learn more about valid identification, and to whom the law is applicable."

wila 12y ago
That's correct. Everybody needs to be able to produce an ID when asked for it by the police. Note however that it is not common for police to ask you for your ID, so not everybody carries it at all times. You get a fine if you don't have it on you or the police can take you to their station. link (in dutch) http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/paspoort-en-identificatie/vraag-en-antwoord/wat-gebeurt-er-als-ik-geen-identiteitsbewijs-kan-laten-zien.html http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/paspoort-en-identifi...

corford 12y ago

I'm fairly certain it's a requirement in France.

a3_nm 12y ago
Not that I know of. At least, for French citizens, within the scope of identity checks ("contrôle d'identité"), you need to be able to prove your identity but there is no required list of established means to do so (and some are not even documents, e.g., appeal to a witness): http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1036.xhtml#N10101 http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1036.xhtml#... The relevant article of the penal procedure code ("Code de procédure pénale"), 78-2, is especially broad: "by any mean" ("par tout moyen"). To my knowledge, the French state does not even require that a French citizen even requests or obtains an identity card or a passport (although having some ID document may be useful in practice).
- corford 12y ago
  From living in France, I always had the impression it was mandatory. All of my French friends thought it was bizarre that I would go out without my UK passport on me as they always kept their ID card with them at all times. My girlfriend's (whose French) parents never drive anywhere without ID on them (in addition to their driving license) and used to have a go at me for not doing the same. All anecdotal though and maybe you're right that the letter of the law does not require it. The UK certainly doesn't. I never had an encounter with the gendarmes in the 5 years I lived there so I never found out first hand. Edit: looks like you're right. This article does a nice job of breaking it down: http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2011/12/26/fouilles-controles-didentite-amendes-10-choses-savoir-227693 http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2011/12/26/fouilles-controles-did...
  - a3_nm 12y ago
    What I said applies to French citizens, not foreigners. For foreigners the situation is less clear, in some cases you need to be able to show your passport and visa http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F31208.xhtml http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F31208.xhtml -- if you are within the scope of a visa exemption I would imagine that you would need to justify it by producing a passport of the correct nationality and supporting documents if any. (Personally, I always keep my passport with me when travelling abroad.) In France I always have my ID with me but I know friends who don't (e.g., did not bother replacing a lost ID). Having lived 24 years in France I have never been asked to produce ID by the police or gendarmes. (That said, I am white, not often involved in demonstrations and such, etc.; other people's experiences may vary. :-/)
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

roel_v 12y ago

Please do not post authoritative-sounding advise when you obviously don't know anything about the issue. There are several EU countries where carrying legal ID at all times is law.

gioele 12y ago

> Nowhere in EU countries there a requirement for their citizens to _carry_ a legal ID. To all the downvoters: please PROVIDE A SOURCE (bill, act, legal review, any language is OK) that states that a citizen of a EU country must _carry_ a legal ID while staying in that country. Please note I wrote in the original comment and in this comment _carry_, not _provide_. As I wrote, there are states that require you to _provide_ an ID to police officers. But that doesn't mean that you have to _carry_ it with you all the time, just that you can go back home to take it or go to a police station and be identified there.