National identity cards are issued to their citizens by the governments of most European Economic Area (EEA) member states, the exceptions are Denmark and Ireland. Ireland however issues a passport card which is a valid document in the EEA and Switzerland. [13] Denmark issues simpler identity cards that are not valid as travel documents. [14] [15] From 2 August 2021, new identity cards are harmonized as a common identity card model replaced the various formats already in use.
There are approximately 200 million national identity cards in use in the EU/EEA, including 53 million of the new EU-standard cards. [1] They are compulsory in 15 EEA/EFTA countries, voluntary in 11 countries and in 5 countries they are semi-compulsory (some form of identification required). Where the card is compulsory, in some member countries it is required to be carried at all times, while in other countries the mere possession of the card is sufficient. [16]
Citizens holding a national identity card, which states citizenship of an EEA member state or Switzerland, can use it as an identity document within their home country, and as a travel document to exercise the right of free movement in the EEA and Switzerland. [17] : Articles 4 and 5 [18] [19] However, identity cards that do not state citizenship of an EEA member state or Switzerland, including national identity cards issued to residents who are not citizens, are not valid as travel documents within the EEA and Switzerland. [20] [21] [22]
As an alternative to presenting a passport, EEA and Swiss citizens are entitled to use a valid national identity card as a stand-alone travel document to exercise their right of free movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. [17] : Articles 4 and 5 [18] [19] National identity card ownership in most EU countries and Switzerland is much more widespread than passport ownership. [23]
When travelling within the Nordic Passport Union, no identity documentation is legally required by Nordic citizens. When travelling within the Common Travel Area, other valid identity documentation (such as a driving licence) is often sufficient for Irish and British citizens. [24]
At present, Denmark is the only state that does not issue identity cards that are valid as travel documents in the EEA member states and Switzerland. [25] 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 and Switzerland. In theory, if an EEA or Swiss citizen 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 and 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. [17] : Article 5(4) [26] [27]
Additionally, EEA and Swiss citizens can enter the following countries and territories outside the EEA and Switzerland on the basis of their national identity cards alone, without the need to present a passport to the border authorities:
Turkey allows citizens of Belgium, Bulgaria, [44] France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland using a national identity card for visit. Egypt allows citizens of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal to enter using a national identity card for short-term visits. [45] [46] Tunisia allows nationals of the European Union (except Cyprus) and Switzerland to enter using a national identity card if travelling on an organized tour. [47] Anguilla, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Guernsey and Jersey allow nationals of France to enter using a national ID card, while Dominica de facto also allows nationals of (at least) Germany and Sweden to enter with a national ID card (as of March 2016).[ citation needed ] Gambia allows nationals of Belgium to enter using a national ID card. [48] The United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies allows EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to use national identity cards if they are part of a group of children from a school in France or if they comply with specific requirements established after Brexit (though to enter at the land border Ireland-Northern Ireland, no specific document requirements apply). [49] [50] [51] [52] UK also allows EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to enter using national identity cards if they are officially resident in the UK or fall under specific worker categories. [53] Greenland allows Nordic citizens to use any identification document containing a photo, while citizens from the rest of EU/EFTA must carry a passport. [54]
Swedish national law did not recognise the card as a valid travel document outside the Schengen Area, [55] in direct violation of European law, until July 2015, when travel to non-Schengen countries in the EU (but not outside, even if the destination country accepts the ID card) was permitted. [56] Similarly, Finnish citizens cannot leave Finland directly for a non-EU/EFTA country with only their ID cards. [57]
At the external border crossing points of the Schengen Area, if a traveller presents a travel document without a machine readable zone and the border guard has 'doubt about his/her identity', the traveller may be requested to undergo a more in-depth 'second line' check. [26] In practice, this means that Greek citizens who present an old-format Greek identity card and Italian citizens who present an Italian paper identity card could be subject to additional checks and delay when entering/leaving the Schengen Area. [58]
With effect from 7 April 2017, it is mandatory for border guards in the Schengen Area to check on a systematic basis the travel documents of all EEA and Swiss citizens crossing external borders against relevant databases. [59] Until 7 April 2017, border guards in the Schengen Area were only obliged to perform a 'rapid' and 'straightforward' visual check for signs of falsification and tampering, and were not obliged to use technical devices – such as document scanners, UV light and magnifiers – when EEA and Swiss citizens presented their passports or national identity cards at external border checkpoints. [60] They were not legally obliged to check the passports/national identity cards of EEA and Swiss citizens against a database of lost/stolen/invalidated travel documents (and, if they did so, they could only perform a 'rapid' and 'straightforward' database check, and could only check to see if the traveller was on a database containing persons of interest on a strictly 'non-systematic' basis where such a threat was 'genuine', 'present' and 'sufficiently serious'). [60]
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. [61] These countries remained the top 6 in 2016. [62]
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 licences.
In some countries, e.g. Austria, Finland, Sweden and Iceland national identity cards are fully voluntary and not needed by everyone, as identity documents like driving licences are accepted domestically. In these countries only a minority have a national identity card, since a majority have a passport and a driving licence and don't need more identity documents. This is also true for Ireland where those who have a passport and a driving licence have less need for the passport card. The passport card can be used for travel to 31 countries in the European Union, European Economic Area including Switzerland. [63]
However, even in those EEA countries that impose a national identity card requirement on their citizens (above certain age), it is generally not required to carry the identity cards at all times.
EEA and Swiss citizens exercising their right of 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 Netherlands 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 Dutch-issued passport or driving licence or other identity document, the supermarket would, in effect, be discriminating against this individual on this basis of their 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. [64] In those EEA countries whose citizens are required by law to obtain a national identity card, only a minority have a passport, since it is not needed for travelling across much of Europe.
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 and nationality to authorities (especially machine-readable cards).
As of 1 July 2021, EEA (except Irish) passports and identity cards are no longer accepted to prove the right to rent in the United Kingdom, so EEA citizens are required to provide evidence of lawful immigration status. [65]
As of 2024, nearly all EU countries issue national identity cards with an electronic identity (eID) function, either through incorporating an EMV (contact chip) or, most commonly, through a RFID/NFC (contactless) function. The regulation dictates that the eID functions must be logically or physically separate from the ICAO biometric function of the card. [1]
Digital signature applications can be used which, upon activation, enables the bearer to authenticate the card using their confidential PIN. [66] Consequently they can authenticate documents to satisfy any third party that the document's not been altered after being digitally signed, as well as to identify the identity card holder. 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. [67] This can be achieved by using an EMV smartcard reader paired with a computer, or by NFC (by mobile phone or PC) for the contactless variants.
A growing number of EU countries have introduced dedicated mobile apps, linked with state registries, that replace physical identity cards. In 2024, EU has passed regulations aimed at standardising electronic identities also through mobile apps.
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. [68]
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: [69] [70]
The card can be made with paper core that is laminated on both sides or made entirely of a synthetic substrate.
The data on the card shall contain at least: name, birth date, nationality, a photo, signature, card number, and end date of validity. [71] Some cards contain more information such as height, eye colour, start date of validity, sex, issue place or province, and birthplace.
The biographical data on the card is to be machine readable and follow the ICAO specification for machine-readable travel documents.
The EU Regulation revising the Schengen Borders Code (which entered into force on 7 April 2017 and introduced systematic checks of the travel documents of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens against relevant databases when entering and leaving the Schengen Area) states that all member states should phase out travel documents (including national identity cards) which are not machine-readable. [72]
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. [73]
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. [74]
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 [75] unless they also have physical access to the card. [76] 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 "A", "C", or "I". [77]
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. [66]
European Union regulation | |
Text with EEA relevance | |
Title | Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and of residence documents issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement |
---|---|
Made by | European Parliament and Council |
Made under | Art. 21(2) TFEU |
Journal reference | L 188, pp. 67–78 |
History | |
Date made | 20 June 2019 |
Came into force | 10 July 2019 |
Applies from | 2 August 2021 |
Preparative texts | |
Commission proposal | 17 April 2018 |
Current legislation |
In 2019, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted a new regulation with a new common format of electronic identity document. The purpose of the regulation was to replace and harmonize the various identity card models currently in use across the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). [lower-alpha 1] The regulation started to apply as of 2 August 2021. However, the regulation was declared invalid by the European Court of Justice in March 2024 as it had been adopted on an incorrect legal basis. It remains temporarily in force until, at the latest, 31 December 2026 so that the Council may adopt a new regulation on the correct legal basis. [80]
In accordance with its own laws, any Member State of the Union shall issue an identity card complying with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and of residence documents issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement, and articles 3/4/5 state that: [16]
Article 16 states that this Regulation shall apply from 2 August 2021.
For several member countries the new requirements do not mean that the design or features of the existing cards change much, since they mostly fulfil the requirements already. For some this means a large redesign. A visible change for all countries is the country code inside the EU flag.
Identity cards not meeting the new requirements shall cease to be valid at their expiry or by 3 August 2031, whichever comes sooner. Identity cards which do not meet the minimum security standards or which do not include a functional machine-readable zone shall cease to be valid by 3 August 2026. Identity cards of persons aged 70 and above on 2 August 2021 which meet the minimum security standards and which have a functional MRZ shall cease to be valid at their expiry. [83] In 2019, the EU estimated that around 80 million ID cards in circulation were not machine-readable, and will therefore expire in 2026. [84]
In addition, the new EU Regulation cannot be applied to travel documents like the passport card issued by Ireland, as stated at point (14) of the introduction chapter. [16] : Point 14, introduction chapter
Implementation throughout the member states is ongoing with various timetables on a per-country basis. Cyprus began issuing identity cards conforming to the harmonised requirements as early as August 2020, becoming the first country to implement the new standard, followed by Malta the same month. [85] [13] [86]
In July 2023, the European Commission decided to open an infringement procedure against Bulgaria, Greece and Portugal as they had not updated their ID cards to EU standards. [87] Greece has since released its updated ID card, which appeared in September 2023. [88]
Therefore, as of April 2024, only Bulgarian and Portuguese ID cards are still non-compliant with EU standards. Bulgaria will begin to issue updated ID cards in 2024. [89] Portugal has announced that the starting date for the new EU-compliant ID cards is 10 June 2024. [90]
Danish identity cards are issued by municipalities, each having their own design, and are not accepted as valid travel documents outside Denmark. They were launched in 2017, replacing previous 'Youth Cards'. [91] Since 2018, information about the nationality of the cardholder has been included which briefly allowed the card to be used for travel to Sweden. [92] However in September 2019, Swedish authorities explicitly banned Danish municipal identity cards from being used for entry. [93] In 2021, the Danish Ministry of Interior came to the conclusion that more secure ID cards were not on the agenda due to prohibitive costs. [94]
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein became bound by Regulation 2019/1157 in February 2024 with some amendments, including the lack of a requirement of an EU flag. [95] Nevertheless, Norwegian identity cards have already been compliant with the regulation since July 2021. Liechtenstein began issuing biometric EU-standard ID cards in January 2024. [96] Likewise, Iceland has adopted a new law on Icelandic identity cards and new EU-standard cards began to be issued in March 2024, the first in the world to use the new additional ICAO 9303 format [97] with a rotated portrait image. [98] [99]
Member states issue a variety of national identity cards with differing technical specifications and according to differing issuing procedures. In most member states, cards can be issued abroad through the country's respective consulates. [100]
Member state | eID app | Front | Reverse | Compulsory/optional | Cost | Validity | Issuing authority | Latest version |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | NFC | Identity documentation is optional |
|
| 2 August 2021 [101] | |||
Belgium | EMV | National identity card compulsory for Belgian citizens aged 12 or over |
|
| Local Municipality | 15 July 2021 [102] | ||
Bulgaria | No | National identity card compulsory for Bulgarian citizens aged 14 or over |
|
| The police on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior. | 29 March 2010 | ||
Croatia | EMV NFC | National identity card compulsory for Croatian citizens resident in Croatia aged 18 or over |
|
| The police on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior. [104] | 2 August 2021 | ||
Cyprus | NFC | National identity card compulsory for Cypriot citizens aged 12 or over |
|
| 12 August 2020 | |||
Czech Republic | EMV | National identity card compulsory for Czech citizens over 15 years of age with permanent residency in the Czech Republic |
|
| Municipality on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior | 2 August 2021 | ||
Denmark | No national identity card. Danish identity cards are issued by municipalities as opposed to a central agency and therefore are not usable as travel documentation outside of the Nordic countries (except Sweden, see Identity document#Denmark). | Identity documentation is optional (for Danish and Nordic citizens) [3] | 150 DKK | 10 years | Local municipalities | 21 November 2017 [105] | ||
Estonia | EMV [106] [107] | National identity card compulsory for all Estonian citizens aged 15 or over. |
| 5 years | Police and Border Guard Board | 23 August 2021 | ||
Finland | EMV [109] | Link to image | Link to image | Identity documentation is optional |
| 5 years | Police | 13 March 2023 |
France | EMV NFC [111] | National identity card optional [112] |
| 10 years [113] | City halls with a Dispositif de Recueil (on behalf of the prefecture) [114] | 15 March 2021 [113] | ||
Germany | NFC | National identity card optional; however, a national identity card or passport is compulsory for German citizens aged 16 or over. |
|
| City or town of residence | 2 August 2021 | ||
Greece | NFC | National identity card compulsory for Greek citizens aged 12 or over |
| 10 years | Police | 25 September 2023 [116] | ||
Hungary | NFC | National identity card optional; however, a national identity card, passport or driving licence is compulsory for all Hungarian citizens |
|
| Ministry of Interior | 2 August 2021 | ||
Iceland | NFC | Identity documentation is optional (for Icelandic and Nordic citizens [3] ) |
|
| Sheriff, on behalf of Registers Iceland | 5 March 2024 [99] | ||
Ireland | No national identity card. Ireland issues an optional passport card, only if the applicant already has a valid passport booklet, or gets one in the same application (see Irish passport card). | Identity documentation is optional |
|
| Department of Foreign Affairs | 14 October 2021 | ||
Link to image | Link to image | |||||||
Italy | NFC [117] [118] | National identity card optional [119] |
Note: validity must always expire on birthday [123] | Local municipality of residence on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior [120] [121] | 29 September 2022 | |||
Latvia | EMV [124] NFC [125] | National identity card compulsory for Latvian citizens aged 15 or over. [126] |
|
| Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs | 12 October 2021 | ||
Liechtenstein | NFC | Identity documentation is optional |
|
| Immigration and Passport Office, Vaduz | 3 January 2024 | ||
Lithuania | EMV NFC [128] | National identity card optional; however, a national identity card or passport is compulsory for Lithuanian citizens aged 16 or over. |
|
| Migration Department | 17 August 2021 | ||
Luxembourg | NFC [129] | Link to image | National identity card compulsory for Luxembourgian citizens resident in Luxembourg aged 15 or over |
|
| Ministry of the Interior | 2 August 2021 | |
Malta | NFC | National identity card compulsory for Maltese citizens aged 18 or over |
|
|
| |||
Netherlands | NFC [133] | National identity card optional; however, valid identity documentation is compulsory for all persons aged 14 or over. | Town hall in town of residence | 2 August 2021 [138] | ||||
Norway | NFC | Identity documentation is optional |
|
| Norwegian Police Service | 29 July 2021 [139] [140] | ||
Poland | NFC | National identity card compulsory for Polish citizens resident in Poland aged 18 or over and optional for those under 18 and those residing abroad. | Free of charge |
| Local municipality | 8 November 2021 | ||
Portugal | EMV | National identity card (called "Citizen Card") compulsory for Portuguese citizens aged 20 days or over [141] |
|
| Notary and Registry Institute (IRN) / | Notary and Registry Institute (IRN) | 1 June 2009 | ||
NFC | Link to images | 10 June 2024 | ||||||
Romania | EMV | National identity card compulsory for Romanian citizens aged 14 or over with permanent residence in Romania | 7 RON |
| Ministry of Internal Affairs through the Directorate for Persons Record and Databases Management | 2 August 2021 (Only available in the Cluj County) 1 January 2024 (Available in the entire country) | ||
Slovakia | EMV NFC | National identity card compulsory for Slovak citizens aged 15 or over with permanent residence in Slovakia [142] |
|
| Police | 1 December 2022 | ||
Slovenia | EMV NFC [143] | National identity card optional; however, a form of ID with photo is compulsory for Slovenian citizens permanently resident in Slovenia aged 18 or over |
|
| Administrative Unit | 28 March 2022 | ||
Spain | EMV NFC [144] | National identity card compulsory for Spanish citizens aged 14 or over |
|
| 2 August 2021 | |||
Sweden | NFC | Identity documentation is optional | SEK 400 |
| Swedish Police Authority | 1 January 2022 [146] | ||
Switzerland | No | Identity documentation is optional |
|
| Federal Office of Police through canton / municipality of residence | 3 March 2023 [147] [148] |
A Belgian identity card is a national identity card issued to all citizens of Belgium aged 12 years old and above.
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the bearer may return to the issuing country, and are often issued in booklet form to allow other governments to place visas as well as entry and exit stamps into them.
European Economic Area (EEA) citizens have the right of free movement and residence throughout the EEA. This right also extends to certain family members, even if they are not EEA citizens. A Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen is issued to the family member to confirm this right of residence. The holder of a valid Residence Card is entitled to use this document in lieu of an entry visa for entry to all EEA member states. There is not a unified format for this card throughout the EU.
The Romanian identity card is an official identity document issued to every Romanian citizen residing in Romania. It is compulsory to obtain the identity card from 14 years of age. Although Romanian citizens residing abroad are exempt from obtaining the identity card, if they intend to establish a temporary residence in Romania, they may then apply for a provisional identity document, which is valid for one year (renewable).
A Norwegian passport is the passport issued to nationals of Norway for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Norwegian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Norwegian consular officials abroad.
Swedish passports are issued to nationals of Sweden for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as proof of Swedish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Swedish consular officials abroad.
A Danish passport is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark to facilitate international travel. Besides serving as proof of Danish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Danish consular officials abroad.
The European Union itself does not issue ordinary passports, but ordinary passport booklets issued by its 27 member states share a common format. This common format features a coloured cover emblazoned—in the official language(s) of the issuing country —with the title "European Union", followed by the name(s) of the member state, the heraldic "Arms" of the State concerned, the word "PASSPORT", together with the biometric passport symbol at the bottom centre of the front cover.
The Swedish national identity card is a non-compulsory biometric identity document issued in Sweden. It is one of two official identity documents issued by the Swedish Police, the other being the Swedish passport. It is only issued to Swedish citizens, and indicates the citizenship.
Icelandic passports are issued to citizens of Iceland for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Icelandic citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Icelandic consular officials abroad. As of 2023, 94.9% of Icelandic citizens possess an Icelandic passport. It is one of three official documents issued by the Icelandic government, the others being the Icelandic identity card and the Icelandic driving licence.
The Schengen Area is an area encompassing 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
The Bulgarian identity card is a compulsory identity document issued in Bulgaria. The document is issued by the police on behalf of the Ministry of Interior and is the main form of identification on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. All Bulgarians are obliged by law to carry their identity cards with them at all times and are subject to fines should they not.
The Dutch identity card is an official non-compulsory identity document issued to Dutch nationals in the European part of the Netherlands and certain diplomatic missions. It has similar dimensions and structure as those of a regular bank card.
The Swiss identity card in its current form dates back to July 1994. It is in the form of a plastic photocard. It can be used as a travel document when travelling within European Free Trade Association or to the European Union, the European microstates, Georgia, Turkey, and on organized tours to Tunisia.
The Finnish identity card is one of two official identity documents in Finland, the other being the Finnish passport. Any citizen or resident can get an identification card. Finnish citizens will get indication of citizenship on the card. It is available as an electronic ID card, which enables logging into certain services on the Internet, local computers or adding digital signatures into LibreOffice ODF documents or creating DigiDoc formatted containers that also allows encryption during content transfer. ID card is applied at a police station and it is issued by the police.
The Portuguese identity card, is an identity document issued by the Government of Portugal to its citizens. The card replaces several previous documents, including the Bilhete de Identidade, Social Security card, National Health Service card, Taxpayer card and voter registration card, in one secure card. The Citizen Card was first issued in the Azores in mid-2006. However, as of 2017 BIs continued to be issued in some cases.
The Liechtenstein identity card is issued to Liechtenstein citizens by the Immigration and Passport Office in Vaduz. The card costs CHF65 for adults aged 18 or over and is valid for 10 years. For children, the card costs CHF30 and has a validity of 3 years.
The Norwegian identity card, commonly referred to as the national identity card in Norway, is a non-compulsory biometric identity document issued since 30 November 2020. It is one of two official identity documents issued by the Norwegian Police Service, the other being the Norwegian passport. It is only issued to Norwegian citizens, and may indicate citizenship so that it can be used as a travel document facilitating freedom of movement within the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Area. For travel within the Nordic countries no identity documentation is legally required for Nordic citizens due to the Nordic Passport Union.
Passports of the EFTA member states are passports issued by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. EFTA is in this article used as a common name for these countries.
The Icelandic identity card, is a voluntary identity document issued by Registers Iceland since 12 April 1965. It is one of three official identity documents issued by the Icelandic Government, along with the Icelandic passport and Icelandic driving licence. It is only issued to Icelandic citizens regardless of age and may indicate citizenship, so that it can be used as a travel document facilitating freedom of movement within the European Free Trade Association and the rest of the European Economic Area. For travel within the Nordic countries no identity documentation is legally required for Nordic citizens due to the Nordic Passport Union.
As ID cards are less bulky and usually cheaper than passports, ID card ownership is much more widespread than passport ownership and tens of millions of journeys involving entry to the EU territory are made every year using ID cards.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)For instance Italian and Greek paper ID cards are frequently rejected at certain border checks (e.g. in UK, Germany and Spain). The fact that border control officials are not always familiar with the various identity documents in circulation can also result in more profound consequences, or at least, delays and inconvenience for citizens when exercising their right of free movement due to lengthy document checks.
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