User:BushelCandle/sandbox/National identity cards in the European Economic Area
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National identity cards are available for issue to all their citizens above a certain age from the governments of all European Economic Area (EEA) member states except Denmark, Ireland[1] Norway and the United Kingdom. (Gibraltar residents can be issued a biometric identity card and Norway has decided to start issuing such cards from 2017).
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These national identity cards have considerable domestic utility in the surveillance of criminals and detection and prevention of crimes such as identity fraud, and under age drinking. For adults who do not have a driving licence they are particularly useful since other definitive state-issued identity documentation such as passports are usually both cumbersome to carry and considerably more expensive. EEA ID cards are often accepted in other parts of the world for similar unofficial identification purposes and sometimes also for official purposes such as proof of identity and nationality.
Although Switzerland is not formally part of the EEA, citizens holding an EEA or Swiss national identity card that states they have EEA or Swiss citizenship, can not only use it as an identity document within their home country, but also as a travel document to exercise the right of free movement in the EEA and Switzerland.[2] Identity cards that do not state EEA or Swiss citizenship, including national identity cards issued to residents who are not citizens, are not valid as a travel document within the EEA and Switzerland[citation needed].