They sent a message referencing SEF’s requirements, [https://sites.google.com/site/leximigratoria/artigo-212-o-identificacao-de-estrangeiros](https://sites.google.com/site/leximigratoria/artigo-212-o-identificacao-de-estrangeiros) . Is this common in Portugal?
9 comments
Yes, it’s common
I think yes. Passport or ID were asked when you check in at the hotel where I used to work many years ago.
I’d even say that it happens in many European countries, not just in Portugal. I am trying to remember and I think I was asked some form of ID when checking-in in Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania.
Edit: Do you mean just the photos themselves? If that is the case, I’ve never heard that…
The hotels are required to send the list of the guests to the authorities. I don’t know if it is complete legal to take a scan of the passport, but where used to work we would do it so we could fill the police forms after the checkin without having the customer waiting for that process at the front desk.
It is.
Yes, this also happens in Spain and other countries.
It is. The department of tourism (wich is linked to the local accomodation) has to contact the immigration saying that you have accomodation once you get here.
Here and everywhere in the world.
You have to provide your identification, and they have to record the necessary information. There is no legal requirement to keep a copy of the identification. In fact, they can keep it only with your explicit consent. Even if the consent is given, you have the right to ask them to delete that information at any time, and they have to comply.
All of this is EU regulated and should be fairly similar in any EU country.
If you’re worried, I suggest adding a watermark or text across the passport scan/photo, stating the purpose and date of the copy.