National identity cards in the European Union

National identity cards are issued by 24 European Union member states to their citizens. EU citizens holding a national identity card 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 European Economic Area (European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and Switzerland.^{[citation needed]} Some EU member states also issue national identity cards to residents who are non-EU citizens – these cards are only valid as an identity document within the issuing country and are not valid as a travel document for the rest of the EEA and Switzerland.^{[citation needed]}

At present, three European Union member states (Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom) do not issue national identity cards to their citizens. Therefore, EU citizens from these three countries can only use a passport as a travel document to enter and reside in the EEA (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and Switzerland without a visa.^{[citation needed]}

Use

As an alternative to holding a passport, EU citizens can use a valid national identity card as a travel document to exercise the right of free movement in the EEA (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and Switzerland, without a visa.^{[citation needed]}

Strictly speaking, it is not necessary for an EU citizen to possess a valid national identity card or passport to enjoy the right of free movement. In theory, if an EU citizen can prove his/her nationality by any other means (e.g. by presenting an expired national identity card or passport, or a citizenship certificate), he/she must be permitted to enter and reside in the EEA and Switzerland without a visa. An EU citizen who is unable to demonstrate his/her 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, EU nationals can enter a number of other non-EEA countries and EU member's territories in Europe, which are not part of the EU, with their national ID cards (if issued), namely:

Albania Andorra Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Macedonia Montenegro San Marino Serbia

United Kingdom Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Akrotiri and Dhekelia

Denmark Faroe Islands

Norway Svalbard

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 biographical data on the card is to be machine readable.

The Lisbon Treaty which entered into force on 1 December 2009 gives the European Union the competence to regulate the procedures and standards for the issuing of national identity cards.

Overview of national identity cards issued by 27 Member States

Member state	Front	Reverse	Compulsory/optional	Cost	Validity	Issuing authority	Latest version
Austria			Optional (if a form of ID is required in daily life, passports and driving licences are also universally accepted)	€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)		1 January 2005
Belgium			Compulsory for Belgian citizens aged 15 or over	€17 (urgent: € 123 or more) equivalent of € 11 or € 17 in local currency (citizens registered abroad)	5 years 10 years for old style ID cards issued by Belgian consulates	city administration consulate (citizens registered abroad)	1 March 2010
Bulgaria			Compulsory for Bulgarian citizens aged 14 or over to have an ID card		10 years (adults aged 18 or over) 4 years (children aged 14–17)		29 March 2010
Cyprus				€8.54	10 years		1 July 2008
Czech Republic			Compulsory for Czech citizens aged 15 or over who are permanently resident in the Czech Republic		10 years (applicants aged 15 or over) 5 years (children aged under 15)		1 January 2012
Denmark	No identity card
Estonia			Compulsory for all Estonian citizens and permanent residents aged 15 or over.		5 years		1 January 2011
Finland			Optional	53 € (adults aged 18 or over) 36 € (minors aged under 18)	5 years	Police	31 May 2011
France			Optional	Free of charge	10 years	Police (Paris) Mayor's office in the town of residence (France, except Paris) French embassy or consulate (overseas)	1 October 1994
Germany			Compulsory for German citizens aged 16 or over to have either an ID card or a passport	28.80€ (adults aged 24 or over) 22.80€ (applicants aged under 24)	10 years (adults aged 24 or over) 6 years (applicants aged under 24)	city or town of residence	1 November 2010
Gibraltar					10 years (adults aged 16 or over) 5 years (children under 16)	Civil Status and Registration Office, Gibraltar	8 December 2000
Greece			Compulsory for Greek citizens aged 12 or over		15 years		1 July 2010
Hungary			Compulsory for Hungarian citizens aged 14 or over (unless they already possess a passport or driving licence)				9 April 2001
Ireland	No identity card
Italy			Compulsory for Italian citizens aged 15 or over	€25.42 (duplicate €30.58)	10 years		2001
Latvia			Identity Cards may be obtained by any person registered in the register of inhabitants, according to their legal status. Children under 15 years of age identification card can be issued by a parent or legal representative application.	€14.29	2 years (under 2 years old) 5 years (with 5 years old)		2012
Lithuania					10 years (adults aged 16 or over) 5 years (children under 16)		1 January 2009
Luxembourg					10 years (applicants aged 15 or over) 5 years (children aged 4–14) 2 years (children under 4)		1 December 2008
Malta						1 January 2002
The Netherlands			Optional (However, everyone aged 14 or over is required to show a valid identification document to the police when asked)	€31.85 (applicants aged 13 or younger) €41.90 (applicants aged 14 or older) €69.30 (applicants aged 13 or younger abroad) €79.25 (applicants aged 14 or older abroad)	10 years	Mayor's office in town of residence Ambassador's office abroad (only in countries in which the Dutch ID card is a valid travel document)	9 October 2011
Poland			Compulsory for Polish citizens aged 18 or over.	Free of charge	No expiry (adults aged 65 or over) 10 years (adults aged 18–64) 5 years (children under 18)		7 February 2002
Portugal					5 years		1 June 2009
Romania					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)		12 May 2009
Slovakia	150px	150px	Compulsory for Slovak citizens aged 15 or over	Free of charge	No expiry (adults aged 60 or over) 10 years		1 July 2008
Slovenia	150px		Compulsory for Slovenian citizens since birth	€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			Compulsory from the age of 14	€10,40	No expiry (adults over 70) 10 years (adults aged 30–70) 5 years (applicants under 30)		16 March 2006
Sweden			Optional				2 January 2012
United Kingdom	No identity card (UK ID Cards abolished 2011)

See also

• Citizenship of the European Union
• Passports of the European Economic Area
• National identity cards in the European Economic Area
• List of national identity card policies by country
• Schengen Area

External links

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