Ireland unveils credit card-style passports for EU travel

Posted January 25, 2015 10:00 pm

The Associated Press

DUBLIN (AP) - Ireland is launching a new plastic passport for travel in Europe - and Irish citizens can provide their own selfies as the ID photo.

The credit card-style passports make their debut in July and, according to Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan, can be used to travel throughout the 28-nation European Union as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

The cards are similar to the passport cards that U.S. residents have used since 2008 to travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but those IDs work only for land and sea links, not air travel.

Applying by smartphone app, Irish citizens will be able to submit their own mug shot taken by the same phone. Security features include turning that photo into an embedded holographic image.

___

Online:

Government announcement: http://bit.ly/1CrDAuW

Article Comments

Article Categories
Lifestyle Travel

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.