National identity card (Sweden)

Identity card
Issued by	Sweden
Valid in	Europe (except Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine)  Dominica (de facto)  Faroe Islands French overseas territories  Georgia  Greenland  Jordan (organised tours through Aqaba airport)  Montserrat (max 14 days)  Tunisia (organised tours)
Type of document	Identity card, optional replacement for passport for travel to territories listed above.

The front and reverse of a Swedish identity card (2012 version)

The front and reverse of a Swedish identity card (2007 version)

The front and reverse of a Swedish identity card (2005 version)

The Swedish national identity card (Swedish: nationellt id-kort) is a non-compulsory biometric identity document issued in Sweden by the Swedish Police since 1 October 2005. The card can be used for travelling to and staying in European countries (except Belarus, Russia, Turkey^[1] and Ukraine^[2]). It can also be used instead of a Swedish passport for entering Dominica (de facto), French overseas territories, Georgia, Montserrat and on organized tours to Jordan (through Aqaba Airport) and Tunisia. However, direct outbound travel from Sweden to non-EU/EFTA territories is not permitted by Swedish border guards ^[3] It is only issued to Swedish citizens.^[4]

Price, validity & application procedure

The national identity card is valid for five years and costs 400 SEK (about 46 EUR). Applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office.^[5] Only around 100,000 Swedes have obtained an official National identity card. This is because almost all Swedish adults already have another suitable identity document. A driving licence or tax authority identity card is valid within the Nordic countries, and a passport is more widely accepted internationally.

When applying, a valid Swedish identity document is needed in order to check the identity. If the applicant does not have a valid Swedish identity document, then the applicant must be accompanied in person by another that does have such a document. That person must be a near relative or an employer or municipal official who knows the applicant. There is no age limit to get a card, but people below 18 must be accompanied by their guardian (preferably both) at application. These rules are the same as for a Swedish passport (see that article).

Characteristics

The identity card is plastic and rectangular in shape, about 86 × 54 millimetres in size. On the left-hand side is a gold-plated contact chip, and on the right-hand side is the photograph of the bearer. Along the top of the card, the name Sweden is written in three languages, Swedish, English, and French (SVERIGE SWEDEN SUÈDE), below which the name of the card is available in the same three languages (Nationellt identitetskort/National identity card/Carte nationale d'identité), followed on the right by the biometric passport symbol () and the nationality of the bearer in Swedish and a country code (SVENSK/SWE).

The national identity card is equipped with a contact chip ready to function as an electronic identity card (eID) at a later date, and also a contactless RFID chip^[6] containing a digital representation of the printed data along with the photograph of the bearer.^[7]

Printed data

The descriptions of the fields are printed in Swedish and English.

• Card No.
• Personal Id. No.
• Holder's signature
• Height
• Date of birth
• Surname
• Given names
• Authority
• Date of issue
• Date of expiry

A machine readable zone is printed on the bottom of the reverse-side of the card.

Data on the RFID chip

As of 2007 the data on the RFID chip contains no biometric data. The data it contains is the following:^[7]

• The card's printed data in a digital format
• The photograph in a JPEG format
• A digital key to verify that the data contained is authentic and has not been tampered with

The contents of the RFID chip cannot be accessed without using the codes found in the machine readable zone on the back side.^[7]

Other identity cards in Sweden

Nationals of any country who are legally resident in Sweden can get certified identification cards issued by the Tax Agency or their bank. Driving licences (if approved as a driver) are issued by the Transport Agency and usable as identification cards. However, none of these documents state the holder's citizenship and – whilst valid as travel documentation in the Nordic Union – are not recognised as official immigration documents by most other authorities in the EU. There is a political principle in Sweden that foreign citizens with residence permits shall be treated equally with citizens, and should not be identified more than necessary.

See also

• National identity cards in the European Economic Area

References

1. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs website accessed 3 December 2015
2. State Border Guard of Ukraine website accessed 23 October 2016
3. https://polisen.se/Aktuellt/Nyheter/2015/Juni/Mojligt-att-resa-i-hela-EU-med-nationellt-ID-kort/
4. "Förordning (2005:661) om nationellt identitetskort". The Riksdag. 2005-09-01. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
5. "Fakta om nationellt id-kort". Signguard. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
6. Helmbrecht, Udo; Naumann, Ingo (2011). "8: Overview of European Electronic Identity Cards". In Fumy, Walter; Paeschke, Manfred. Handbook of eID Security: Concepts, Practical Experiences, Technologies. II. John Wiley & Sons. p. 109. ISBN 978-3-89578-379-1.
7. "Datachippet". Swedish Police Authority. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2010-04-02.

External links

• Apply for a Passport or National ID card (Information from the police)