Countries that accept extended but expired French national identity cards for travel purposes

The validity of French national identity cards (CNI) issued between January 2004 and December 2013 has been extended from 10 to 15 years for adults. This measure was introduced by the French Ministry of the Interior to reduce the number of renewal requests. However, this extension of validity is not always recognized abroad. So which countries accept an expired but extended CNI? ?

Country officially recognizing extended validity of French CNIs

Several European and Mediterranean countries accept the extended French national identity card as a valid travel document, even if theoretically out of date. Here is the list of countries concerned :

• Andorra
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Estonia
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Czech Republic
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Swiss
• Türkiye
• Tunisia

The French government has published some content to back up these claimswith special features for a number of destinations such as Tunisia (accepted only for binationals or people taking part in group trips organized by a tourism professional) or the Türkiye.

Country generally tolerant French CNIs that have expired but have been extended

Other countries have not officially communicated their position on recognizing the extended validity of French identity cards, but generally tolerate these documents as valid identity documents:

• Albania
• Germany
• Austria
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Cyprus
• Denmark
• Spain
• Finland
• Ireland
• Liechtenstein
• North Macedonia
• The Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Suede
• Vatican

Beware of the changing situation and bilateral agreements

It is important to note that this list of countries may change depending on immigration policies and bilateral agreements between France and the destination country. Some airlines or border crossings may apply stricter rules for checking identity documents, depending on the country of registration of the aircraft.

Favoring the use of a valid passport

Although the extended validity of French national identity cards is recognized in several countries, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development French recommends using a valid passport to avoid any problems when traveling abroad. Many countries require a passport to enter their territory, especially those outside the Schengen area.

« Nigeria's U15 soccer team forced to withdraw due to lack of visas for Spain Thailand: Tourists exempt from entry and exit forms until October 15 »