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Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Old Jan 14th 2020, 3:14 pm
  #46  
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by Hiro11
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.
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.

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Old Jan 14th 2020, 5:19 pm
  #47  
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by Giantaxe
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
One interesting pair of requirements on that form is the need for 'originals' and 'no electronic documents'. I'm assuming the latter requirement simply means you can't walk in with a PDF version on your phone. These days, ALL my bills / statements / etc are 'electronic' and so if I need to present a document, I print it out. That almost by definition is not an 'original' (and a smart person could indeed falsify the address, since there are PDF editors / etc). But this hasn't been an issue so far for me.
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Old Jan 14th 2020, 9:51 pm
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by penguinsix
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.
Yep the line in the Post Office to apply for passports when this came about was crazy. Especially around February time when all the high school and college kids going on spring break trips in March needed them to cross into Mexico and had suddenly realized it wasn't going to happen!
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Old Jan 16th 2020, 5:47 pm
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Default 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...
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Old Jan 16th 2020, 7:51 pm
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by penguinsix
It used to be the case that US military traveled on a military id card instead of a passport, but not sure if that is still how it works.
If military personnel are traveling in/to a country with a SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement), they don't need a passport, just their military ID card. Such as Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. I was stationed in Germany with the Army from '05-'09. I once took a train trip into Italy-- on the way back an Austrian border guard/cop checked my ID on the train. He just nodded, but I suppose in theory he could have detained me since Austria doesn't have a SOFA with the US. A group of military spouses did get detained for a few hours in France since they didn't have passports. Apparently some German cops showed up and convinced the French that the detention was pointless.

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Old Jan 23rd 2020, 11:01 am
  #51  
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Default 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.
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Old Jan 23rd 2020, 10:07 pm
  #52  
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

How many people living in Europe have traveled outside of Europe?
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Old Jan 23rd 2020, 10:22 pm
  #53  
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by Mallory
How many people living in Europe have traveled outside of Europe?
Well the first time I traveled to Europe was when I was 7, not sure how it would be possible to quantity that, are records kept?
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Old Jan 23rd 2020, 10:28 pm
  #54  
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by Mallory
How many people living in Europe have traveled outside of Europe?
Well for one thing, cheap holiday destinations in Turkey and North Africa bump up the percentage of 'Europeans who have traveled outside Europe.'
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Old Jan 24th 2020, 7:58 am
  #55  
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Default Re: Is it true that 70% of Americans don't have passports?

Originally Posted by Mallory
How many people living in Europe have traveled outside of Europe?
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.
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