ID card rules relaxed, passport needed for non-EU travel

The official Dutch ID card will soon no longer be a legal alternative to a passport for travel to countries outside the EU, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday.


The paper says home affairs minister Piet Hein Donner is planning to reduce the amount of information people have to supply to get a card, thereby reducing its use for formal identification.
The move follows concerns in parliament about the way the state stores personal information, the paper says
The government has also been forced to drop the development of a national fingerprint register – based on fingerprints supplied for passports – because of privacy concerns.
Once the ID rules are changed, travellers will need an actual passport to visit Switzerland, Turkey and other non-EU member states, as well as those further afield.

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