French passport

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French passport
The front cover of a contemporary French biometric passport
The front cover of a contemporary French biometric passport
The data page of a contemporary French biometric passport
The data page of a contemporary French biometric passport
Date first issued April 12, 2006 (biometric passport)
October 28, 2008 (current version)
Issued by  France
Type of document Passport
Purpose Identification
Eligibility requirements French citizenship
Expiration 5 years after issuance for citizens under the age of 18; 10 years for adults

French passports (in French: Passeports français) are issued to French citizens for the purpose of international travel. Besides 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), they facilitate the process of securing assistance from French consular officials abroad or other EU member states in case a French consular is absent, if needed.

French citizens can visit 168 countries without a visa or with a visa granted on arrival. French citizens can live and work in any country within the European Union as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.[1]

Types

Passports are valid for 10 years for applicants aged 18 or over and 5 years for applicants under the age of 18.

Physical appearance

Front cover

Ordinary passports have a Bordeaux-red front cover, (unlike those from most other EU countries which are burgundy) with the French Coat of arms emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The word "PASSEPORT" (English: Passport) is inscribed below the coat of arms and "Union européenne" (English: European Union), "République française" (English: French Republic) above. The “e-passport” cover has a microchip symbol at the bottom. On biometric variant of e-passports, the word "PASSEPORT" is underlined. French passports use the standard EU design, with the standard passport containing 32 pages.

Identity information page

Cover of a French biometric diplomatic passport
Cover of a French biometric diplomatic passport
Cover of a French non-biometric passport
Biodata page of a French non-biometric passport
Biodata page of a French biometric diplomatic passport
First page of a French non-biometric passport

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 English and French with translation of the fields on the bearer's page in the other languages of the European Union elsewhere in the document.

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Treaty on the Function of the European Union (consolidated version)