Old-style Greek identity cards no longer valid for international travel

As of August 3, 2026, old-style Greek identity cards are no longer accepted as valid travel documents, including for trips within the Schengen Area. These documents fail to meet modern security standards and lack the machine-readable zone required by European regulations. Consequently, citizens planning to travel abroad must now possess either the new-type identity card or a valid Greek passport. Old-style cards remain valid only for identification purposes within Greece.

To manage the surge in demand for the new IDs, the Ministry of Citizen Protection has increased the number of available appointments and extended the operating hours of issuance offices. Official ministry data indicates that since July 4, the availability of electronic appointments has increased by 28%, and the average processing time per citizen has been reduced from 22 to 14 minutes. By July 31, 2026, over 4.15 million new-style identity cards had been issued to the public.