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As an ex-pat for the past 20+ years, I've always had to carry either a passport, an alien registration card, or a certified photocopy of my passport at all times. These have been required when I want to rent a car, check into a hotel, travel by train or long distance bus (police checks mid-way) use my credit cards, sign up for telephone and cable TV service, etc. As an American, the idea of always having some sort of ID being 'required' was as alien as the countries I live in, but in every country (that I live in) the locals are all required to carry ID too, usually nationally issued. Nobody seems to mind...
As for being 'spotted' or tracked by anyone... have you ever noticed just how many cameras we pass in front of every day? Driving down the road, walking past a bank, entering a train or bus station, going into a convenience store, parking your car in a 'public' parking facility, entering an office building, going into a school, police cars with cameras mounted on the dash... the list is endless. For that matter, satellites that can read car number plates from orbit can certainly see faces. I think if a government wanted to find me, it wouldn't take them very long even if I didn't have my ID card. So why can't the pizza delivery guy find me????
Stitchawl
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