johncar61

A couple of years back the town halls were instructed not to issue copies as they were not legal. (3 years ago I had a town hall copy a 'copy marriage cert' and authorise it as a true copy of the original)

Only the authority which issued the original document can authorise a copy. Only they can be sure the document produced is a genuine copy. Thus British Embassy for British passports (expensive) Traffico for Spanish car parers and D/Ls, etc.

(Don't worry about the copy being altered when the 'original' could have been before it was copied).

D/Ls maybe accepted when voting but they are not accepted by the police nor by Notaries (at least not by those who understand the law). I have seen many people sent away from police stations and also from the Notary offices.

Mitzyboy

Ive got to say, since Ive been here I have never ben asked for my passport as ID, other than at the Hacienda and the airport

Fred James

Maybe they were advised of that but they are still authorising copies of documents - legal or otherwise and they seem to be accepted for normal ID purposes apart from in relation to legal situations such as at the notorary.

In these cases it is not a problem to take the original passport with you - what many people want is to be able to leave their passport at home in a safe place rather than carry it on their person - compulsado documents usually meet this need.

With regard to the new UK ID cards, currently there are no plans to issue them to non UK residents (I cannot see why not) but I have contacted the Identity Commissioner at www.identitycommissioner.org to suggest that it might be well supported by expats. He replied that he has no power to do this but had passed on my comments to the IPS.

If anyone supports the issue of ID cards to non residents I suggest you also contact the commissioner.

johncar61

Several EU countries withdraw their ID cards from citizens who move to other countries, so UK will not be that different of they do the same.

As for suggesting to reader that they should take a chance with what they carry, that fine, but I have 15 years experience of working with the National Police, Guardia and have several friends who are either Notaries of work in notaries offices.

It rather like people driving when they are over the top. Many get away with it but its not good advice to do so.

jdr

What about when you got your NIE, or Registration at the police station, or buying a car, clinics, bank accounts etc ?

Fred James

I was not suggesting that anyone should "take a chance" on what they carry merely that using "compulsado" documents is normally acceptable in most cases..

Yes I do note that you have 15 years experience as you have stated a number of times.

Madridboy

Funny that this should be brought up now. I was recently stopped whilst in the Metro in Madrid by plain clothed police and asked for identification (I think it was because I was talking in a foreign language) and I gave him my passport. He looked completely confused by the document and I explained that I'm English and it is my passport. He gave it a quick look over but clearly didn't know what he was looking at nor did he check to see if it was me on the photo.
A few days ago I was stopped again by the police who stopped their car in front of myself and my 2 friends (both Spanish). This time I gave them my driving license, they both looked confused and again I explained that I'm English and said that this was the British National ID card and pointed out the European symbol. They took all our IDs' to the car and seconds later brought them back and said that we all checked out ok.
I'm now thinking of cutting out something from a Kellogs Cornflakes packet and see if I get away with that.

johncar61

Fred James, I am sorry but 'normally accepted' means 'getting away with it." I too have been 'getting away with it' in most circumstances using my 2 year out of date Residencia, but I would never tell anyone that's the legal way to go. The advice from the British Embassy is that we must carry our Passport, not a copy, not a D/L not anything else.

Why is it we all accept that to travel we must have a passport but we can ignore the law in other cases where it suits us?

If one goes to a police station, notary office and wants to be sure not to be sent away, take the correct documents. They will not listen to arguments about how it might be done elsewhere, or why they should do as we would like. The same when driving. If you get stopped and are inconvenienced it's your fault, don't blame anyone else.

Continue to use what you can get away with if you want but know that if stopped you may be in trouble so don't then whine about it if you get fined and are inconvenienced.

We are in Spain and subject to Spanish law.

Don't shoot the messenger here just because I am not saying what you would like me to say.

Mitzyboy

You know what I mean John!!! We're talking initially about carrying a passport (or not) when its in for renewal.
We're talking about day to day stuff. I use my driving licence for everything, never been asked to show a passport by the Police, shops etc. Yes for all the admin stuff when we first moved here, but since then I really neednt have been carrying one for the use its been

jdr

Lol, I remember having to show my passport and NIE number when I bought a TV at Carrefour once.

Mitzyboy

Nope, been asked for an NIE on numerous occasions, never a passport.

Veleta

I had my Spanish driving licence rejected as ID when I tried to buy a TV in El Corte Inglés. They said for small purchases they didn't mind other forms of ID, but for "high value items" they insisted on something official. They weren't very impressed when I produced my passport either (because it wasn't an ID card and doesn't contain my NIE or address) but they relucantly accepted it after about 15 mins and calling the manager out to make a decision!

jdr

I think it is to stop money laundering by buying and reselling expensive items.

scampicat

As long as you are not buying it on credit, what difference does it make who buys a telly??

Veleta

I don't think they check ID in shops to find out WHO you are. They do it to ensure that the credit/debit card you are presenting to them really belongs to you (ie, not stolen).