National identity cards in the European Economic Area and Switzerland

There are approximately 200 million national identity cards in use in the EU/EFTA, including 53 million of the new EU-standard cards. They are compulsory in 15 EU/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.

Citizens holding a national identity card, which states the bearers citizenship belonging to an EU/EFTA member 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 EU or EFTA. However, identity cards that do not state the bearers citizenship belonging to an EU/EFTA member state are not valid as travel documents within the EU and EFTA.

Use

Travel document

As an alternative to presenting a passport, EU and EFTA 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 EU and EFTA. National identity card ownership in most EU and EFTA countries is much more widespread than passport ownership.

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. At present, Ireland does not issue a national identity card, and instead issues an optional Irish passport card which can be used as a national identity card. Denmark is the only state that does not issue identity cards that are valid as travel documents in the EU and EFTA. Strictly speaking, it is not necessary for an EU or EFTA citizen to possess a valid national identity card or passport to enter EU or EFTA countries.

In theory, if an EU or EFTA 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 any respective EU or EFTA member state. An EU/EFTA 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, EU/EFTA citizens can enter the following countries and territories outside the EU and EFTA 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, 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. Tunisia allows nationals of the European Union (except Cyprus) and Switzerland to enter using a national identity card if travelling on an organized tour. 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). Gambia allows nationals of Belgium to enter using a national ID card. The United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies allows EU and EFTA citizens to use their 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). UK also allows EU and EFTA citizens to enter using national identity cards if they are officially resident in the UK or fall under specific worker categories. Greenland allows Nordic citizens to use any identification document containing a photo, while citizens from the rest of EU/EFTA must carry a passport.

According to their local laws, Swedish and Finnish citizens cannot leave their country directly to a non-EU/EFTA country with only their ID cards, and require a passport.

Additional checks for some citizens

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. 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.

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 EU/EFTA citizens crossing external borders against relevant databases. 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 EU/EFTA citizens presented their passports or national identity cards at external border checkpoints. They were not legally obliged to check the passports/national identity cards belonging to EU/EFTA 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').

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. These countries remained the top 6 in 2016.

Identification document

Usage in own country

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.

However, even in those EU/EFTA 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.

Usage outside own country

EU/EFTA citizens exercising their right of free movement in another EU and EFTA member state 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. In those EU/EFTA 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.

Usage in third countries

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).

Following Brexit, As of 1 July 2021, EU and EFTA (except Irish) passports and identity cards are no longer accepted to prove the right to rent in the United Kingdom, and are required to provide evidence of lawful immigration status.

Electronic identity cards (eID)

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.

Digital signature applications can be used which, upon activation, enables the bearer to authenticate the card using their confidential PIN. 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. 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.