Quote:
Originally Posted by borjeg
Germany: 7 cards, Loop and Tchibo from O2, Medion Mobile from Rewe (E-Plus), Ja! from Aldi (T-mobile), Xtra from T-mobile, CallYa from Vodafone, Smobile from Schlecker (Vodafone). All cards were ok but I had difficulties buying them. Many shops demanded that my address must be in my passport?!?!?! I though that dissapeared with the Soviet Union.
Vodafone couldn't sell me a credits recharge for less than 25 euro, which was to much for me in this situation.
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There are certain aspects of German life that are a bit like the Soviet Union, and one of them is the requirement to register your address with the authorities (which is, in fact, a requirement of most EU states). The address is then printed on your state identity card. While this can be convenient in some ways for proving where you live, some Germans are not used to the idea that other countries do not do this. Once I saw a shopkeeper writing down the "pencil in the name of a friend or family member to contact in case of emergency" section of a UK passport.
However, it is the law in Germany (and a good thing, too, in light of terrorism and organized crime) that a mobile phone SIM can only be registered on presentation of a government-issued ID card or passport. Expect more countries to require this in future -- I certainly hope they do. However, not every store clerk will be familiar with every form of identity issued by every state...
As for Vodafone Italia, they have refills for 3 and 10 euros as well, available everywhere. You don't need to go to an official store to get them (although these are about te only places you can use a credit card to buy these).