Proof of Identity.

Comments to yesterday's post (online and offline) made me realise that the German system of proof of identity is not familiar to everyone - especially, it seems, to those on the islands in the West of Europe.

So, just in case you find this as interesting as some others, here's the rundown.

In Germany, you have to own at least one proof of identity that is current and valid: Either a passport (Reisepaß, literally "travel pass(port)") or an ID card (Personalausweis, literally "personal pass" or "personal identification document", something like that). You are not obliged to always carry it with you, though it's recommended, but you have to own one and to show it upon request by a policeman. (Which, if you are not having it on you, means that you need to show up at a station and present it to them within a set amount of time.)

The Reisepaß has the size and format you're probably familiar with, while the Personalausweis is about the size of a credit card, which means it's much more handy to take along with you. I have mine in my wallet together with my driving license and the car paper proving that I'm the possessor of the car (not necessarily the owner, there's a second paper for that), and that has all my ID-ing needs covered.

The Personalausweis has a number similar to a passport number, so it can serve not only as a national ID, but works for travel across borders as well - most countries within the European continent are covered by this, and some outside of it (though having a passport is recommended for some of them). Because the proper passport is only necessary for travel outside Europe, and the ID card is cheaper to get (37 € instead of 60€), and more handy, a lot of Germans go for the ID card, getting a passport only if they need it. In 2007, close to 30 million Germans had a passport - that is significantly less than half of our population, which is currently about 84 million.

Since, as stated in the comments, I'm not a very adventurous traveller regarding the destinations, the Personalausweis has been enough for all my travelling needs, and hence no Reisepaß for me.

I have found my old passport again, by the way - it was in the box where the more orderly person in our household keeps such things, sitting right beside his (also expired) passport. Mine passed its expiry date back in 2005... and I think I got that one issued because I had applied for a summer excavation job in Turkey (which didn't happen) and would have needed it in that case.

Speaking of expiry dates - has any other country a driving licence that, like the German one, does not expire?