From the August 3, 2026 Those who still have the old paper identity card will no longer be able to use it to travel beyond Italian borders: only you can use the Electronic Identity Card (Heaven) or the passport. This is established by the European Regulation 1157/2019, which imposes higher safety standards for identity documents in the European Union. This means that even if your paper in paper format has not yet expired, it will no longer have value as a valid document for expatriation.
The novelty is not dictated by a simple bureaucratic “whim”, but from Concrete security reasons and from an international harmonization of recognition systems. The CIE, in fact, integrates advanced protection technologies that not only make counterfeiting more difficult, but also allow to speed up border controls thanks to the system Mrz (Machine Readable Zone). It is a section printed on the document with automatically readable alphanumeric strings by electronic systems, which guarantees rapid and accurate control of personal data. In this study we will understand better how the CIE works, what its contactless microchip contains and why Mrz has become an essential requirement for travel documents globally.
How the CIE is made
The CIE represents the evolution of the paper identity card: it has the same format of a credit card (85.60 x 53.98 millimeters), is made of polycarbonate and brings back to laser photography and personal data, protected by safety elements such as holograms and special inks. Its most important feature is the Contactless microchipthat is, a circuit that works without the need for physical contact and which houses personal and biometric information: name, surname, date of birth, photography and fingerprints. These data are not freely accessible: the footprints, for example, can only be read by the competent authorities, while other information can be consulted by a computer with a smartcard player or a smartphone with technology NFC (Near Field Communication), the same we use for contactless payments.
The CIE chip follows the recommendations Icao 9303the international standard that defines how electronic travel documents should be structuredsuch as passports and residence permits. It is this alignment that allows you to use the CIE as a valid document in all Schengen countries and in many other states. But the aspect that most influences the choice of the European Union is the presence of Mrzthe legible car area.
How the MRZ system of the Electronic Identity Card works
There Mrz or Machine Readable Zone consists of Two or three lines of alphanumeric textprinted on the back of the document, which condensing essential information such as name, surname, date of birth, sex and document number. For example, in passports we find two 44 characters each each; In electronic identity cards, however, the format can vary between two lines of 36 characters or three lines of 30. What makes this code precious is the fact that, being automatically legible, It minimizes errors and accelerates controls: electronic systems can extract and compare the data in a few moments, while a manual visual control would take much more time.
Another important aspect of Mrz is the presence of control codesthat is, mathematical symbols derived from the information reported, which work as “Safety figures”: If someone tried to manipulate even a character of the document, the system would immediately notice it. It is therefore one fundamental tool against falsification and documentary fraud. In addition, being a standard recognized standard, automatic readers at the airport or electronic gates can interpret documents from different countries without difficulty, uniforming border controls.
For us travelers this translates into more sliding rows and reduced waiting times. In some airports, for example, automatic systems compare Mrz data in real time with those of the boarding card: in this way they can verify that the person who shows up at Gate is actually the same that purchased the ticket.
By virtue of what has just been explained, therefore, it is clear that the transition to the CIE should not be seen as a pretext by the state to “make cash”, but was born from the need to make identity documents safer and more global level. By 2031the European Regulation provides that everyone The identity documents of EU citizens are electronic, but already from 2026 The paper will no longer be enough to travel. Those who still have it will therefore have to go to the registry of their municipality (by booking the appointment through this page) or the consulate (for those who reside abroad) and request their own CIE. Alternatively, you can use the passport.
