Passports of the European Union

With a valid passport, EU citizens are entitled to exercise the right of free movement (meaning they do not need a visa, a certain amount of money or a certain reason to travel freely and no residence permit for settling) in the European Economic Area (European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), Switzerland and, before 31 December 2020 in the United Kingdom.[4]

The passports of EU citizens are not stamped when entering and leaving the Schengen Area.[5][6]

When going through border controls to enter an aforementioned country, citizens possessing valid biometric passports are sometimes able to use automated gates instead of immigration counters. For example, when entering the United Kingdom, at major airports, holders of EU biometric passports who are twelve years of age or older can use ePassport gates, whilst all other EU citizens (such as those using a national identity card or a non-biometric passport) and some non-EEA citizens must use an immigration counter. Anyone travelling with children under the age of 12 must also use an immigration counter.[7]

As an alternative to holding a passport, EU citizens can also use a valid national identity card to exercise their right of free movement within the EEA, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (until 1st October 2021 for visitors from the EU).[8] Strictly speaking, it is not necessary for an EU citizen to possess a valid passport or national identity card to enter the EEA or Switzerland. In theory, if an EU citizen outside of both the EEA and Switzerland can prove their nationality by any other means (e.g. by presenting an expired passport or national identity card, or a citizenship certificate), they must be permitted to enter the EEA or Switzerland. An EU 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.[9][10][11][12]

While considerable progress has been made in harmonising some features, the data page can be found at the front or at the back of an EU passport booklet and there are significant design differences throughout to indicate which member state is the issuer.[note 1]

Since the 1980s, European Union member states have started to harmonise aspects of the designs of their ordinary passport booklets.[1] Most passports issued by EU member states have the common recommended layout: burgundy in colour with the words "European Union" accompanied by the name of the issuing member state printed on the cover.[13] Non-standard types of passports, such as passport cards (Ireland is still the only EU country to issue a passport in card format), diplomatic, service, and emergency passports have not yet been harmonised.

The newest EU member state Croatia refused to fully comply with the EU common recommended layout even though the Croatian passport has been changed in design due to the recent accession into the EU. From 3 August 2015, the new Croatian passport retained its dark blue passport cover and is the odd one out among the 27 European Union member states' passports.[14]

The common design features are a result of several non-binding resolutions:

• Resolution of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Communities, meeting within the Council of 23 June 1981
• Supplementary Resolution to the Resolution adopted on 23 June 1981 concerning the adoption of a passport of uniform pattern, of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Communities, meeting within the council on 30 June 1982
• Resolution of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the council, of 14 July 1986 supplementary to the resolutions of 23 June 1981 and 30 June 1982 concerning the introduction of a passport of uniform pattern
• Resolution of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 10 July 1995 supplementary to the resolutions of 23 June 1981, 30 June 1982 and 14 July 1986 concerning the introduction of a passport of uniform pattern  
• Resolution of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 8 June 2004 supplementary to the resolutions of 23 June 1981, 30 June 1982, 14 July 1986 and 10 July 1995 concerning the introduction of a passport of uniform pattern

The security characteristics in EU passports are regulated through both non-binding resolutions and binding regulations:

• Resolution of the representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 17 October 2000 supplementing the resolutions of 23 June 1981, 30 June 1982, 14 July 1986 and 10 July 1995 as regards the security characteristics of passports and other travel documents
• Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States
• Regulation (EC) No 444/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2009 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States

Only Irish passports are not obliged by EU law to contain fingerprint information in their chip. With the exception of passports issued by Denmark and Ireland, all EU citizens applying for a new ordinary passport or passport renewal by 28 August 2006 (for facial images) and 28 June 2009 (for fingerprints) should have been biometrically enrolled. This is a consequence of Regulation (EC) 2252/2004 in combination with two follow-up decisions by the European Commission.[15]

EU law requires member states to take two fingerprints, except for children under twelve years old or individuals with a physical or mental impairment.[16]

Visa requirements for European Union citizens

As of 7 April 2023, passport rankings (Germany, Italy and Spain tied with most in the EU, and Japan in the world with 193 destinations) by the number of countries and territories their holders could visit without a visa or by obtaining visa on arrival in April 2023 were as follows:[64]

For comparison, those for some other countries, including EEA and former EU (UK):

Decision 96/409/CSFP of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 25 June 1996 on the establishment of an emergency travel document[65] decided that there would be a standard emergency travel document (ETD).

ETDs are issued to European Union citizens for a single journey back to the EU country of which they are a national, to their country of permanent residence or, in exceptional cases, to another destination (inside or outside the Union). The decision does not apply to expired national passports; it is specifically restricted to cases where valid and unexpired passports have been lost, stolen, destroyed, or are temporarily unavailable (i.e. left somewhere else by accident).

Embassies and consulates of EU countries different to the applicant may issue emergency travel documents if

1. the applicant is an EU national whose passport or travel document has been lost, stolen, destroyed, or is temporarily unavailable;
2. the applicant is in a country in which the EU country of which they are a national has no accessible diplomatic or consular representation able to issue a travel document or in which the EU country in question is not otherwise represented;
3. clearance from the authorities of the applicant's country of origin has been obtained.

As a consequence of citizenship of the European Union, when in a non-EU country, EU citizens whose country maintains no diplomatic mission there have the right to consular protection and assistance from a diplomatic mission of any other EU country present in the non-EU country.

Like passports issued by EU member states, passports of other EEA states – Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway – as well as of Switzerland, can also be used to exercise the right of free movement within the European Economic Area and Switzerland.[4]

As part of the Schengen agreement, passports and travel documents issued by member states shall comply with minimum security standards, and passports must incorporate a storage medium (a chip) that contains the holder's facial image and fingerprints. This obligation does not apply to identity cards or to temporary passports and travel documents with a validity of one year or less. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein are bound by the rules (whereas Ireland is not), as Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and Iceland and Norway, the agreement concluded by the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation, and the Protocol signed between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation, concerning the association of the four States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis .[2][66]

• Visa requirements for European Union citizens
• Citizenship of the European Union
• National identity cards in the European Economic Area
• Passports in Europe
• Passports of the EFTA member states
• Passports of European Union candidate states
• Five Nations Passport Group
• Visa policy in the European Union
• Schengen Area
• European Union laissez-passer
• Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents Online
• False and Authentic Documents Online (FADO)
• Estonian alien's passport
• Non-citizens (Latvia)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to European passports.

• European Passports in PRADO (The Council of the European Union Public Register of Authentic Travel and Identity Documents Online)
• The three key ways to acquire a European Union passport