Do I have to carry my passport around?
Short answer
Yes — visitors are expected to carry the passport itself at all times as identification. A photo of it is not the document.
The rule, stated plainly
The tourism board's local-law guidance tells visitors to carry their passport at all times as a form of identification. That is the actual expectation, not an abundance of caution — a police officer can ask, and the answer is the booklet.
This is the opposite of the instinct many travellers arrive with, which is to lock the passport in the hotel safe and walk out lighter. Here the safe is where the photocopy lives, not the original.
Where it comes up in ordinary life
Beyond a police check, the passport works daily duty: tax-free counters at shops require it, hotels ask for it at check-in, and it is the accepted ID anywhere age or identity needs proving.
A phone photo covers none of those. It can help you report a loss, but it does not function as the document anywhere the document is asked for.
Carrying it without worrying about it
An inner zip pocket or a slim pouch worn under a layer beats a back pocket or an open bag. The risk here is losing it, not showing it.
Keep a photo of the data page and a note of your embassy's contact separately from the passport itself — that pairing is what turns a lost passport from a crisis into a bad day.
Good to know
- The hotel safe is for the photocopy — the original travels with you
- Tax-free shopping requires the physical passport anyway
- Keep a photo of the data page separately from the passport
