Which countries require a passport copy from every hotel guest?
Very few countries require a passport copy to be kept, and Japan is the clearest case. Many more require every guest's details to be recorded and reported.
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Copy kept versus details recorded
Almost every country with a guest register wants the same fields: name, date of birth, nationality, document number and dates of stay. The property reads them from your passport and files them. When you check in abroad on a trip1 booking, that is what is happening behind the desk.
A stored photocopy is a different thing, and far fewer legal systems require one. Some hotels take a copy anyway, out of habit or because their own internal procedures say so.
Where a passport copy is genuinely expected
Japan is the clearest case. Under guidance attached to the Inns and Hotels Act, accommodation providers are told to take and keep a copy of the passport of foreign guests who have no address in Japan. Japanese nationals and foreign residents with a Japanese address fall outside it.
Practice in several countries in the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia also treats a scan as routine, usually because the property uploads guest data to a government portal. That is local procedure rather than one clear rule you can rely on everywhere, so treat it as likely rather than certain.
Countries where every guest must be registered
This is the wider group, and the one most travellers actually meet. In these countries the property must record and report details for every guest, so it needs to see the passport or ID card of each adult who is staying.
| Country | What the property files | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | SES Hospedajes, all guests | Within 24 hours |
| Italy | Alloggiati Web, all guests | Within 24 hours |
| Greece | National police portal, all guests | Within 24 hours |
| Czechia | National guest register, all guests | Within 24 hours |
| Croatia | National system, all guests | Up to a few days |
| Germany | Registration form for all guests | Kept on file by the property |
| Austria | Registration form for all guests | Kept on file by the property |
| Portugal | Reported for foreign nationals only | Within a few working days |
| France | Police form for non-EEA and non-Swiss guests | Kept on file by the property |
| Thailand | TM30 notification, foreign guests | Within 24 hours |
| India | Form C to the FRRO, foreign guests | Within 24 hours |
| China | Report to the local public security bureau, foreign guests | At check-in |
Deadlines change, and several countries have been moving to national online portals in recent years. Check the destination's official police or tourism site if you need certainty for a particular stay.
What this means for you
- Carry the original passport for every adult on the booking when you travel internationally.
- Expect to hand it over for a minute or two at check-in, then take it straight back.
- In the EU, you can ask the property to record the details rather than take a copy.
- Keep children's passports with you too, because countries that register every guest count children as guests.
- For a domestic stay, a national ID card or driving licence is usually enough.
Countries that require passport details from hotel guests - FAQ
Japan is the clearest case: hotels must keep a copy of the passport of foreign guests with no address in Japan. Japanese nationals and foreign residents with a Japanese address fall outside it. Scans are also routine in parts of the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, but most countries require your details to be recorded, not a copy kept.
Because most countries make hotels keep a guest register with your name, date of birth, nationality, document number and dates of stay, which they file with the police or a national portal. The property reads those details from your passport. Expect to hand it over for a minute or two at check-in, then take it straight back.
Most need to see a passport or national ID card. Spain, Italy, Greece, Czechia, Croatia, Germany and Austria register every guest, Portugal reports foreign nationals, and France files a police form for guests from outside the EEA and Switzerland. Bring the original document for every adult. For a domestic stay, a national ID card or driving licence is usually enough.
They should not need to. Italian hotels must register every guest through the Alloggiati Web police portal within 24 hours, so staff read your passport details at check-in. Hand it over for a minute or two and take it straight back. In the EU you can also ask the property to record the details rather than take a copy.
In Japan it is required for foreign visitors, and in several countries in the Middle East and Asia a scan is routine because guest data is uploaded to a government portal. Elsewhere it is often habit or internal procedure rather than law. In the EU you can ask the property to record your details instead of keeping a copy.
In countries that register every guest, yes, because children count as guests. Keep your children's passports with you when you travel internationally, alongside the original passport of every adult on the booking.