Identity Cards Act 2006 - Use As Travel Document

Use As Travel Document

Until midnight on 21 January 2011, the National Identity Card was officially recognised as a valid travel document by the EEA and Switzerland, following which the United Kingdom instructed immigration authorities therein to cease accepting it as a valid travel document. It also became accepted voluntarily by a number of other European countries but its current validity in these additional countries remains unclear, given that its acceptance and subsequent denial by these countries was never mandated by the United Kingdom through EU or EEA channels. It was the only travel document valid for use by UK nationals throughout the EEA and Switzerland, other than a valid British citizen passport or a pink Gibraltar identity card. The exception to this was for travel to Ireland. All British citizens are entitled to enter Ireland without the need to carry a valid travel document, on account of the Common Travel Area agreement.

• European Union
• Iceland (EEA)
• Liechtenstein (EEA)
• Norway (EEA)
• Switzerland

It became accepted also by:

• Albania
• Andorra "Any travel document recognised by France or Spain"
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Faroe Islands
• Macedonia
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Morocco (only for tours organised by a travel agency for groups of more than three people)
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Vatican City

It was also accepted as a travel document to enter the British Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories:

• Gibraltar Part of EU
• Guernsey Part of Common Travel Area — no travel document required to enter from the UK. (NB: Air travellers require photo-ID for airline security purposes.)
• Isle of Man Part of Common Travel Area — no travel document required to enter from the UK. (NB: Air travellers require photo-ID for airline security purposes.)
• Jersey Part of Common Travel Area — no travel document required to enter from the UK. (NB: Air travellers require photo-ID for airline security purposes.)

All other overseas territories require a fully valid passport. The two countries closest to the UK not to accept UK ID cards, Russia and Belarus, require not only a passport but also for British citizens to obtain a visa in advance.

Controversially, some travel companies initially refused to carry passengers with UK National Identity Cards.