Issued by France Purpose Identification | Type of document Passport Eligibility requirements French citizenship | |
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Date first issued 12 April 2006 (biometric passport)
28 October 2008 (current version) Expiration 5 years after issuance for citizens under the age of 18; 10 years for adults | ||
French passport (in French: Passeport français) is an identity document issued to French citizens. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indication of French citizenship (but not proof; the possession of a French passport only establishes the presumption of French citizenship according to French law), the passport facilitates the process of securing assistance from French consular officials abroad or other European Union member states in case a French consular is absent, if needed.
Contents
According to the 2014 Visa Restrictions Index, French citizens can visit 172 countries without a visa or with a visa granted on arrival. French citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.
Every French citizen is also a citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union and European Economic Area.
History
History of French passport can be traced to 19th century documents.
Passports are valid for 10 years for applicants aged 18 or over and 5 years for applicants under the age of 18. Optical passports (older) have no sign under the word "Passeport" on the front page. Electronic passport contains an embedded chip and have the chip logo under the word "Passeport". Biometric passeports are the most recent ones and are decorated as the electronic passports but the word "Passeport" is underligned. The 3 types of passport are shown above.
Front cover
Unlike those from most other EU countries which are burgundy, ordinary passports have a Bordeaux-red front cover, with the national emblem of France emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The word "PASSEPORT" (Passport) is inscribed below the coat of arms and "Union européenne" (European Union), "République française" (French Republic) above. The “e-passport” cover has a microchip symbol at the bottom. On the biometric variant of e-passports, the word "PASSEPORT" is underlined. French passports use the standard EU design, with the standard passport containing 32 pages.
The biodata page includes the following data:
The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone starting with P<FRA.
Languages
The data page is printed in French and English with translation of the fields on the bearer's page in the other languages of the European Union elsewhere in the document.
Visa free travel
Visa requirements for French citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of France. In 2014, French citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 172 countries and territories, ranking the French passport 3rd in the world according to the Visa Restricitions Index.