Pretending to be foreigners

[Patricia]

you're right, nobody never lets pedestrian pass... unless you're a very pretty girl... so Pat you must be a fox!! WWOWW!

Francy, dear, put your glasses on! LOL!!

[Saaropean]

I don't know if it sounds ridiculous but some nightclubs need to see your PASSPORT!!! How crazy is that?!

Is it normal to have a passport in the UK? I didn't have one before I decided to study in Canada for a year, because the normal ID card is sufficient to travel within western Europe.

I remember in my "children's passport" (which I had before I got my ID at the age of 16), there were two antique stamps: one of Yugoslavia issued in today's Slovenia and one of the German Democratic Republic.
In my new passport, I only have stamps of Canada and the United States (so far)...

By the way, I'm amazed that my ID card will be invalid by 14th December in the year.......... 2053!!!!! That means I will be..... 65 or something (I'm sh*t at maths, don't laugh!)

My driving license is valid forever!

By the way again, I'm only still learning how to drive. I haven't passed the test yet.

How can you have a driving license if you haven't passed the test?

Which takes me to something I always wondered about:

Talking about ID card, I have one but it's a Driving Licence.

In Germany (and I guess it's not different in the rest of Continental Europe), a driving license is a document that proves you passed a test (actually two, a stupid theoretical one with multiple-choice questions and a practice test with 45 minutes driving in town and on the highway) allowing you to drive a vehicle (the kind of vehicle is specified in the license).
If the police gets with some motoring offence (like passing a stop sign, causing a minor accident or drunk driving), you get points in Flensburg. Once you collected enough points (or when they catch you driving with too much alcohol in your blood), you can lose your license for a limited time.
Besides, not every citizen has a driving license, because it's rather expensive, and some old people don't want to learn it anymore. One of my two grandmothers doesn't have a driving license, for example.

What's that like in countries where a driving license is considered as an ID, e.g. the UK and Canada? What do people do that don't possess a license? Do such people exist? What if someone loses their license after being caught for a motoring offence? Is that possible at all?

[proycon]

I don't have an ID-card, nor a drivers license.. I do have a passport though..

Mi ne havas ID-karton, nek kondukpermeson. Mi ja havas pasporton.

[Saaropean]

I don't have an ID-card, nor a drivers license.. I do have a passport though..

Oui, c'est pas nécessaire d'avoir une carte d'identité si on a déjà un passeport. Mais l'ID est plus pratique, car on peut la mettre dans le portefeuille.
De l'autre côté, il faut payer pour les deux (8 euros pour une carte d'identité, 26 pour un passeport en Allemagne)...

Yes, it's not necessary to have an ID card if you already have a passport. But the ID is more practical, as you can put it in your wallet.
On the other hand, you have to pay for both (8 euros for an ID, 26 for a passport in Germany)...

[Patricia]

Here in Argentina you can have 3 different ID Cards:

D.N.I (Documento Nacional de Identidad: It's compulsory to have this one, the highest official ID you can have. In this card (which looks like a small passport) you get marked every time you vote (voting is compulsory, btw).

C.I (Cédula de Identidad): This one is issued by the Police. It's a small, blue plastic card which can be used for identification as an official document in Argentina and the neighbouring countries. It is not compulsory to have it, but lots of people choose to do so, so as not to be carrying their DNI with them. I don't have one, only my DNI.

Passport: If you want to get out of the country, you need one, except when you're going to the neighbouring countries, where you can use your DNI or your CI.

[darkina]

Saaropean, I think I said that, as in the Uk (at least England) they don't have ID cards, they need a passport to go anywhere, even in Europe, even in Ireland that is just so near.

In Ialy a driving licence is valid for 10 years, then you have to have a medical check again (every 5 years if you're older than 60, and every 3 if you're older than 65...or soemthing like that, i dotn remember), while the ID card is valid for 5 years (and you pay for renew it...i did last March and i paid i think 5 euros or something like that), but as now you can use also your driving licence as a document of identity, soem people just dotn renew their Id card...

[Saaropean]

Saaropean, I think I said that, as in the Uk (at least England) they don't have ID cards, they need a passport to go anywhere, even in Europe, even in Ireland that is just so near.

Yes, it's the same in North America. Canadians and US citizens crossing the Canada-US border need a birth certificate or (if they are not born in the country) a certificate of citizenship.
I think the driver's license used to be sufficient, but after September 11th...........

the ID card is valid for 5 years (and you pay for renew it)

In Germany, it's valid for 10 years, unless you're under 26. In the latter case, it's only valid for 5 years. The same applies to a passport.
You can't renew your ID or passport, you need to apply for a new one (including new photos).

but as now you can use also your driving licence as a document of identity, some people just dont renew their Id card...

Inacceptable in Germany, maybe because it would be injust towards all those people who lost their driver's licenses after too many beers , maybe because there are people whose driver's license shows a photo that's 60 years old...

[Weldal]

Yes, it's not necessary to have an ID card if you already have a passport.

It's funny, because here in Brazil one must have an ID card to ask for a passport, it's a kind of necessary condition...
But we have only one kind of ID card: "cédula (or carteira) de identidade". We can use only this document to go to the nearest neighbour countries like Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, but if one has to go to the other more distant countries one must have a passport.
In some countries like Belgium and France it's not necessary a visa for Brazilian tourists (less than 3 months), only the passport is sufficient in this case, but for other countries like the USA a visa is necessary even for tourists. And Brazil is reciprocate: for the nationals of the countries which ask for a visa, a visa is also necessary to come here in Brazil, if the country doesn't ask a visa for Brazilian tourists, then the nationals of this country can come here as tourists without visa.
And in the case of the USA, as the American embassy and consulate ask that the Brazilian tourist sign a paper saying that he/she is not communist, terrorist, common criminal or so, to give a visa, the same document is asked for American tourists to come here...

[Saaropean]

And in the case of the USA, as the American embassy and consulate ask that the Brazilian tourist sign a paper saying that he/she is not communist, terrorist, common criminal or so, to give a visa, the same document is asked for American tourists to come here...

Good!

Well, the Americans ask the same question to the nationals that don't need a visa (most EU countries except Portugal I think). You have to fill out a form declaring all that, and pay $6 or so when you fill it out for the first time (everytime if you're French ).
German citizens (no matter which age!) are also asked if they were active nazis between 1933 and 1945...

[Luís]

Well, the Americans ask the same question to the nationals that don't need a visa (most EU countries except Portugal I think).

Don't you exclude Portugal! Of course we don't need a visa...

Visas: Most visitors to the US require a visa. However, Canadians need only proof of citizenship. A reciprocal visa-waiver program allows citizens of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to stay up to 90 days without a visa if they have an onward ticket.

On the other hand there are 3 EU countries missing: Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland.

[ekalin]

And in the case of the USA, as the American embassy and consulate ask that the Brazilian tourist sign a paper saying that he/she is not communist, terrorist, common criminal or so, to give a visa

Well, in the form I filled to apply for the visa (several years ago), there was this question: "Have you ever commited genocide?", and two boxes with "Yes" and "No" beside, so that you to tick the appropriated one.

[Saaropean]

:shock: Don't you exclude Portugal! Of course we don't need a visa...

Mille excuses, Luís!!!

I wasn't sure whether it was Portugal or Greece. I thought it was Portugal, but apparently I was wrong...

[Luís]

Well, in the form I filled to apply for the visa (several years ago), there was this question: "Have you ever commited genocide?", and two boxes with "Yes" and "No" beside, so that you to tick the appropriated one.

Hehe, I love that kind of questions ...

Like if somebody is actually going to tick the YES box

[Weldal]

In my opinion this paper asked by the American embassy/consulate (I didn't know that it is also demanded even in the cases where a visa is not necessary) is the most ridiculous thing ever created regarding foreign relations...
Or can a sensible person imagine that a true communist, terrorist, criminal, nazi or whatever, would answer "yes" to all these questions ?
I'm just proud that the government of my country decided to "give the payback": if the American embassy annoys the Brazilian tourists with such a ridiculous paper, the Brazilian embassy also annoys the American tourists with the same ridiculous questions...

[ekalin]

I'm just proud that the government of my country decided to "give the payback": if the American embassy annoys the Brazilian tourists with such a ridiculous paper, the Brazilian embassy also annoys the American tourists with the same ridiculous questions...

If we were in the same situation that the US is in, it'd be OK. However, remember that the US can live very well without the money the Brazilian tourists would inject in the country. However, Brazil should not do anything that could prevent american (and european, and asian, etc.) tourists from injecting a couple of $$$ and €€€ in our country.

[Car]

Germans here drive so safely, and always respect the limits!! Incredible but true, they prbably fear to be fined... but we're never fined!! Italians never respect limits!!

And, just for the sake of it... to take the train every day to go to uni, I pay a MOUNTHLY fee of 48,55 Euros... and our trains in Italy are crap!!

Well, I've heard several cases where Italians definitely did not respect limits and weren't stopped at all and didn't have to pay anything, while foreigners were stopped and had to pay although it wasn't even sure they were driving too fast. When the summer holidays start, our TV channels always tell us how much you have to pay for disobeying certain driving rules or limits in typical tourist regions.

Yes, our trains get more and more expensive, too, but they are very often late and the service sucks. No surprise people prefer driving by car.

[Weldal]

However, Brazil should not do anything that could prevent american (and european, and asian, etc.) tourists from injecting a couple of $$$ and €€€ in our country.

I don't agree: all their money can't buy our national pride.
If they want to inject their money in Brazil they are welcome, since they respect the country and its laws...

[Morris]

Or can a sensible person imagine that a true communist,

Was there really a question about communism? Surely that wouldn't hold up in court

In the U.S., there are several forms of national identification. Your driver's license will suffice for most things, as nearly every adult has a license, even if they don't own a car. Nearly every public school offers drivers' education for a nominal fee, and private driving acadamies abound. Regulations vary from state to state, but here in Louisiana you have to pass a 30-hour classroom course, a 6-hour safety course, and 6 hours of driving with a certified instructor before you apply for a license from the Department of Motor Vehicles. You then take a test on road signs, laws, and a 15-minute driving test. (We also have the worst drivers in the nation, woohoo! )

The other forms of identification are your birth certificate, your Social Security number (and certificate, though this is rarely needed), your Selective Service card (for the draft, males 18-26 only), and your voter registration. Voting is not compulsory, which is why even in presidential elections it's rare for more than 30% of the population to vote

Passports are rare since Canada does not require them (I believe this to be the case with Mexico as well), and very, very few people are rich enough to travel beyond that.

[Psi-Lord]

Hmmm... Complex subject, but...

However, Brazil should not do anything that could prevent american (and european, and asian, etc.) tourists from injecting a couple of $$$ and €€€ in our country.

I don't agree: all their money can't buy our national pride.
If they want to inject their money in Brazil they are welcome, since they respect the country and its laws...

...I agree with Weldal here.

[Weldal]

Was there really a question about communism? Surely that wouldn't hold up in court

Well, in the 50's Charles Chaplin (yes, exactly the English genius of the cinema) was forced to leave the USA only because he was accused of being communist...