Greek Citizens Queue Overnight for Passports as Old IDs Expire for Travel

A rush for passports has gripped Greece as the deadline looms for phasing out old-style identity cards for international travel. Starting August 3, 2026, the familiar blue plastic ID cards will be invalid for travel outside Greece, even within the Schengen Zone, necessitating either a new ID or a valid passport.

This impending change has triggered a significant mobilization of citizens eager to obtain new travel documents. In Thessaloniki, scenes reminiscent of a campsite unfolded outside the Toumba passport office, with people queuing from Saturday night, armed with chairs and blankets. A handwritten list of names was created by citizens themselves to maintain order in the long wait.

The demand has overwhelmed passport services. The Toumba office, typically handling around 80 applications daily, has seen this number surge to over 250 per day in the past month. Wait times now extend to three to four hours, prompting police services to advise citizens to arrive as early as possible.

While the old IDs remain valid for domestic transactions, including at banks and public services, their exclusion from international travel has created a bottleneck. An extended deadline of September 25, 2027, exists for using the old cards in specific remote electronic identification processes for trust services. The process for obtaining a new ID involves an electronic appointment, with photos taken either at the police station or submitted digitally via a certified photographer.