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While there are similar questions here and here, the examples of those questions have stronger passports (US & Japan) that either don't require visas or will get them easily/on arrival. I possess a South African passport (which requires a visa to go to pretty much anywhere in the first world) and Greek ID.

I cannot renew my Greek passport due to lack of military conscription exemption (I do not yet qualify for exemption due to not having worked long enough abroad).

If I'd like to travel to any non-Greece member state, will I get through with just an ID if coming from outside the EU? For the sake of example, Romania.

I asked the consulate near me and was directed to this page, which seems to mostly answer "you need to enter with passport, but lacking that have some sort of document proving EU citizenship. You may still be refused". I satisfy that with a Greek ID but with the caveat I could still be refused So it's a large vague "it depends", and I'm hoping someone here will have a more concrete answer.

This question comes from distrust - I've seen frequent discrimination for South African passports during international travel, so even with "EU ID backup" I may still have issues in transit.

TheCapeGreek
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  • Is the greek ID still valid? – o.m. Jul 20 '23 at 16:49
  • @o.m. Yes. As far as I'm aware Greek IDs do not expire. At the least, I'm sure I can renew that one. – TheCapeGreek Jul 20 '23 at 17:40
  • What part of the page you linked to leads you to the conclusion "you need to enter with passport, but lacking that have some sort of document proving EU citizenship. You may still be refused"? Some contrary quotes from that page include "carrying either a valid passport or a national identity card"; "must also show a valid passport or ID card if you travel between a Schengen country and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland or Romania"; and "recommended to have the correct travel documents (passport or ID card) in your possession." – phoog Jul 20 '23 at 19:32
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    It's NOT a large vague "it depends". You can enter Romania on your Greek ID, end of story. – Crazydre Jul 20 '23 at 21:51
  • @phoog The entire section "entry refusal". While it claims it's rare, it's not impossible. I've had my share of difficult government workers, so it doesn't inspire confidence. The entire page also consistently only speaks about internal borders or specific partial member states. To me that's a general implication that I'd be fine with ID, but it does not explicitly mention international travel. The "travel to / from a country outside the EU" section speaks about travel out, and then "travel document validity" for coming in, which likely implies a passport as those have validity periods. – TheCapeGreek Jul 21 '23 at 05:11
  • @TheCapeGreek Limited validity does not imply a passport, national ID cards of many EU member states expire after 5-10 years. Greece might actually be an exception. – TooTea Jul 21 '23 at 07:23
  • @TheCapeGreek aha, thank you for explaining; I see why you were concerned. Note that the page actually says "very rare." "Public safety" is very narrowly construed; past convictions even for very serious crimes are not by themselves sufficient to trigger this; there must be an individualized assessment showing an actual threat to public safety ("a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat"), though generalized restrictions can be imposed for public health as we have seen with COVID-19. Also note that this possibility exists whether you use a passport or ID card; there's no difference. – phoog Jul 21 '23 at 08:56
  • So the idea here is that EU countries continue to be able to exclude nationals of other EU countries from their territory if they are dangerous criminals or carrying a dangerous contagious disease. The "public policy" part is perhaps more vague, but also must be based on individual conduct. Here's an article discussing some of these considerations in light of France's expulsion of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens: http://ceemr.uw.edu.pl/vol-4-no-2-december-2015/articles/expulsion-european-union-citizens-host-member-state-legal-grounds In short, very few people need to worry about this. – phoog Jul 21 '23 at 09:10
  • @TheCapeGreek The Greek ID card is now valid for only 10 years in line with EU regulations, you may want to check if that applies to yours – Nicolas Formichella Jul 21 '23 at 11:56
  • @NicolasFormichella Thanks - recently received that news from my family too. That I should be able to sort out much sooner than a passport. – TheCapeGreek Jul 22 '23 at 08:04
  • @phoog Thank you for the clarifications! This puts me more at ease. I suppose I will also just check with the airline as well on what their policy is. – TheCapeGreek Jul 22 '23 at 08:04
  • @TheCapeGreek do you have Greek citizenship or just resident status? If you have Greek citizenship you are an EU citizen and can travel anywhere in the UE + EEA + CH with just the Greek ID, your SA passport is not needed at all. – CMircea Jul 22 '23 at 09:21
  • @CMircea Yes I am a citizen. The crux of this question is on the requirements when coming from outside the EU as transits can be stringent, and most explanation pages explain the freedom of travel right as an EU-internal-travel thing. – TheCapeGreek Jul 23 '23 at 10:17
  • @TheCapeGreek the only requirements to worry about are any non-EU countries you are transiting. When entering any EU country, regardless from where you are coming, show your Greek ID. In your example, travelling to Romania from Greece, you do not need a passport at all, just use your Greek ID. – CMircea Jul 23 '23 at 18:01
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    @CMircea Perhaps my example was misworded - I am definitely not travelling internally in the EU here.

    Yes, the only thing left here is sorting out transiting countries. I suppose a direct flight with e.g. KLM would work to get direct EU entry. I've also sent some queries out to other airlines to see what their policies are. Emirates sort of said it's fine. Doesn't inspire much confidence, but there are definitely options.

     – TheCapeGreek Jul 24 '23 at 19:08

1 Answers1

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Greek ID

You can enter any EU/EEA (or Switzerland) with a EU ID card

EU states :

As an EU national, you have the right to travel freely in the 27 EU member countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (non-EU countries but members of the Schengen area) carrying either a valid passport or a national identity card (ID).

What you may encounter is the departure/transit country requiring a passport to allow you to leave, in this case, show both at the airline desk and the passport at exit immigration

Nicolas Formichella
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  • Thank you. Airline & Transit airport checks are also a concern here, I'll have to check with them what their policies are. – TheCapeGreek Jul 21 '23 at 05:13
  • Just present both SA passport and Greek ID @TheCapeGreek, if you have correctly declared your dual citizenship to SA, you'll have no issues – Nicolas Formichella Jul 21 '23 at 05:22