With Portugal updating its electronic identity cards to ICAO standards on June 10 2024 and Bulgaria now issuing their very first electronic identity cards on June 17 2024, all European countries (except for Denmark, which doesn't issue identity cards at all) are now issuing electronic identity cards.
Portugal and Bulgaria are the last two EU countries to implement the common model and security features for identity cards established by Regulation (EU) 1157/2019 of the European Parliament. As of the end of June 2024, all EU countries (with the exception of Denmark) issue electronic identity cards with ICAO-compliant NFC chips. Denmark, like the UK, does not issue identity cards, and thus is not included in this measure.
Differences between European Identity Cards
Both new cards are in the traditional landscape format. The Icelandic identity card is still the only identity card issued in a portrait format (at the time of publishing). Interestingly, both Portugal and Bulgaria's cards have a six-digit card access number on the lower right corner of the front side, which can be used to access the chip, just like the MRZ on the back side.
Here at Inverid, we're pleased to see the upwards trend in the number of countries issuing electronic identity documents and eagerly await future developments such as the EU Digital Identity Wallet, which will enable member states on the EU to access secure and reusable digital credentials.
ReadID can read and verify all EU electronic identity cards and over 170 different identity documents worldwide.
Sources:
Portuguese ID: https://irn.justica.gov.pt/Documentos-de-Identificacao/Cartao-de-Cidadao
Bulgarian ID: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/689215-interior-ministry-starts-issuing-new-generation-identity-cards
Published 22nd August 2024
