European passport
Encyclopedia
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
itself does not issue passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s, but the passports issued by its 27 member states share certain design features. These include the burgundy coloured cover, the use of the words "European Union" (before 1997: "European Community") in the country's official language(s) on the cover, as well as common security features and biometrics
Biometric passport
A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport or ePassport, is a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travelers...
.
Some EU states
Member State of the European Union
A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
also issue non-EU passports to certain people who have a nationality which does not render them citizens of the European Union (e.g., British Overseas Territories Citizen
British Overseas Territories citizen
The status of British Overseas Territories citizen relates to persons holding British nationality by virtue of a connection with a British Overseas Territory.-British Nationality Act 1981:...
s except those with a connection to Gibraltar
Gibraltar passport
The Gibraltar passport is a British passport issued to Gibraltarians and other British residents in Gibraltar.As a result of the British Nationality Act 1981 Gibraltarians were British Overseas Territories citizens by default, but could apply for registration as a British Citizen under section 5...
, British Nationals (Overseas)
British National (Overseas)
British National , commonly known as BN, is one of the major classes of British nationality under British nationality law. Holders of this nationality are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British Citizens...
, British Overseas Citizen
British Overseas citizen
In British nationality law, the status of British Overseas citizen is one of several categories of British national. A British Overseas citizen does not have an automatic right to live in the United Kingdom.-British Nationality Act 1981:...
s, British Protected Person
British protected person
A British protected person is a member of class of certain persons under the British Nationality Act 1981 associated with former protected states, protectorates, mandated and trust territories under British control...
s and British Subjects). Although the European Union does not issue its own passports, it does issue European Union Laissez-Passer
European Union Laissez-Passer
A European Union Laissez-Passer is a travel document issued to civil servants and members of the Institutions of the European Union. It is proof of privileges and immunities the holders enjoy. The document is valid in all countries of the European Union as well as in over 100 other countries...
s to the members and certain civil servants of its institutions.
Common design features
Since the 1980s, European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
member states have started to harmonise
Harmonisation of law
Harmonisation of law comes from the root word harmonise which under the OED means “make or form a pleasing or consistent whole”. In the case of harmonisation of law, the aim is to make a consistent whole of law...
the following aspects of the designs of their passports:
Overall format
- Paper sizePaper sizeMany paper size standards conventions have existed at different times and in different countries. Today there is one widespread international ISO standard and a localised standard used in North America . The paper sizes affect writing paper, stationery, cards, and some printed documents...
B7ISO 216ISO 216 specifies international standard paper sizes used in most countries in the world today. It defines the "A" and "B" series of paper sizes, including A4, the most commonly available size...
(ISO/IEC 7810 ID-3, 88 mm × 125 mm) - 32 pages (passports with more pages can be issued to frequent travellers)
- Colour of cover: burgundy red
Cover
Information on the cover, in this order, in the language(s) of the issuing state:- The words "EUROPEAN UNION" (before 1997: "EUROPEAN COMMUNITY")
- Name of the issuing state (similar typeface as "EUROPEAN UNION")
- Emblem of the state
- The word "PASSPORT"
First page
Information on the first page, in one or more of the languages of the European UnionLanguages of the European Union
The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others...
:
- The words "EUROPEAN UNION"
- Name of the issuing state (similar typeface to that of "European Union")
- The word "PASSPORT"
- Serial number (may also be repeated on the other pages)
Identification page
Information on the (possibly laminated) identification page, in the languages of the issuing state plus English and French, accompanied by numbers that refer to an index that lists the meaning of these fields in all official EU languages:| 1. Surname | 2. Forename(s) |
| 3. Nationality | 4. Date of birth |
| 5. Sex | 6. Place of birth Place of birth The place of birth is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. The place of birth is not necessarily the place where the parents of the new baby live. If the baby is born in a hospital in... |
| 7. Date of issue | 8. Date of expiry |
| 9. Authority | 10. Signature of holder |
Following page
Optional information on the following page:| 11. Residence Home A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either... |
12. Height Human height Human height is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body standing erect.When populations share genetic background and environmental factors, average height is frequently characteristic within the group... |
| 13. Colour of eyes Eye color Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic character and is determined by two distinct factors: the pigmentation of the eye's iris and the frequency-dependence of the scattering of light by the turbid medium in the stroma of the iris.... |
14. Extension Extension (semantics) In any of several studies that treat the use of signs - for example, in linguistics, logic, mathematics, semantics, and semiotics - the extension of a concept, idea, or sign consists of the things to which it applies, in contrast with its comprehension or intension, which consists very roughly of... of the passport |
| 15. Name at birth Name at birth The name at birth is the name a child is given by his or her parents, according to a generally universal custom, and legal requirement. What happens subsequently about this name has a substantial cultural component.... (if now using married name or have legally changed names) |
Remaining pages
- The following page is reserved for:
- Details concerning the spouse of the holder of the passport (where a family passport is issued)
- Details concerning children accompanying the holder (name, first name, date of birth, sex)
- Photographs of the faces of spouse and children
- The following page is reserved for use by the issuing authorities
- The following page carries the index that translates the field numbers into the official languages of the EU
- The remaining pages are reserved for visaVisa (document)A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
- The inside back cover is reserved for additional information or recommendations by the issuing state in its own official language(s)
Issues related to the European Passport
- The Council of the European UnionCouncil of the European UnionThe Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
: PRADO - Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents OnlinePRADO - Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents OnlineThe Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents Online "PRADO" is a website with information on security features of identity documents of countries within the European Union and the EEA. It is hosted by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union .- Content :PRADO contains... - FADOFADO-FADO - False and Authentic Documents Online:A computerised image-archiving system to help combat illegal immigration and organised crime- ACT : adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union concerning the setting up of a European Image-Archiving System .-...
- Budapest Declaration on Machine Readable Travel DocumentsBudapest Declaration on Machine Readable Travel DocumentsThe Budapest Declaration on Machine Readable Travel Documents is a declaration issued by the Future of Identity in the Information Society , a Network of Excellence, to raise the concern to the public to the risks associated by a security architecture related to the management of Machine Readable...