National identity cards in the European Economic Area and Switzerland
identity cards issued by member states of the European Union and the European Economic Area
National identity cards are identity documents issued to citizens of European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) member states, with the exception of Denmark and Ireland (the latter, however, issues a passport card). A new common identity card model harmonized the various formats in use from 2 August 2021 and older ID cards are currently being phased out according to Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1208.
As of 2021, there are approximately two hundred million national identity cards in use in the EU/EEA. They are compulsory in fifteen countries, voluntary in eleven countries and in five countries they are semi-compulsory (possession of some ID is required).
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. However, identity cards that do not state citizenship of an EEA member state or Switzerland, including residence permits or residence cards issued to non-citizens, are not valid as travel documents within the EEA and Switzerland.
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 stand-alone travel document to exercise their right of free movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. National identity card ownership in most EU countries and Switzerland 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 (UK and Ireland), other valid identity documentation (such as a driving licence) is often sufficient for Irish and British citizens.
As of 2024, Denmark is the only state that does not issue identity cards that are valid as travel documents in the EEA member states and Switzerland.
“National identity cards in the European Economic Area and Switzerland” enters the record as identity cards issued by member states of the European Union and the European Economic Area. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what National, identity and cards can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “National identity cards in the European Economic Area and Switzerland” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.