The identity card allows French people to travel without a passport in all the States of the European Union and in certain European countries around the Mediterranean. In some cases, even an outdated CNI may suffice.
As a reminder, if an identity card was issued between January 2, 2004 and December 31, 2013 and if the person was of legal age at the time of issue, its validity period was automatically extended by 5 years.
Thus, a CNI that appears to have expired but whose validity has been extended allows you to travel to the following countries: Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Czech Republic, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey.
3 countries refuse “expired” cards
Other countries have not officially transmitted their position but usually tolerate “expired” identity cards: Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Vatican, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt.
Please note that three countries do not accept “expired” identity cards, even if their validity period has been automatically extended by 5 years. These are Belgium, Lithuania and Norway.
“In order to avoid any inconvenience during your trip, you are strongly recommended to favor the use of a valid passport rather than an identity card with an expired expiry date, even if it is considered by the French authorities as still valid”, advises the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
