While some travelers on long journeys would like to keep their passports as a memory once they have expired, a senator asked the Interior Ministry whether it would not be possible to allow these people to legally keep the expired copy of their passports.
In its response published on December 27, 2018, the Interior Ministry states that it is not possible to keep the passport whose renewal is requested (unless the passport contains one or more valid visas).
In fact, the department first states that the passport is an identity document that is the property of the state. The Ministry also points out that the obligation to return is justified on security grounds (combating identity theft).
Therefore, on the issue of the sentimental value of the passport, the ministry recalls that it is always possible, before returning the passport to the authorities, to make photocopies of the pages containing the visas.
