[sofixa]

It's the same as the kiosks to get a local SIM card which also often require ID. Also optional.

> drivers license

A driver's license is rarely accepted as a valid ID document outside of the US which rarely has anything better.

[Mandatum]

https://internationaldrivingpermit.org/how-to-apply/

[master-lincoln]

An international driver license is not an id. It can be used to show to local law enforcement what vehicles you are allowed to drive. To use it you must have the original driver license with you too

[eddtests]

This is not as useful as you’d assume, some places just don’t acknowledge non-State ID’s regardless of what they try to sell you

[avianlyric]

Have you ever seen and IDP? They’re a complete joke as an identity document, a child with a potato could forge one.

[kylehotchkiss]

This KYC stuff required to get a sim/temp UPI makes me very happy an address isn't put into US passports. Who else is going to get that address if there was one there?

[scatters]

Those kiosks are a thing of the past, now that you can get an e-sim.

[flangola7]

Rarely has anything better? What does that mean?

[sofixa]

Lots of countries around the world have an ID card which is the default ID mechanism and is often mandatory to have (compared to say a driver's license, which many simply don't have because they never drive). The US doesn't widely have that, altough there are some slow efforts to that effect AFAIK.

[kylehotchkiss]

You'd be surprised how well a US Passport Card is accepted as an ID around India. Most people are just looking for something official in a card-sized format. There's no address, no real passport number on it. It's a more harmless document to identify yourself abroad.