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IANAL, but 99% sure that the situation in Germany is that you have to identify yourself (give name, birthday, (address?)), but you /don‘t/ have to carry (or show) your government issued ID at all times.

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You don't have to carry it, no. But if you don't carry your ID (or equivalent) and they have a reason to ask for it (e.g. you are a suspect of a crime), they can require you to take them wherever you keep your ID or to the station.

I figured it worked the same in the Netherlands, but from what I can tell it's true that you always need to carry it and you can get fined if you don't. So quite a bit more strict. That sucks.

https://de.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/Rechte_und_Pflichten_im_Umga... (German)

I actually recently asked a German police person the exact same question if I have to have my ID/passport with me at all times. The answer was “no, you just need to own one or the other”.

I always thought as well that there is “Ausweispflicht” (ID carrying obligatory) in Germany.

Ausweispflicht means that you have to own a Reisepass or Personalausweis, not carry any of them.

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