Passport replacements
In much of continental Europe everyone has to carry ID cards at all times, which for non-citizens means a combination of passport, residency permit and government registration certificate. All the time. German passports are built with this in mind, they're built like a brick shit-house, but our British ones seem to be impossible to keep in one piece.

After flying through Schiphol one day I was told off for it being too tatty, so I decided to get a replacement. Back home I'd just send it off to newport and wait 5 days, as cosmetic damage is special cased, but it Germany I had to get hold of 2 generations of my family's birth certificates and send them over to the consulate in Düsseldorf, along with the old passport, and wait 6 weeks. Now, six weeks is a long time to go breaking the law, so I went over to the local government's residency offices and asked them if I should use a photocopy of my passport instead, they said that I wasn't allowed to and that it's not their fault that my government doesn't issue ID cards, I'm responsible for having valid govt photo ID at all times.

DAMN YOU, GERMANY!

So, I thought, I need to just try my luck, and send it off. 3 days later there's a note for a missed parcel from Düsseldorf, asking me to come into the post office to pick it up. Sure enough, it's a new passport, 5 weeks early. And, yes, they've sent it recorded delivery, meaning I need government photo ID to pick it up.

DAMN YOU, ENGLAND!
( Ungersven would support SpankyHanky's patreon, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 5:54, 10 replies)

Instead of the passport...
How about a valid UK (picture) driving license? I know they are generally accepted as valid ID here in the UK, so would they be acceptable abroad?
(442, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 10:13, closed)

Or why not
just live in a sensible country which issues photo-IDs even to foreign nationals, like I do /smug
(Smale is stuffed, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 10:39, closed)

A UK driving licence is recognised European identification.
In theory you should be able to use it to travel to Europe in lieu of a passport, as no2id the people pointed out this was a bullshit pro of mandatory ID cards.
( Slippery Mick ‏, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 13:45, closed)

Schengen.

( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Wed 29 Feb 2012, 14:06, closed)

Gesundheit

( M3rx likes the Asian ladies, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 14:38, closed)

As I recall...
...no-one in the UK carries their driving licences. I certainly never did.

Do now, in the US of A.
(wertperch is losing his hair, marbles and patience., Thu 1 Mar 2012, 6:10, closed)

I don't have one!
I was considering applying for a german provisional licence when over there, mostly to confuse bouncers in the UK when it was paired with my Brummie accent.

In the end I pointed out the fact the envelope was covered in consular stamps and convinced the woman behind the counter to open it.
( Ungersven would support SpankyHanky's patreon, Thu 1 Mar 2012, 9:10, closed)

Passport irony
While in Hungary, my bag was stolen. Since it contained my passport, I had to do the consulate shuffle to get a replacement. After completing the paperwork, the passport guy told me that they should be able to generate a full 10-year passport, but unfortunately they couldn't get the link to the London computer working.

The irony is that I was in Hungary for a conference on international interoperability of computer systems...
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 10:52, closed)

He he!
:-)
( splorp ®, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 11:10, closed)

All that trouble in WWII,
and the Germans are still living in a fascist state?
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Wed 29 Feb 2012, 11:41, closed)