Can one refuse to give passport away at hotel check-in?

[Triple Citizen]

India and Pakistan issue city specific visas to each other's citizens thanks to the cordial relations between them. Sad but it is the truth.

What's the point of issuing a 1-city visa in the case of India, for example?

 

[cafeconleche]

Ah, that makes more sense. Nobody I know has been issued a 1/2 city visa.

 

[itahou]

I've experienced that in Italy a few times too. However, a polite "No" always works. If the authorities need to review the document in person then they know what room I'm in.

It is common practice in Italy as the hotel have to fill out a form with the guest information every night and send it to the local state police office. Large hotels do it electronically so usually one just needs to show the passport at check in and the desk clerk makes a copy or scans the digital information into the computer. Smaller hotels fill out a paper form. The hotel usually returns the documents the following morning. The paperwork is usually done at night, as the patrol comes by to collect the information at 2 - 3 am.

I would advise letting the hotel borrow the document for those few hours as being woken up at 3 am and spending the rest of the night in a holding cell is not too comfortable (neither the patrol nor the night crew at the station will get the info, they'll hold you and wait for the day crew to come in). Remember that Italian authorities have the right to hold anybody for up to 48 hours for any reason or no reason.

 

[McTavish]

I agree I have spent many nights at the same hotel in Italy they know me they know my company, but they always want to keep my passport overnight.
It is no big deal and I have it in the morning, why stress?

 

[F1getsMARRIED]

My experience in EU is that they look at the passport only to verify that you are who you claim to be. No hotel has ever asked me to hand it over to them for the duration of the stay.

I have the same experience and I travel a lot in Europe.

 

[itahou]

My experience in EU is that they look at the passport only to verify that you are who you claim to be. No hotel has ever asked me to hand it over to them for the duration of the stay.

That is not completelly accurate. Hotels in Europe have to send a list of guests (including passport or id card information) to the local police.
This is done nightly. That is the reason they ask to see your passport. If they don't they will lose their license.

 

[Mr Vertigo]

That is not completelly accurate. Hotels in Europe have to send a list of guests (including passport or id card information) to the local police.
This is done nightly. That is the reason they ask to see your passport. If they don't they will lose their license.

Then why not make a photocopy of the passport and hand it back to the owner immediately?

 

[cafeconleche]

Yeah, those con artists...

 

[compuser1973]

It IS beautiful here in the USA where foreigners don't have to wear their passports on their sleeves all the time... or take permission from the US government before traveling from NYC to LA! An American visa is a visa!! No 1-city or 2-city restricted visa nonsense.
I hope other countries grow up and imitate THIS aspect of USA as opposed to imitating USA in only selective ways

ps - Pls don't give me the Mexican/Canadian border area argument where people sometimes get briefly stopped. We all know why that happens and it's not that frequent either.

Not true - TECHNICALLY - non citizens and even a GC holders are supposed to be able to demonstrate at any time that they are in the country legally - which means having to carry passport with visa+I-94 or GC with you at all times. Practically that it is almost never asked for is a different story.