National identity cards in the European Economic Area

Czech national ID card

EEA and Switzerland

  EU member states

  EFTA member states

National identity cards are issued to their citizens by the governments of all European Union member states except Denmark and the United Kingdom, and also by Liechtenstein and Switzerland (the latter not formally part of the EEA). Citizens holding a national identity card, which states EEA or Swiss citizenship, can not only use it as an identity document within their home country, but also as a travel document to exercise the right of free movement in the EEA and Switzerland. Identity cards that do not state EEA or Swiss citizenship, including national identity cards issued to residents who are not citizens, are not valid as a travel document within the EEA and Switzerland.

National identity cards are often accepted in other parts of the world for unofficial identification purposes (such as age verification in commercial establishments that serve or sell alcohol, or checking in at hotels) and sometimes for official purposes such as proof of identity/nationality to authorities.

Four EEA member states do not issue cards defined by EU as national identity cards to their citizens: Denmark, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom (except to residents of Gibraltar); although Norway has decided to start issuing such cards from 2017. At present, citizens from these four countries can only use a passport as a travel document when travelling between EEA member states, and Switzerland. However, when travelling within the Schengen Area or Common Travel Area, other valid identity documentation (such as a driving licence or EHIC card) is often sufficient.

Use

Travel document

As an alternative to presenting a passport, EEA and Swiss citizens are entitled to use a valid national identity card as a travel document to exercise their right of free movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland.

Strictly speaking, it is not necessary for an EEA or Swiss citizen to possess a valid national identity card or passport to enter the EEA or Switzerland. In theory, if an EEA or Swiss citizen outside of both the EEA and Switzerland can prove their nationality by any other means (e.g. by presenting an expired national identity card or passport, or a citizenship certificate), they must be permitted to enter the EEA or Switzerland. An EEA or Swiss citizen who is unable to demonstrate their nationality satisfactorily must, nonetheless, be given 'every reasonable opportunity' to obtain the necessary documents or to have them delivered within a reasonable period of time.

Additionally, EEA and Swiss citizens can enter a number of countries and territories outside the EEA and Switzerland on the strength of their national identity cards alone, without the need to present a passport to the border authorities (although Swedish and Finnish law does not allow their own citizens to travel outside the EEA/Switzerland without a passport, in practice meaning that direct travel from Sweden/Finland to such countries with only an ID card is not possible):

Abkhazia (de facto, with entry clearance letter applied for in advance) Akrotiri and Dhekelia1 Albania Andorra Bosnia and Herzegovina Faroe Islands French overseas territories3 Georgia Greenland (de jure for Nordic citizens, de facto for all EEA/Swiss citizens) Guernsey1 Isle of Man1 Jersey1 Jordan7

Kosovo5 Macedonia Moldova 4 Monaco2 Montenegro Montserrat9 North Cyprus6 San Marino2 Serbia8 Svalbard Transnistria Vatican City2

1. Unlike Gibraltar, the British overseas territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and the British Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey are not part of the European Union. Nonetheless, EEA and Swiss citizens are able to use their national identity cards as travel documents to enter all of these territories.
2. Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City are de facto part of the Schengen Area.
3. EEA and Swiss citizens can use their national identity cards when travelling directly between mainland Europe (usually France) and French overseas territories. In practice, the only French overseas departments/collectivities which can be reached directly by plane from mainland Europe are French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion. In addition, EEA and Swiss citizens can use their national identity cards when travelling within/between French overseas territories (e.g. when flying directly between Guadeloupe and Saint Martin.
4. The national ID card must be in card format.
5. The national ID card must be biometric.
6. Applies only to EU citizens.
7. Applies only to EU citizens and only when travelling on an organised tour entering/exiting at Aqaba airport.
8. Not applicable to nationals of Liechtenstein
9. Not applicable to nationals of Croatia. Except for nationals of France, who are granted the full 6-month visa-free period with an ID card, EEA/Swiss nationals using an ID card may only stay for up to 14 days

Turkey allows citizens of Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland to enter using a national identity card. Egypt allows citizens of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Portugal to enter using a national identity card with a minimum remaining period of validity of 6 months. Tunisia allows nationals of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to enter using a national identity card if travelling on an organized tour. Dominica, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines allow nationals of France to enter using a national identity card, and Dominica de facto accepts (at least) German and Swedish ID cards as well (as of March 2016). Gambia allows nationals of Belgium to enter using a national ID card. Finally, Greenland allows Nordic citizens to enter with a national identity card (only Sweden and Finland have them, whereas Norway will introduce them in 2017). In practice, all EEA and Swiss citizens can use their ID cards, because no passport control takes place on arrival in Greenland, only by the airline at check-in and the gate, and both Air Greenland and Air Iceland accept any EEA or Swiss ID card.

Although, as a matter of European law, holders of a Swedish national identity card are entitled to use it as a travel document to any European Union member state (regardless of whether it belongs to the Schengen Area or not), Swedish national law did not recognise the card as a valid travel document outside the Schengen Area until July 2015 in direct violation of European law. What this meant in practice was that leaving Schengen directly from Sweden (i.e., without making a stopover in another Schengen country) with the card was not possible. This partially changed in July 2015, when travel to non-Schengen countries in the EU (but not others, even if they accept the ID card) was permitted.

Similarly, Finnish citizens cannot leave Finland directly for an EU/EFTA country with only their ID cards

UK Border Force officials have been known to place extra scrutiny on and to spend longer processing national identity cards issued by certain member states which are deemed to have limited security features and hence more susceptible to tampering/forgery. Unlike their counterparts in the Schengen Area (who, by law, must only perform a 'rapid' and 'straightforward' visual check for signs of falsification and tampering and are not obliged to use technical devices – such as document scanners, UV light and magnifiers – when EEA and Swiss citizens present their passports and/or national identity cards at external border checkpoints), as a matter of policy UKBF officials are required to examine physically all passports and national identity cards presented by EEA and Swiss citizens for signs of forgery and tampering. In addition, unlike their counterparts in the Schengen Area (who, when presented with a passport or national identity card by an EEA or Swiss citizen, are not legally obliged to check it against a database of lost/stolen/invalidated travel documents – and, if they do so, must only perform a 'rapid' and 'straightforward' database check – and may only check to see if the traveller is on a database containing persons of interest on a strictly 'non-systematic' basis where such a threat is 'genuine', 'present' and 'sufficiently serious'), as a matter of policy UKBF officials are required to check every EEA and Swiss citizen and their passport/national identity card against the Warnings Index (WI) database. For this reason, when presented with a non-machine readable identity card, it can take up to four times longer for a UKBF official to process the card as the official has to enter the biographical details of the holder manually into the computer to check against the WI database and, if a large number of possible matches is returned, a different configuration has to be entered to reduce the number of possible matches. For example, at Stansted Airport UKBF officials have been known to take longer to process Italian paper identity cards because they often need to be taken out of plastic wallets, because they are particularly susceptible to forgery/tampering and because, as non-machine readable documents, the holders' biographical details have to be entered manually into the computer.

According to statistics published by Frontex, in 2015 the top 6 EU member states whose national identity cards were falsified and detected at external border crossing points of the Schengen Area were Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece, France and Romania.

Identification document

Identity documentation requirements for citizens

National identity card required

Some form of identity documentation required

Identity documentation optional

There are varying rules on domestic usage of identity documents. Some countries demand the usage of the national identity card or a passport. Other countries allow usage of other documents like driver's licenses. EEA and Swiss citizens exercising their right to free movement in another EEA member state or Switzerland are entitled to use their national identity card as an identification document when dealing not just with government authorities, but also with private sector service providers. For example, where a supermarket in the UK refuses to accept a German national identity card as proof of age when a German citizen attempts to purchase an age-restricted product and insists on the production of a UK-issued passport or driving licence or other identity document, the supermarket would, in effect, be discriminating against this individual on this basis of his/her nationality in the provision of a service, thereby contravening the prohibition in Art 20(2) of Directive 2006/123/EC of discriminatory treatment relating to the nationality of a service recipient in the conditions of access to a service which are made available to the public at large by a service provider.

On 11 June 2014, The Guardian published leaked internal documents from HM Passport Office in the UK which revealed that government officials who dealt with British passport applications sent from overseas treated EU citizen counter-signatories differently depending on their nationality. The leaked internal documents showed that for citizens of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden who acted as a counter-signatory to support the application for a British passport made by someone whom they knew, HM Passport Office would be willing to accept a copy of the counter-signatory's passport or the national identity card. HM Passport Office considered that national identity cards issued to citizens of these member states were acceptable taking into account the 'quality of the identity card design, the rigour of their issuing process, the relatively low level of documented abuse of such documents at UK/Schengen borders and our ability to access samples of such identity cards for comparison purposes'. In contrast, citizens of other EU member states (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain) acting as counter-signatories could only submit a copy of their passport and not their national identity card to prove their identity as national identity cards issued by these member states were deemed by HM Passport Office to be less secure and more susceptible to fraud/forgery. The day following the revelations, on 12 June 2014, the Home Office and HM Passport Office withdrew the leaked internal guidance relating to EU citizen counter-signatories submitting a copy of their national identity card instead of their passport as proof of identity, and all EU citizen counter-signatories are now able only to submit a copy of their passport and not of their national identity card.

Common design and security features

On 13 July 2005, the Justice and Home Affairs Council called on all European Union member states to adopt common designs and security features for national identity cards by December 2005, with detailed standards being laid out as soon as possible thereafter.

On 4 December 2006, all European Union member states agreed to adopt the following common designs and minimum security standards for national identity cards that were in the draft resolution of 15 November 2006:

Material

The card can be made with paper core that is laminated on both sides or made entirely of a synthetic substrate.

Biographical data

The data on the card shall contain at least: name, gender, birth date, nationality, a photo, signature, card number, start and end date of validity. Some cards contain more information such as height, eye colour, issue place or province, and birth place.

The biographical data on the card is to be machine readable and follow the ICAO specification for Machine-readable travel documents. (However, note that three European Union member states — Cyprus, Greece and Italy — as well as Gibraltar continue to issue non-machine readable national identity cards.)

Electronic identity cards

All EEA electronic identity cards should comply with the ISO/IEC standard 14443. Effectively this means that all these cards should implement electromagnetic coupling between the card and the card reader and, if the specifications are followed, are only capable of being read from proximities of less than 0.1 metres.

They are not the same as the RFID tags often seen in stores and attached to livestock. Neither will they work at the relatively large distances typically seen at US toll booths or automated border crossing channels.

The same ICAO specifications adopted by nearly all European passport booklets (Basic Access Control - BAC) means that miscreants should not be able to read these cards unless they also have physical access to the card. BAC authentication keys derive from the three lines of data printed in the MRZ on the obverse of each TD1 format identity card that begins "I".

According to the ISO 14443 standard, wireless communication with the card reader can not start until the identity card's chip has transmitted a unique identifier. Theoretically an ingenious attacker who has managed to secrete multiple reading devices in a distributed array (eg in arrival hall furniture) could distinguish bearers of MROTDs without having access to the relevant chip files. In concert with other information, this attacker might then be able to produce profiles specific to a particular card and, consequently its bearer. Defence is a trivial task when most electronic cards make new and randomised UIDs during every session [NH08] to preserve a level of privacy more comparable with contact cards than commercial RFID tags.

The electronic identity cards of Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain all have a digital signature application which, upon activation, enables the bearer to authenticate the card using their confidential PIN. Consequently they can, at least theoretically, authenticate documents to satisfy any third party that the document's not been altered after being digitally signed. This application uses a registered certificate in conjunction with public/private key pairs so these enhanced cards do not necessarily have to participate in online transactions.

An unknown number of national European identity cards are issued with different functionalities for authentication while online. Some also have an additional contact chip containing their electronic signature functionality, such as the Swedish national identity card.

Portugal's card has an EMV application.

Overview of national identity cards

Member states issue a variety of national identity cards with differing technical specifications and according to differing issuing procedures.

Member state	Front	Reverse	Compulsory/optional	Cost	Validity	Issuing authority	Latest version
Austria			Identity documentation is optional	€61.50 (applicants aged 16 or over) €26.30 (children aged 2–15) Free of charge (children under 2)	10 years (applicants aged 12 or over) 5 years (children aged 2–11) 2 years (children under 2)		3 May 2010
Belgium			National identity card compulsory for Belgian citizens aged 15 or over	Differs per city equivalent of €11 or €17 in local currency (citizens registered abroad)	6 years (for applicants aged between 12 and 18) 10 years (for old style ID cards issued by Belgian consulates, or for applicants aged 18 to 75) 30 years (for applicants aged over 75)	Municipal administration (of place of residence) Consulate (citizens registered abroad)	12 December 2013
Bulgaria			National identity card compulsory for Bulgarian citizens aged 14 or over	first card free (age 14-16) €6.5 (age 14-18) €9 (age 18-58) €5.5 (age 58-70) free (age >70) Prices are for a 30-day issue, multiply by 2 for 3 day issue, by 5 for 8 hours.	No expiry (adults aged 58 or over) 10 years (adults aged 18-57) 4 years (children aged 14–17)	The police on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior.	29 March 2010
Croatia			National identity card compulsory for Croatian citizens resident in Croatia aged 18 or over	HRK 79.50	5 years	The police on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior.	8 June 2015
Cyprus			National identity card compulsory for Cypriot citizens aged 12 or over	€20.00	10 years 5 years (applicants under 18)		24 February 2015
Czech Republic			National identity card compulsory for Czech citizens over 15 years of age with permanent residency in the Czech Republic	the version without a chip is free for permanent residents over 15 years of age (first card, renewal or a reissue due to a change in permanent residency, name or marital status) 100 CZK for reissue for all other reasons (no chip) 50 CZK (children under 15 years of age, no chip) 500 CZK for all ID cards with an electronic chip for all reasons 100 CZK for a temporary ID without machine readable data with 1 or 3 months validity	10 years (applicants aged 15 or over) 5 years (children aged under 15)	municipality on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior	19 May 2014
Denmark	No national identity card (See Identity document#Denmark).		Identity documentation is optional	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Estonia			National identity card compulsory for all Estonian citizens and permanent residents aged 15 or over	€25 (applicants aged 15 or over) or €50 (in embassies) €7 (children under 15, retirees, persons with disabilities) or €10 (in embassies) €45 (urgent)	5 years	Police and Border Guard Board	1 January 2011
Finland			Identity documentation is optional	€53 (applicants aged 18 or over) €36 (children under 18)	5 years	Police	31 May 2011
France			National identity card optional, however valid government-issued identity documentation is compulsory for all persons	Free of charge €25 (if the previous one cannot be presented, e.g., it was lost or stolen)	10 years for minors 15 years for adults.	Police (Paris) mairie (town hall) in the town of residence (France, except Paris) French consulate (overseas)	1 October 1994
Germany			National identity card optional, however a national identity card or passport is compulsory for German citizens aged 16 or over, and valid identity documentation is compulsory for alien persons	€28.80 (applicants aged 24 or over) €22.80 (applicants aged under 24)	10 years (applicants aged 24 or over) 6 years (applicants aged under 24)	City or town of residence	1 November 2010
Gibraltar			Identity documentation is optional, however a national identity card is required for employment	Free of charge	10 years (adults aged 16 or over) 5 years (children under 16)	Civil Status and Registration Office, Gibraltar	8 December 2000
Greece			National identity card compulsory for Greek citizens aged 12 or over	Free of charge for first issue €9 for reissue if lost or destroyed (free if reported stolen)	15 years	Police	1 July 2010
Hungary			National identity card optional, however a national identity card, passport or driving licence is compulsory for Hungarian citizens aged 14	Free of charge	60 years (adults aged 65 or over) 6 years (adults aged over 18) 3 years (children under 18, but only until the date on which the holder reaches the age of 12)		1 January 2016
Iceland	No national identity card. Icelandic state-issued identity cards and driver's licenses do not state nationality and therefore are not usable as travel documentation outside of the Nordic countries.		Identity documentation compulsory for all persons.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ireland	150px	150px	Identity documentation is optional	€35	5 years (or when main passport expires)	Passport Office	2 October 2015
Italy (only the electronic version, issued in limited parts of the country)		Some municipalities issue a new plastic, electronic version	National identity card optional, however citizens should be able to prove their identity if stopped by territorial police	€5.42 for standard IDs (if lost, stolen or deteriorated price may vary depending on town hall) €25.42 for electronic IDs (if lost, stolen or deteriorated price may vary depending on town hall)	3 years (applicants aged up to 3) 5 year (applicants aged 3–18) 10 years (adults aged 18 or over)	Town Hall	1 May 1994
Latvia			National identity card optional, however a national identity card card or passport is compulsory for Latvian citizens aged 15 or over	€14.23 €7.11 (citizens under age of 20, retirees)	5 years	Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs	1 April 2012
Liechtenstein			Identity documentation is optional	CHF80 (adults aged 15 or over) CHF30 (children under 15)	10 years (adults aged 15 or over) 3 years (children under 15)	Immigration and Passport Office, Vaduz	23 June 2008
Lithuania			Identity documentation is optional		10 years (adults aged 16 or over) 5 years (children under 16)		1 January 2009
Luxembourg			National identity card compulsory for Luxembourgian citizens resident in Luxembourg aged 15 or over		10 years (applicants aged 15 or over) 5 years (children aged 4–14) 2 years (children under 4)		1 July 2014
Malta			National identity card compulsory for Maltese citizens aged 18 or over	First time issuance of Identity Card: Free Renewal of expired Identity Card (or containing any data that is no longer correct) which are not declared to be lost, stolen or defaced: Free Applications for a new Identity Card in replacement of one which has been lost, stolen or destroyed: €20 Applications for a new Identity Card in replacement of one which has been defaced: €15	10 years	Identity Management Office	12 February 2014
Netherlands			National identity card optional, however valid identity documentation is compulsory for all persons aged 14 or over	€28.45 (applicants aged 13 or younger) €53.05 (applicants aged 14 or older) €66.35 (applicants aged 13 or younger abroad) €90.95 (applicants aged 14 or older abroad)	5 years 10 years (From 2014 onwards)	Town hall in town of residence (European part of the Netherlands) Consular section of Embassy abroad (only in countries in which the Dutch ID card is a valid travel document) Dutch nationals, residing on the Dutch Caribbean islands, although also EU citizens, can only apply for a specific ID card issued by the island's authorities. These cards are not valid for travel in the EU.	9 October 2011
Norway	No national identity card currently, however planned to be introduced in 2017.		Identity documentation is optional			Norwegian Police Service	2016
Poland			National identity card compulsory for Polish citizens resident in Poland aged 18 or over	Free of charge	10 years (adults aged over 18) 10 years (children over 5) 5 years (children under 5)	Wójt/Mayor/President of the City	1 March 2015
Portugal			National identity card compulsory for Portuguese citizens aged 6 or over	Normal service delivered in Portugal: €15 Normal service delivered outside Portugal: €20 Expedited service delivered in Portugal: €30 Expedited service delivered outside Portugal: €45 Same day delivery with pick-up at IRN desk in Lisbon: €35	5 years	Notary and Registry Institute (IRN)	1 June 2009
Romania			National identity card compulsory for Romanian citizens aged 14 or over	12 RON to issue a new or a renewal card	No expiry (adults aged 55 or over) 10 years (adults aged 25–54) 7 years (adults aged 18–24) 4 years (minors aged 14–17)	Police station in proximity	12 May 2009
Slovakia			National identity card compulsory for Slovak citizens aged 15 or over	Free of charge	No expiry (adults aged 60 or over) 10 years		1 December 2013
Slovenia			National identity card optional, however a form of ID with photo is compulsory for Slovenian citizens permanently resident in Slovenia aged 18 or over	€12.43 (children under the age of 3) €14.25 (children aged 3–18) €18.77 (applicants aged 18 and over)	3 years (citizens under 3 years) 5 years (citizens under 18 years) 10 years (citizens over 18 years)	Administrative Unit Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs	20 June 1998
Spain			National identity card compulsory for Spanish citizens aged 14 or over	€10.60	No expiry (adults over 70) 10 years (adults aged 30–70) 5 years (applicants under 30)	Police	16 March 2006
Sweden			Identity documentation is optional	SEK 400	5 years	Police	2 January 2012
Switzerland			Identity documentation is optional	CHF 70 (adults) CHF 35 (children)	10 years (adults) 5 years (children)	Canton Municipality	1 November 2005
United Kingdom	No UK national identity card (UK ID Cards abolished 2011 by UK Identity Documents Act 2010), although identity cards can be issued to residents of Gibraltar.		Identity documentation is optional	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

See also

• Identity document
• List of national identity card policies by country
• Passports of the European Union
• Passports of the European Economic Area
• Schengen Area
• European Economic Area
• European Free Trade Association
• Internal passport

External links

• National identity cards in PRADO (The Council of the European Union Public Register of Authentic Travel and Identity Documents Online)