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General Travel Information

Travel Tip: What ID Do You Use??

 Subscribe SubscribeCreate Poll Create PollGet a printer-friendly version of this discussion Print Discussion 
Jamaica Jim Jordan
by :   Jamaica Jim Jordan
1/7/05

votes :   238
Latest :   Nov-11
Q: Travel ID - What do You Use - Passports or Other Items?





#2 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 11:18 AM   
Jamaica Jim Jordan
 
From  Jamaica Jim Jordan  Posts 1979  Last Nov-24
To  Jamaica Jim Jordan      [Msg # 27482.2 Message 27482.2 replying to 27482.1 27482.1 ]    

The Travel Forum's own Carolyn Randall has created a unique personal web site - Passport Info.Com - which offers the definitive information found in cyberspace about passports, etc.  You may want to access Carolyn's site for more information about these documents, how to obtain them, where to use them, how to safeguard them, etc.

In the above poll, you can indicate what form of identification you use for your own travel outside of your home country. If you regularly use an identification other than one of the first four listed, please tell us what you use - and why.  Are you turned off at having to pay the fee to obtain a passport?  What do you think is the best form of identification?

You can also expound on what you think of passports in general.  Just click on the Reply to this MessageReply icon above or in the poll message, type in your comments and then click on the icon to add your comments to the thread.

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#3 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 11:27 AM   
Hugh Wyn Griffith FL
 
From  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL  Posts 6406  Last Jul-7
To  Jamaica Jim Jordan      [Msg # 27482.3 Message 27482.3 replying to 27482.1 27482.1 ]    

The Poll won't allow me to select more than one <g>

I also use my UK Passport but only to enter and leave the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) but I always, as required by US Law, use my US Passport to leave and enter the USA as well as all the other countries I've traveled to recently.

It's one advantage of having dual nationality but I hope the two countries never go to war with each other again ......

Hugh
Windows XP Pro build 2600 + SP2.....MSIE6
Connecting through RoadRunner Cable Modem

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#4 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 11:34 AM   
Mase [LAX]
 
From  Mase [LAX]  Posts 509  Last 8/8/07
To  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL      [Msg # 27482.4 Message 27482.4 replying to 27482.3 27482.3 ]    

I also use my UK Passport but only to enter and leave the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) but I always, as required by US Law, use my US Passport to leave and enter the USA  >>

When you leave the USA  on an airline flight, your reservation contains your US passport number and emergency contacts, etc.  This info is advanced to UK customs.  How do you deal with the fact that you are entering the UK on a passport that is not listed on their advance manifest?  Has that ever caused a problem?

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#5 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 11:37 AM   
Hugh Wyn Griffith FL
 
From  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL  Posts 6406  Last Jul-7
To  Mase [LAX]      [Msg # 27482.5 Message 27482.5 replying to 27482.4 27482.4 ]    

Perhaps the system is not that efficient? <g>

I've never had any problems or questions raised at either end. I just go through the UK channel on arrival and they look at my UK passport which proves my right of entry and residence. I'm sure they are used to dual nationals -- there are plenty of us around from all sorts of pairs of countries, including my son who is dual British and French <g>

Hugh
Windows XP Pro build 2600 + SP2.....MSIE6
Connecting through RoadRunner Cable Modem

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#6 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 11:37 AM   
Jamaica Jim Jordan
 
From  Jamaica Jim Jordan  Posts 1979  Last Nov-24
To  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL      [Msg # 27482.6 Message 27482.6 replying to 27482.3 27482.3 ]    

Hugh...

» The Poll won't allow me to select more than one <g> «

Don't beat on the messenger - it's a fault of the system, not mine! <chuckle> Actually, I did think of you when posting, but opted not to show a choice of multiple passports since "most" of our members don't qualify for more than one!

Jim

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#7 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 11:38 AM   
Hugh Wyn Griffith FL
 
From  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL  Posts 6406  Last Jul-7
To  Jamaica Jim Jordan      [Msg # 27482.7 Message 27482.7 replying to 27482.6 27482.6 ]    

<< Don't beat on the messenger  >>

Why not, it's more fun! <gdr>

Hugh
Windows XP Pro build 2600 + SP2.....MSIE6
Connecting through RoadRunner Cable Modem

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#8 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 10:57 AM   
Ray Bell (France)
 
From  Ray Bell (France)  Posts 527  Last 9/4/07
To  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL      [Msg # 27482.8 Message 27482.8 replying to 27482.3 27482.3 ]    
**I also use my UK Passport but only to enter and leave the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) but I always, as required by US Law, use my US Passport to leave and enter the USA as well as all the other countries I've traveled to recently.**

When returning to the UK, Teresa always chose the shortest line.  If I was with her I would go with her.  A couple of them frowned but always let me through with her.  For the 'frowners', I would point out my "Indefinite leave to reside  . . . ' stamp from the Home Office and that seemed to placate them.


Ray
Edited 1/7/05   by  Ray Bell (France)
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#9 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 11:05 AM   
BevL (France)
 
From  BevL (France)  Posts 947  Last 1:15 AM
To  Hugh Wyn Griffith FL      [Msg # 27482.9 Message 27482.9 replying to 27482.5 27482.5 ]    
Though they aren't nearly as "insistent" upon it as the US seems to be (i.e. no fines and probably no jail time <g>) I believe you really ARE supposed to present your "local" passport when entering a country where you have nationality.

I just got asked for the first time last week to provide my passport number when I made a flight reservation online (non-US airline). Though the US may send passport numbers along with the passenger manifests on outbound flights from the US, I get the feeling most other countries don't actually do anything with the extra information.
Cheers,
Bev
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#10 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 2:31 PM   
Lilliam Hurst
 
From  Lilliam Hurst  Posts 100  Last 6/16/08
To  Jamaica Jim Jordan      [Msg # 27482.10 Message 27482.10 replying to 27482.6 27482.6 ]    

What about FOUR (4) passports? What does your poll make of that?

1. Costa Rica - my place of birth - I can pass it on to my daughters, and they to their children

2. Nicaragua - place of my mother's birth - she passed it on to me, and I can pass it on to my daughters, etc.

3. Belize - my fathers place of birth - he passed it on to me, and I can pass it on to my daughers, etc...

4. Swiss - my husband's place of birth. I acquired it the minute I signed the marriage licence.

Take care,

 

Lilliam - writing from Geneva, Switzerland
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#11 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 7:33 PM   
John Murff
 
From  John Murff  Posts 51  Last 7/31/06
To  Jamaica Jim Jordan      [Msg # 27482.11 Message 27482.11 replying to 27482.1 27482.1 ]    
For domestic travel, I use my driver's license; when going to another country, even a few hours into Canada by car, I always use my passport. 
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#12 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 8:06 PM   
Carolyn Randall [LAX]
 
From  Carolyn Randall [LAX]  Posts 3060  Last 2/12/08
To  John Murff      [Msg # 27482.12 Message 27482.12 replying to 27482.11 27482.11 ]    

John

<<few hours into Canada by car, I always use my passport.  >>

Smart.

I have heard from my web visitors of being detained an hour or more when re-entering the US with a birth certificate and photo ID.

My husband went with business associates to see the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. He had his passport, but the others did not. They were detained at the border and had to take a later flight. On full fare tickets, that did not matter much, but had all three had passports they would have been home earlier.

Carolyn

www.passportinfo.com
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#13 of 49

     Posted 1/6/05 8:17 PM   
John Murff
 
From  John Murff  Posts 51  Last 7/31/06
To  Carolyn Randall [LAX]      [Msg # 27482.13 Message 27482.13 replying to 27482.12 27482.12 ]    
Carolyn,

I have heard from my web visitors of being detained an hour or more when re-entering the US with a birth certificate and photo ID.

I didn't know that, when we visited some friends for an afternoon in Canada recently, it just seemed simpler to carry the PP.  They also put the plate numbers into the computer as the car approaches the checkpoint, but that has been around a long time. 

In any case:  if ya got it, flaunt it!
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#14 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 12:14 PM   
Jamaica Jim Jordan
 
From  Jamaica Jim Jordan  Posts 1979  Last Nov-24
To  John Murff      [Msg # 27482.14 Message 27482.14 replying to 27482.11 27482.11 ]    

John...

» For domestic travel, I use my driver's license; when going to another country, even a few hours into Canada by car, I always use my passport.  «

Good for you!  I too use a state drivers license when traveling domestically, but there is NO way Yours Truly would ever travel internationally without my passport!

Jim

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#15 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 10:58 AM   
BevL (France)
 
From  BevL (France)  Posts 947  Last 1:15 AM
To  Jamaica Jim Jordan      [Msg # 27482.15 Message 27482.15 replying to 27482.1 27482.1 ]    
I'm curious - were you referring to non-international travel here? Would anyone bother with a passport if they weren't travelling internationally? (Setting you up for anyone who jumps in to claim that travel between the US and Canada isn't international. <eg>)

And, just to lend a bit of support to Hugh, I considered the two-passport option, too, though my papers are still in the hopper for my second nationality. (Planning ahead. <g>)

The other option that was missing (though perhaps not relevant to most forum members) was a national identity card. At least within much of Europe, that normally suffices for border crossings. (One of the reasons I am looking forward to getting my EU nationality - no more waiting in the "Third World" lines, especially on trips to the UK... Just flash my national i.d. and I'm in! <g>)
Cheers,
Bev

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#16 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 11:13 AM   
Carolyn Randall [LAX]
 
From  Carolyn Randall [LAX]  Posts 3060  Last 2/12/08
To  BevL (France)      [Msg # 27482.16 Message 27482.16 replying to 27482.15 27482.15 ]    

Bev,

<<Would anyone bother with a passport if they weren't travelling internationally?>>

I am amazed at the number of people who write to me off my website who want to go to the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, etc, without getting a US passport. They are willing to wait in longer lines, be detained, etc., to avoid the so-called "hassle" of getting a passport.

I tell them that theoretically it's possible, but why? A passport costs $85 and is good for 10 years. That's $8.50/year. How much is your time worth? Get delayed an hour? Is that worth $8.50?

Carolyn

www.passportinfo.com
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#17 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 11:32 AM   
BevL (France)
 
From  BevL (France)  Posts 947  Last 1:15 AM
To  Carolyn Randall [LAX]      [Msg # 27482.17 Message 27482.17 replying to 27482.16 27482.16 ]    
I must admit that $85 sounds like alot all at once. I remember when US passports were only $45 (say, when I renewed mine a couple years back).

For a once in a lifetime trip, I can understand a certain amount of sticker shock - particularly at the $85 figure. I think of my parents who came over to visit when I was in the UK. First ever overseas trip like that and the passports never got used again.

Though I just checked - France now wants 60€ for a passport. Though the national identity cards (good for 10 years - and considered "proof" of nationality, which a passport isn't, technically anyhow) are freebies, other than the cost of getting the photos done.

Say, any idea whether there is any chance of getting the US to start accepting standard international sized passport photos? (Just planning for my next renewal...)  It's getting more and more difficult to find someplace outside the US that can do the required size - it's just a little bit larger than the standard (European, perhaps) identity photo. And since they're digitizing the resulting photos these days anyhow, maybe they'll consider letting us submit a digitized file. (I hear they are requiring digitized photos this year in the Green Card lottery applications.)
Cheers,
Bev
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#18 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 11:44 AM   
Carolyn Randall [LAX]
 
From  Carolyn Randall [LAX]  Posts 3060  Last 2/12/08
To  BevL (France)      [Msg # 27482.18 Message 27482.18 replying to 27482.17 27482.17 ]    

Bev,

<<I must admit that $85 sounds like alot all at once. I remember when US passports were only $45 (say, when I renewed mine a couple years back).
>>

$85 is for a new application. Renewals are only $55.

<<Say, any idea whether there is any chance of getting the US to start accepting standard international sized passport photos? (Just planning for my next renewal...) >>

I go through the State Dept site fairly regularly, and have not read anything about that. Sorry.

Have a look at http://travel.state.gov/passport/pptphotos/index.html for their guide to professional photographers.

Carolyn

www.passportinfo.com
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#19 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 12:11 PM   
Jamaica Jim Jordan
 
From  Jamaica Jim Jordan  Posts 1979  Last Nov-24
To  BevL (France)      [Msg # 27482.19 Message 27482.19 replying to 27482.15 27482.15 ]    

Bev...

» I'm curious - were you referring to non-international travel here? Would anyone bother with a passport if they weren't travelling internationally? (Setting you up for anyone who jumps in to claim that travel between the US and Canada isn't international. <eg>) «

I was definitely going for international travel with the seeder.  (I know that travel between the Ewe Ess of Aye and Canucka is international! <gd&r>)

» And, just to lend a bit of support to Hugh, I considered the two-passport option, too, though my papers are still in the hopper for my second nationality. (Planning ahead. <g>) «

As I wrote to Hugh earlier in the thread, I did think of him when I posted the seeder, but opted not to show a choice of multiple passports since "most" of our members don't qualify for more than one.  Obviously there are more members with multiple passports that Just Good Ol' Hugh!

» The other option that was missing (though perhaps not relevant to most forum members) was a national identity card. At least within much of Europe, that normally suffices for border crossings. (One of the reasons I am looking forward to getting my EU nationality - no more waiting in the "Third World" lines, especially on trips to the UK... Just flash my national i.d. and I'm in! <g>) «

I wish that the folks in Dee Cee would wake up to the fact that there's a crying need for a national identity card here. <sigh> With the plethora of separate state drivers licenses (and, in some states, an identity card), a national card would be a boon to travelers within the states.

Personally, I've scanned the picture page of my passport (and, of DW's, too) and downsized the resulting .JPG graphics to wallet picture size.  I laminated the pictures and I now carry it mine my wallet as a secondary identity card, to my drivers license.

I also printed out multiple copies and have one in each of the bags (including camera bag, etc.) that I take with me when traveling, either domestic or out of the country.  The cards show ownership, should the baggage item get misplaced and, if my passport should become lost outside of the US, I believe it would be of assistance (at least!) in expediting a new passport at an embassy or consulate elsewhere.  (Carolyn, can you comment on my thought of having the card in case of passport loss?)

Jim

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#20 of 49

     Posted 1/7/05 12:44 PM   
GretchenB /SFO
 
From  GretchenB /SFO  Posts 689  Last 3/22/05
To  BevL (France)      [Msg # 27482.20 Message 27482.20 replying to 27482.15 27482.15 ]    

>>Would anyone bother with a passport if they weren't travelling internationally? <<

I take my passport when going from California to Nevada or Michigan, Bev. It's with me on all my travels.

G

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General Travel Information

Travel Tip: What ID Do You Use??

  
 
     

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