A French passport (french: Passeport français) is an identity document issued to French citizens. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of French citizenship (but not proof; the possession of a French passport only establishes the presumption of French citizenship according to French law), the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from French consular officials abroad or other
European Union member states in case a French consular is absent, if needed.
Every French citizen is also a
citizen of the European Union
European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...
. The
passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
, along with the
national identity card
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
allows for rights of free movement and residence in any of the states of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
,
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
History
The history of the French passport can be traced to documents issued in the 19th century.
Types
Passports are valid for 10 years for applicants aged 18 or over and 5 years for applicants under the age of 18. Optical passports (older) have no sign under the word "Passeport" on the front page. Electronic passport contains an embedded chip and has the chip logo under the word "Passeport". Biometric passeports are the most recent ones and are decorated as the electronic passports but the word "Passeport" is underlined.
Physical appearance
Front cover
Unlike those from most other EU countries which are burgundy, ordinary passports have a Bordeaux-red front cover, with the
diplomatic emblem of France
The diplomatic emblem of France is an unofficial emblem that was adopted in 1913 by the French Foreign Ministry as a symbol for use by French diplomatic missions and consular posts abroad. It was based on an earlier design by the sculptor Jules-Cl ...
emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The word "PASSEPORT" (Passport) is inscribed below the emblem and "Union européenne" (European Union), "République française" (French Republic) above. The "e-passport" cover has a microchip symbol at the bottom. On the biometric variant of e-passports, the word "PASSEPORT" is underlined. French passports use the standard
EU design, with the standard passport containing 32 pages.
Identity information page
File:Passid.jpg, Biodata page of a French non-biometric passport
File:FRpass3.jpg, First page of a French non-biometric passport
The biodata page includes the following data:
* Photo of Passport Holder
* Type (P)
* Code (FRA)
* Passport No.
* Surname
* Given Names
* Nationality (Française)
* Date of Birth
* Sex M
* Place of Birth FRANCE
* Date of Issue
* Date of Expiry
* Authority
* Holder's Signature
* Height
* Colour of Eyes
* Residence Page 36
The information page ends with the
Machine Readable Zone
A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s.
Mos ...
starting with P
Languages
The data page is printed in French and English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
with translation of the fields on the bearer's page in the other languages of the European Union
The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which threeEnglish, French and Germanhave the higher status of "procedural" languages of the European Commission (whereas the European Parliament accepts all official languages as working la ...
elsewhere in the document.
Visa free travel
Visa requirements for French citizen
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of '' jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and '' jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ...
s are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. As of 21 September 2022, French citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 187 countries and territories, ranking the French passport 6th in the world in terms of travel freedom (tied with the passports of Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, and the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
) according to the Henley Passport Index
The Henley Passport Index (abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions ...
.
French citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.Treaty on the Function of the European Union
(consolidated version)
See also
* Passports of the European Union
The European Union itself does not issue ordinary passports, but ordinary passport booklets issued by its 27 member states share a common format.
This common format features a coloured cover (for which burgundy is compulsor all countries exce ...
* Visa policy of the Schengen Area
The visa policy of the Schengen Area is an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union. It applies to the Schengen Area and to other EU member states except Visa policy of Ireland, Ireland. The v ...
* Visa requirements for French citizens
Travel requirements for French nationality law, French citizens are public health and administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of France.
As of January 2022, French citizens had visa-free or visa o ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Passport
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Government of France
European Union passports