The Greek identity Card ( el, Δελτίο αστυνομικής ταυτότητας, "police-issued identification card") is an official document of the

Hellenic Republic Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and the official national identification document for Greek citizens. The

Hellenic Police The Hellenic Police ( el, Ελληνική Αστυνομία, ''Ellinikí Astynomía'', abbreviated ) is the national police service and one of the three security forces of the Hellenic Republic. It is a large agency with responsibilities ra ...

is the issuing authority, and possession of this document is mandatory for all Greek citizens 12 years of age and older. Citizens are always required to carry an identification document (namely a national identification card, a passport or a driving licence) and produce it upon request; failing to do so may result in the citizen's identification at the nearest police station. A

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 ...

is considered of equal value to the ID card, when certifying one's identity. The ID card is a valid international travel document in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(except

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

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 ...

), to French overseas territories, Georgia and Turkey, and Montserrat (for 14 days in transit to a third country). Moreover, it is also used to identify a person of citizens in local and EU elections. ID cards are valid for 15 years and the bearer's name is also typed in

Latin characters The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Ital ...

since 2000. Older ID cards, written in Greek characters only, were still valid and of equal value after 2000, provided that less than 20 years have passed since the issue date. Military staff, as well as personnel of the police, fire brigade, coast guard, and intelligence services, carry special IDs issued by their sector, which is valid until retirement or conclusion of their services. This document is issued instead of the standard police-issued identity card, and can also be used as a travel document.

Description

The front side includes areas bearing the holder's signature, a black and white photograph of specific standards, the

blood type A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrate ...

(optional) and rhesus factor, as well as data of the identity card (number, place and date of issue, issuing authority). The back side includes the surname, first name and the name of the legal ascendant(s) of the identity card holder with Greek and Latin characters, as well as date and place of birth, height, the municipality in which the holder is registered and the authority issuing the identity card. Before 2005 the ID card was mandatory for citizens over 14 years of age, and included data which were removed after 2005 due to privacy concerns or because they are no longer considered necessary for the purpose of identification of the person: * Profession * Religion * Address * Name of spouse * Shape of head * The index fingerprint of the right hand * Eye and hair color * Citizenship

Technical characteristics

The Greek identity card is made of laminated paper, measuring . As a means of preventing counterfeiting, the paper on which it is printed bears a

watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...

security thread A security thread is a security feature of many banknotes to protect against counterfeiting, consisting of a thin ribbon that is threaded through the note's paper. Usually, the ribbon runs vertically, and is "woven" into the paper, so that it a ...

and fluorescent overprint elements, but otherwise lacks security features (i.e. micro-chips, holograms) found in IDs of other countries.

New eID

Since 2010, Police Staff, Special Guards and Border Guards have high-security identity cards, that meet international standards. There had been unofficial talks of switching to a new ID type, one that could possibly bear the holder's social security number, a biometric photograph and other security features, sized down to that of a

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

. After the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

, the Greek Ministry of Interior is now considering switching to the new ID type. On March 11, 2016 the Greek Ministry of Interior established a commission to create a plan for the new ID cards. Technical plans and draft legislation were prepared by June 2016. Based on reports the legislation will be enacted in 2017 followed by an open tendering process. Issuance of the new ID card will start in 2019. Now, in 2021, the government is running a competition to choose who will issue the new e-IDs On 23 July 2017 the alternate Minister of Interior stated in an interview that an amendment has been filed with the Greek Parliament in order to amend the format with a ministerial decision. Pursuant to Article 158, Law 4483/2017 the Minister of Interior was given the authority to add data of the holder that were not defined in law and to set any necessary detail regarding ID cards. On 30 April 2018 a ministerial decision was published in the Greek Government Gazette. This decision set out the relevant procedures regarding issuance and the design of the new ID cards. Issuance is expected to start in the first semester of 2019. A process has been set out in order to change old ID cards in a 5 year period based on the holder's surname. A tender process was started on 18 April 2019 to select a company that will create the new Greek ID cards and other secure documents, as part of the Integrated Information System for Security Documents(IISSD).

Removal of religion

On May 8, 2000 in an interview published in newspaper ''Eleftherotypia'', Minister of Justice Michael Stathopoulos announced that the mandatory inclusion of religion on identity cards was contrary to law 2472/1997 for the protection of personal data. The

Church of Greece The Church of Greece ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Its ...

immediately objected to the removal of religion from identity cards, organizing rallies, among which a rally in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

on 14 June, in the presence of Archbishop Christodoulos. The Public Order Minister announced on 17 July that religion be removed from the new identities. On September 24, 2000 the church began collecting signatures in the parishes, seeking a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. The petition was completed in April 2001, gathering more than 3 million signatures. On August 29, 2001 Archbishop delivered to the

President of the Hellenic Republic The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

Konstantinos Stephanopoulos Konstantinos "Kostis" Stephanopoulos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος (Κωστής) Στεφανόπουλος, 15 August 1926 – 20 November 2016) was a Greek conservative politician who served two consecutive terms as the president of Gree ...

the signatures, but the president refused to receive them saying that "everybody has an obligation to comply with the laws of the State". The

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

decided that the mandatory indication of religious affiliation on identity cards is not legal, while the Data Protection Authority also opposed to the optional reference to religion by adding the letters "XO" (Christian Orthodox - ''Χριστιανός Ορθόδοξος'') following the signature of the bearer. The legality of collecting signatures was also questioned by the Minister of Justice Michael Stathopoulos.news.in.gr
without authority and outside legality of the petition says M. Stathopoulos

Sources

* The first version of this article is based in :el:Δελτίο αστυνομικής ταυτότητας (Ελλάδα), contributed under CC-BY-SA.
Greek Police - Identity Card Version
''(In Greek)''

References

{{identity cards