Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
#46
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
Thought I'd add another factor not yet mentioned but often cited as the #1 reason more Americans don't have a passport or travel to places that require passports: it's really expensive to get anywhere where you need a passport from the US. If you live in the UK and want to Spain for the weekend, there are plentiful cheap flights. Compare that to what a flight from the US to Europe (the most likely destination requiring a passport.) A week in Europe from the US is a pricey proposition.
#47
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
Yes, California has been issuing them since at least mid-2019 when I got mine. It's really (ha!) not that onerous:- one proof of identity, one proof of SS number and two proofs of address:
https://realid.dmv.ca.gov/your-real-id-checklist/#gf_5
https://realid.dmv.ca.gov/your-real-id-checklist/#gf_5
#48
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Joined: Oct 2003
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Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
Kind of related to this, for a long time Americans didn't need a passport to go to Canada or Mexico, but after 9/11 things changed at that suddenly became a requirement which meant millions of Americans had to get passports. I think the new statistics of increased passport holders reflects this change.
#49
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Joined: Dec 2019
Location: Blackburn, UK
Posts: 66
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
Interesting thread... I think I have also heard statistics thrown around about what percentage of Americans have passports... although seemingly only from Brits and other Europeans 😅.
I think I got my first U.S. passport when I was 12 or 13, which was the first time we left North America. I don't remember needing one to go to Canada as a young child, but that was way before 9/11. (The last time I went to Canada, last year, we certainly did, at least at the airport...)
I think of myself as a fairly avid traveler; I've been to 45 or so countries; been abroad many times; and currently live abroad (from the US point of view). But I've gone for at least one period in my adult life without a US passport, as has everyone else in my family (in some cases for several years)... agreeing with a previous poster, 1) we were busy with work and so on, and had very little time to travel; 2) I didn't need one to go skiing or the beach; 3) Europe (among other destinations) was far away and expensive. I'll also add that American elderly folks typically retire to the American Sunbelt, rather than to Spain or wherever (although I suppose some now go to Mexico or other destinations)... And if you aren't accustomed to travelling abroad, the prospect of a strange currency, a strange language, etc. is intimidating for some people...
I think I got my first U.S. passport when I was 12 or 13, which was the first time we left North America. I don't remember needing one to go to Canada as a young child, but that was way before 9/11. (The last time I went to Canada, last year, we certainly did, at least at the airport...)
I think of myself as a fairly avid traveler; I've been to 45 or so countries; been abroad many times; and currently live abroad (from the US point of view). But I've gone for at least one period in my adult life without a US passport, as has everyone else in my family (in some cases for several years)... agreeing with a previous poster, 1) we were busy with work and so on, and had very little time to travel; 2) I didn't need one to go skiing or the beach; 3) Europe (among other destinations) was far away and expensive. I'll also add that American elderly folks typically retire to the American Sunbelt, rather than to Spain or wherever (although I suppose some now go to Mexico or other destinations)... And if you aren't accustomed to travelling abroad, the prospect of a strange currency, a strange language, etc. is intimidating for some people...
#50
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 211
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
#51
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
I got my first passport when I was 41 to study in Italy.
I made a lot of trips between Ca and US during those early years.
So a passport wasn't necessary until I went to Europe.
My last one was renewed here in France by mail. Efficiently and timely.
I made a lot of trips between Ca and US during those early years.
So a passport wasn't necessary until I went to Europe.
My last one was renewed here in France by mail. Efficiently and timely.
#52
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
How many people living in Europe have traveled outside of Europe?
#55
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Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,455
Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?
I’m guessing a very high proportion, in the modern era of mass long-haul travel and bargain basement package deals.
Families, British or German, say, who in the 70s or 80s would have been content with a beach holiday on the Costa Brava, now routinely go to Florida, or the Maldives, or various other Indian Ocean, Caribbean, or SE Asian destinations. Then a couple of notches higher on the price scale, “adventure travel,” Sri Lanka, South Africa, Machu Picu or wherever.
Families, British or German, say, who in the 70s or 80s would have been content with a beach holiday on the Costa Brava, now routinely go to Florida, or the Maldives, or various other Indian Ocean, Caribbean, or SE Asian destinations. Then a couple of notches higher on the price scale, “adventure travel,” Sri Lanka, South Africa, Machu Picu or wherever.