[mitchell_pgh]

Yes or No.

[turtle777]

Heck yes, wouldn't be here if I had not.

-t

[Big Mac]

A real (non-virtual) passport, right? Yeah, I got one for the first time last year in order to go to China for a week.

[Dakar]

Expired.

[itai195]

Yeah, I have one and I have to keep it from expiring or suffer bureaucratic hell to get it back.

[Oisín]

Of course I have a passport. Everybody here has one; we usually get our first (own) passports around age 12 or so, when our first school trip takes us to Foreignia (usually Germany or Sweden).

[Big Mac]

It's a good idea to try to keep your current passport and renew it for as long as possible, in order to avoid the big RFID. Are they already being distributed?

[TETENAL]

You don't need a passport to travel within the European Union and Switzerland.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

You don't need a passport to travel within the European Union and Switzerland.

Anymore.

Most of the European members here got one before the Schengen agreement was put in place. Plus, you still need one to go to England.

-t

[iREZ]

whats the point of all this?

[Troll]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

You don't need a passport to travel within the European Union and Switzerland.

Yes you do. I learned this the hard way trying to travel from France to Switzerland on my ID Card. Had to hold my meetings in the French part of Geneva Airport because I could not get into Switzerland. You also need a passport when going to non-Schengen countries like the UK.

[Gossamer]

Looks like I'm the first without one. I didn't need one to get into Mexico or Canada, and I haven't been to any other countries, so I've never needed one. My sister got one when she went to Ireland to play in a basketball tournament in high school.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

You don't need a passport to travel within the European Union and Switzerland.

You don’t need one to cross the borders, no.

You still need one if you’re flying, though.

And oftentimes, a passport is more or less the only form of identification many places in other countries will accept (especially for those of us who don’t have driving licences).

Also, just in case something should happen while you’re travelling, it’s always good to have a passport to show to local authorities if needs be.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Troll

Yes you do. I learned this the hard way trying to travel from France to Switzerland on my ID Card. Had to hold my meetings in the French part of Geneva Airport because I could not get into Switzerland. You also need a passport when going to non-Schengen countries like the UK.

As a German you don't need a passport to enter Switzerland. I have done so dozens of times. You also don't need a passport to enter the UK. The identity card suffices (or so says the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I never traveled there).

[Nicko]

Um...yes.

And remember, always keep a $100 bill tucked inside incase you ever need some persuasion ...

err nevermind.

[residentEvil]

yup; have to now. living on the border with canada (mandatory 1st of the year i think) + all the cruises i go on (mandatory last january 1). it is now required for too many things i want to do.

[Scifience]

I have one. My mother has one also. My father refuses to travel anywhere, so he does not.

IMHO, even if you don't think you'll need it, you should get one. It is a universally valid form of ID, and you never know when having it will come in handy.

[- - e r i k - -]

You're pretty lost without one …

[Thorzdad]

Got one last fall. If you have any plans to ever travel outside the US, you might as well get one. The new rules go into effect by sometime this spring. You will need a passport to go anywhere outside the US (including Canada!).

[Millennium]

Yes. It's expired, but I plan to remedy that before the RFID crap gets into them.

[Scifience]

Originally Posted by Millennium

Yes. It's expired, but I plan to remedy that before the RFID crap gets into them.

You'd better hurry, then. It has already started for the passports coming out of some of the processing centers.

[Buckaroo]

I got one so I could go on the 97 and 98 Fantasy Cruise.

[ambush]

lost my canadian one, still have my italian one.

[natnabour]

Originally Posted by iREZ

whats the point of all this?

boredum.

[paul w]

if the point is boredom, well - mission accomplished.

[Albert Pujols]

I've got two stapled together. One of them went in the washing machine, and the other is one I had to get made last second.

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by Scifience

IMHO, even if you don't think you'll need it, you should get one. It is a universally valid form of ID, and you never know when having it will come in handy.

Yeah, I agree. I think the US passport should become the "National ID" that pops up in a lot of discussions about illegal immigration. There is a rigorous review process required to get your first one and a moderate review process to get renewals. I say make everyone get one at 18, again at 25, and every 10 years after that.

However, this is NOT to advocate the requirement of carrying "indentity papers" like in some Cold-War-era Communist country but rather to provide a single repository for information on all US citizens. So, if you are a legal immigrant and get stopped by the cops, you could whip out your passport to show them you are legal. Or, you could have the individual states use possession of a US passport as a flag on a person's drivers license indicating citizenship status. If someone gets busted for a crime and can't produce ID attesting to their citizenship, off they go to INS to be deported.

Also, with all the concern about preventing the hiring of illegals, if everyone had a passport it would be very easy for employers to determine who is or is not illegal. In this case, punishment would be directed at the employer for a) not bothering to check an employee's citizenship status or b) willingly hiring someone who is an illegal. Either way, the requirement for possession of a passport as part of citizenship would act as a strong deterrent against illegal immigration. It would deter those coming here for economic opportunity and those who would consider employing illegals coming here for economic opportunity.

I would fully support the mandatory requirement for possession of a passport by all US citizens, both native born and immigrant.

[CleoW]

No, I don't have one. I rarely ever leave Manhattan, much less travel outside the country.

[Timo]

I've always had one.

I got my kid one at 3 months.

[KeriVit]

No, but I want one. Just cuz it's cool.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

I say make everyone get one at 18, again at 25, and every 10 years after that.

I think it would be an undue burden on a lot of people. Would it count as a "poll tax?"

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by finboy

I think it would be an undue burden on a lot of people. Would it count as a "poll tax?"

$65 every 10 years (current price for a passport renewal) is NOT an undue burden on ANY citizen in this country. And you can talk about citizens who are home-bound or without transportation, yet they usually have some form of state identification. So, getting out to get an ID is not impossible. I have yet to meet a single person in my life who has not had some kind of government-issued identification. I doubt I ever will and I don't think that is a bad thing.

[itai195]

Originally Posted by finboy

I think it would be an undue burden on a lot of people. Would it count as a "poll tax?"

I was wondering if that was where this thread was headed...

Anyway I am surprised dcmacdaddy, you would require people to have to pay for passports in order to maintain status as US citizens?

I think the argument is moot in terms of illegals -- employers are already required to validate identity and employment eligibility when hiring and it's already pretty easy to do. They hire illegals because they know they can get away with it, not because they don't know they're illegals.

Also, legal immigrants don't get to have passports; they get green cards. I don't know of any countries that give passports to non-citizens. I don't believe green cards are enough to establish employment eligibility, either.

[badidea]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

You also don't need a passport to enter the UK. The identity card suffices (or so says the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I never traveled there).

This is correct! You don't have any problems at all entering the UK without a passport (if you're German)!

[moodymonster]

Originally Posted by Big Mac

It's a good idea to try to keep your current passport and renew it for as long as possible, in order to avoid the big RFID. Are they already being distributed?

you need a faraday wallet - that way it can only be read when outside the wallet. As more and more cards etc get rfid'd it probably makes sense to store them somewhere that can't be read. Otherwise just walking down the street could get you virtually mugged without realising it.

[Troll]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

As a German you don't need a passport to enter Switzerland. I have done so dozens of times. You also don't need a passport to enter the UK. The identity card suffices (or so says the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I never traveled there).

Maybe Germany has a special treaty with Switzerland but this definitely does not work with a French ID card and I would be surprised (considering France and Switzerland are neighbours) if France was the only country it didn't work with.

I was told in no uncertain terms by the entire Swiss chain of command at Customs that without a passport you could not get inot get into Switzerland from France. Their reasoning is that the passport is the only agreed internationally recognised travel document. An ID card is only a valid internal identification document according to them. Believe me, I argued this strenuously for nearly an hour!

[cSurfr]

I have 2

[badidea]

Don't know if France is the only country but Germans do not need a passport for Switzerland!!
I never needed a passport for going skiing!

[Dork.]

I would bristle at the notion that I would have to carry my passport everywhere I go. For traveling, sure -- it's what it's there for. But my passport only gets used when I need it, and is in a safe place otherwise. Normally when I travel, it's on my person for the duration of the trip then secured at my destination. It's a royal pain to replace if stolen, not to mention that it can be do serious harm in the wrong hands. Especiallty after these RFID passports become commonplace: stolen passports will become more valuable, because you will need the chip to forge one effectively.

The only time I ever carried it permanently on my person was in Japan, because everywhere I went there on business was pretty safe. Plus, my understanding is that visitors there need to have their passports in their possession at all times, by law.

I was under the impression that the requirements to show your passport when you travel to Canada were being postponed for a while. But I still do anyway, just in case, even if I'm just walking across the bridge to Niagara Falls for the day.

[ghporter]

I have felt MUCH more secure with a passport in my travels. When the Air Force sent us to Panama, passports were required for my wife and son (who was DAYS old when his picture was taken), but I "only needed my military ID and orders". Like that was helpful. Later, when I was assigned to Honduras, I got an "official business" (red cover) passport. When I got back, I got a regular one.

I am pretty much in agreement with dcmacdaddy on everyone having to get a passport at some point, but I don't think it's particularly needed when each citizen reaches 18. And there should NEVER be a need to carry a passport all the time. NEVER! The passport is a tool to establish one's citizenship when it is in question, nothing more.

We're going on a cruise in January, and Americans who travel to nations in the Caribbean are now REQUIRED to have a passport, where a birth certificate and some government-issued ID was allowed up until (I think) mid-2006.

[rickey939]

No.

[Monique]

It is the best form of I.D. when you travel; with it you do not have any trouble getting into most countries in the world. I keep mine in secure places. Funny thing is when I was an operator people would call and ask for U.S. immigration in Canada and wonder what they would need to go into the U.S.; I always wanted to tell them, a passport you morons you never heard of terrorist attacks in the U.S. and that you better off with the best, a passport. Then I wanted to tell them you stupid morons there is no U.S. immigration in Canada, maybe a consulate or an embassy.

[turtle777]

It's funny though that the US doesn't care about your foreign passport if you have a green card. Green card is all you need to get in.

-t

[andi*pandi]

I've had one since 16, my husband since age 8, and we got my son one last summer at age 3.

definitely do not want to ever hear "your papers please" on American soil. Passports are for travel.

[Kr0nos]

Yes, 2 of them.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Troll

Maybe Germany has a special treaty with Switzerland but this definitely does not work with a French ID card and I would be surprised (considering France and Switzerland are neighbours) if France was the only country it didn't work with.

I was told in no uncertain terms by the entire Swiss chain of command at Customs that without a passport you could not get inot get into Switzerland from France. Their reasoning is that the passport is the only agreed internationally recognised travel document. An ID card is only a valid internal identification document according to them. Believe me, I argued this strenuously for nearly an hour!

When I had a Spanish girlfriend we entered Switzerland with our ID cards without any issues whatsoever. Why they wouldn't let a Frenchman enter Switzerland is a mystery. To quote the French ministry of foreign affairs:

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pay...our_30195.html

Pour entrer sur le territoire suisse, les ressortissants français doivent être munis d’une carte nationale d’identité ou d’un passeport en cours de validité.

My French seriously sucks, but I'm pretty sure it says French citizens can enter Switzerland with passport or an identity card.

[mitchell_pgh]

I guess I started this thread for a few reasons.

1) I find it interesting that ~20% of the Americans have passports. [seems a little low]
2) With the requirement to have a passport to visit Canada/Mexico, I wonder how much it will jump.
3) I like to travel, and will be headed to Russia in a few months

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

My French seriously sucks, but I'm pretty sure it says French citizens can enter Switzerland with passport or an identity card.

Yes, that's what it says.

And for all US Americans here: a drivers license is NOT a valid national ID.

-t

[real]

I do now,

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by real

I do now,

Yeah,me, too

-t