The Portuguese identity card (, CC) (), is an

identity document An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

issued by the

Government of Portugal A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

to its citizens. The card replaces several previous documents, including the ''Bilhete de Identidade'' (BI; Identity Card), Social Security card, National Health Service card, Taxpayer card and voter registration card, in one secure card. The Citizen Card was first issued in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

in mid-2006. However, BIs continued to be issued in some cases. It is mandatory to have a card from twenty days after birth. The Citizen card is also a valid

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...

within all of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in some cases, and except

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

as well as

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

French overseas territories Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the European ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

(max 14 days) and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. However, to enter

a visa is required through the e-visa system or upon arrival (passport photo is required on the arrival). In March 2024, it was announced that the new EU and ICAO compliant biometric ID cards (

Regulation (EU) A regulation is a legal act of the European Union which becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into nation ...

2019/1157), with contactless capability, were to be issued starting on 10 June 2024. In June 2024, the Portuguese government started issuing the biometric identity card to its citizens.

History

The main reason to introduce the new card was to reduce the number of separate documents required by citizens in dealings with the various institutions of the state. The CC is a

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

with a data storage chip capable of storing encrypted personal data. According to the Portuguese government, this device guarantees its privacy: for example, stored medical information cannot be accessed by officials with access to the financial database of the citizen, to prevent abuse of power in obtaining data and protecting citizens' privacy. Another problem with the ''Bilhete de Identidade'' was that it was widely counterfeited. In addition to introducing the newer, more secure, CC, from 2008 identity documents could no longer be issued by Portuguese consulates as previously; identity documents could only be issued in Lisbon (although applied for elsewhere).

Appearance

The card is of similar size and appearance to a credit card. It contains a variety of information about the card holder. The front of the card * Card holder's photo * Surname(s) * Given Name(s) *

Sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...

* Height *

Nationality Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, n ...

* Date of Birth * Civil Identification Number * Document number * Expiry Date * Card holder's signature The back of the card *

Filiation Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec: Filiation is the relationship ...

* Tax number * Social Security number * National Health Service number * Optical reading area On the chip * Digital certificates (card's authentication and electronic signature) * Same data as the optical reading area but in digital format * Address and other information (the system is expandable)

Holders in Macau

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, formerly a Portuguese colony, still has over 168,000 residents with Portuguese citizenship cards, which give them the same rights as people living in mainland Portugal. This means that holders in Macau can travel and work freely in the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

and benefit from social welfare in Portugal. Portuguese nationality can be inherited, which is why the number of Portuguese citizens in Macau has not seen a significant decline since the transfer of sovereignty. This is in contrast to the U.K.'s

British National (Overseas) passport The British National (Overseas) passport, commonly referred to as the BN(O) passport, is a British passport for people with British National (Overseas) status. BN(O) status was created in 1987 after the enactment of Hong Kong Act 1985, whose ...

for Hong Kong residents, which offers limited rights and does not grant residency in the

. While Portugal's constitution avoids making distinctions between its citizens, U.K. law permits such classifications. Macau residents with Portuguese nationality often retain it primarily because the

Portuguese passport A Portuguese passport () is an identity document issued to citizens of Portugal for the purpose of international travel. The passport, along with the Citizen Card (Portugal), Citizen Card allows for free rights of movement and residence in any ...

allows visa-free travel to over 191 countries or regions. In contrast, the

Macau Special Administrative Region passport The Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China passport (; ) is a passport issued to Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macau. In accordance with Macau Basic ...

grants visa-free access to only 144 countries or regions. Holders in Macau can renew their citizenship cards at the

Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a h ...

, which is centrally located on the

Macau Peninsula The Macau Peninsula is the historical and most populous part of Macau. It has an area of () and is geographically connected to Guangdong Province at the northeast through an isthmus wide. The peninsula, together with downtown Zhuhai, sits on ...

. For these cardholders, the Tax No., Social Security No., and Health number have a cross (X) marked on the back of the card if they have never obtained those number.

Issuance to Brazilian nationals

Since the conclusion of the Equality Statute between Brazil and Portugal (''Estatuto da Igualdade entre Brasil e Portugal'') between the two nations at

Porto Seguro Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...

on 21 April 2001, Portuguese and Brazilian citizens are considered to have identical rights and privileges across both countries. Accordingly, a Brazilian national may apply for and be issued Citizen Card in the same style as would be issued to a Portuguese national, except that the "Nacionalidade" (nationality) field shows "BRA" to indicate the bearer's Brazilian citizenship, and the back of the card carries the supplementary remark "CIDADÃO BRASILEIRO AO ABRIGO DO TRATADO DE PORTO SEGURO - BRAZILIAN CITIZEN UNDER PORTO SEGURO AGREEMENT". Additionally, because

Brazilian citizenship Brazilian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Brazil. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the 1988 Constitution of Brazil, which came into force on 5 October 1988. With few exceptions, alm ...

alone is not sufficient to allow a person to make use of the

's provisions for the freedom of personal movement, these Citizen Cards are marked "NÃO SERVE DE DOCUMENTO DE VIAGEM / NOT VALID AS A TRAVEL DOCUMENT", instead of the

machine-readable zone A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s. Most ...

that would be found on a Portuguese citizen's card.Document: PRT-BO-03001

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

PRADO database

References

External links

Official government page for the Citizen Card
(in Portuguese) {{Macau and Macau-related Identity and Travel Documents Government of Portugal

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...