You may also have decided to head off to a destination abroad this summer for which you have already booked airline tickets. But problem: Your identity papers (ID card and passport) have expired. Should I cancel? Don’t panic, some countries accept expired papers. Here are some.

ID

Since January 1, 2014, the validity of adult identity cards has increased from ten to fifteen years. If your ID card was issued to you before 2013, then it is valid for fifteen years, and if it was issued to you after 2013, it is also valid, but only if it is an old model (blue plastic card). With a new model (credit card format), the identity card is only valid for 10 years.

It is theoretically possible to continue traveling in Europe with an ID card five years after its expiry date. But beware, this French law does not apply in all countries. Some have officially confirmed that they accept old obsolete identity cards (within 5 years). This applies in particular to Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Monaco, Serbia and even Italy, but also to Tunisia (only for people with dual nationality or people participating in group tours organized by a tourism professional) and the Turkey .

Other countries have not officially spoken tolerate those old maps. In the EU, this is the case with our German and Spanish neighbors, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania and Sweden. Outside the European Union, Liechtenstein, Vatican, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Morocco (only for people with dual nationality or people participating in group tours organized by a tourism professional) also tolerate the presentation of an expired ID card.

Finally, the Belgian, Norwegian and Lithuanian authorities accept old valid identity cards (blue plastic). but do not accept expired ones.

A piece of advice before booking your trip you can go to the website A list of countries applying the 2014 law is available from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

passport

When traveling with an expired passport, slightly different rules apply. A judgment of the Court of Cassation of February 2020 provides that it is possible to travel anywhere in the EU with a passport that has expired for less than five years. The European agreement allows stays of less than three months in this situation. However, the Netherlands and the French Overseas Territories have not signed this agreement, which means that it is impossible to travel there with an expired passport.

Outside the European Union, a valid biometric passport is required, ie issued for less than ten years for an adult and less than five years for a minor. Some, like Australia, Thailand, the United States or even Vietnam, Cuba, India or China, go even further and require that the passport be valid for at least six months after the date of entry or exit. For South Africa or Canada, this period is at least one month. And for Mexico or Argentina, a passport is required, which is only valid for the length of stay.