Carrying your pasport.

[bruce_nyc]

When I first moved to New York City, naturally, it didn't take long for me to realize that it was time to let go of our two cars and motorcycle from our previous home state. We sold them eventually. Of course, having a car in Manhattan is an enormous burden and expense. Nobody does it. So..... It didn't take long before my drivers license expired from my previous state too. I never got around to renewing it in time in my previous state, much less applying for a new one in New York.... when I didn't even own a car. I just procrastinated.... permanently. However, since you're still required to have government ID to do anything like banking, for example, I carried my passport in my pocket. For like 8 years..... I carried my passport in my pocket.... just like I carried my wallet.... because you never know when you'll need ID.

I can attest to the fact that that kind of daily use ( abuse ) *will* result in it looking almost like it's been run through a washing machine with your laundry. In fact, it got so bad that the US Border Protection warned me more than once that I should replace it. "We cannot guarantee that it will be honored next time."

These days, I have a new one.... and I keep it in the thick plastic case it originally came in.... and I keep it locked up in the safe. I only take it out rarely ( when flying, checking in to a hotel, or doing non-ATM banking ).... So it's pretty much in mint condition. But it's good for 10 years.... and 10 years is a *lot* of handling, use, and abuse.

[christianpfc]

For me the risks of carrying my passport with me at all times - losing the damn thing, having it stolen, wear and tear - far outweigh the remote (make that extremely remote) possibility that an officious boy in blue (sorry, brown) might demand to see it. I would reckon on being able to deal with such an eventuality reasonably amicably and without too much inconvenience if it arose anyway. Plenty of things alarm me in this perilous world, but not passport-inquisitive cops.

I came to the same conclusion after carrying my passport with me all the time for 1 year and having it stolen once in this time, but never having been asked for my passport in 4 years in Thailand.

How would you feel if your passport were lost or stolen? I guarantee it'd cost a lot more than 500 or 1000 baht to get a new one.

8000 Baht and 20 hours in my case (Songkran 2013). The 8000 Baht is including "express fee" (something like 2 weeks instead of 4 at German embassy in Bangkok).

[arsenal]

I've been stopped by the police on numerous occasions and even been caught up in a radi at Dave Mans' Club but I've never been asked for my passport. If this became a genuine enforced rule the embassies would be overrun with citizens needing new ones.

[fedssocr]

At the risk of jinxing myself, I've always carried my passport with me. These days I have some very nice REI trousers and shorts that have an extra zippered pocket inside the lefthand front pocket that is the perfect size to hold it. http://www.rei.com/product/877604/re...mens-28-inseam I did get a nice leather passport cover to keep it from getting crinkled up in humid weather.

[christianpfc]

I don't use a passport cover (when I carry my passport with me because I need it for immigration or hotel check-in or banking), but I put it in a plastic bag. One day I will get a drink spilled over my trousers, or fall into a river, or get into heavy rain without protection, and thanks to the plastic bag my passport will stay dry.

[francois]

I don't use a passport cover (when I carry my passport with me because I need it for immigration or hotel check-in or banking), but I put it in a plastic bag. One day I will get a drink spilled over my trousers, or fall into a river, or get into heavy rain without protection, and thanks to the plastic bag my passport will stay dry.

Good idea! This is how a drowned tourist was ID.

The body of a 50-year-old British National was discovered in waters off the coast of Pattaya on Monday Morning and for now Police are unsure of the circumstances surrounding his death.

Sea Rescue Workers removed the body of Mr. Jeffrey Carl Hewitt from the water (incorrectly described as Icelandic by other media outlets), and apart from his British Passport, was carrying nothing else in his short trousers.

The body was first seen by fishermen approximately 1km off the coast of Pattaya Beach, in the approximate area of Central Pattaya. There were no visible marks on Mr. HewittтАЩs body and Police are currently unsure if this was an accident or if foul play was a cause of his demise.

http://pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/2206 ... aya-beach/

[Dboy]

Brochure handed out in Soi Cowboy, November 2015 (originally reported by Stickman):

http://imgur.com/CdjCx17

(image shows that BKK police say to carry a COPY of the first page of passport and the entry stamp/ Visa page..not the original one). Of course there's the official policy and there's real world policy. Best not to have in run-in's with cops if you can help it.

[jimnbkk]

I agree with PeterUK. I remember in my younger years I used to pack my passport around with me. Then when I went to the Immigration Canada office to get it renewed one time, with the entire front emblem totally worn off, a couple pages slightly teared at the seam, a small bit of water damage, etc... well, they were less than happy to say the least.

If you want to carry your passport and not damage it, I have found that the SCB bankbook cover, (clear plastic), is a perfect size.

I don't carry mine with me. I've been coming to Thailand about 12 years and have never been asked for it.