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Comment by hadrien01 | Hacker News Reader

In theory, you don't need an ID to travel in the Schengen area as a citizen of the EU: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/eu-c...

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I am actually curious how you would go about proving that you are a citizen of the EU. I am sure you need some form of identification to board an international flight even though it might be within the Schengen area.

It seems to depend. I have never been asked to provide id when flying SAS with a business ticket between denmark and sweden or finland.

That would probably be due to the Nordic passport union[1].

Locals have been able to travel between the countries freely without a passport since 1954.

[1h] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Passport_Union

So, from experience squatting in the Netherlands... nobody bothers to check, unless you look like you might be from Eastern Europe or outside Europe, at which point they throw you in a foreigner detention centre until you can prove your identity or they can deport you to wherever they think you might be from.

My experience driving through the EU is that barely anybody cares. You may be stopped at internal borders if your car plates don't match a Schengen-area country, but that's it.

You'll need your ID to stay in a hotel/AirBnB though. So unless you squat or camp illegally, better have it with you.

Plenty of places within Schengen where wild camping is legal, and couchsurfing (through platforms other than couchsurfing.com) is still a thing.

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