On September 25, the process of issuing the new identity cards will begin, while two years from today, in August 2026, the old ones will not be valid, said Minister of Citizen Protection Yiannis Economou.
Economou clarified to SKAI News that the new identities are a new reality that will change the lives of citizens for safer air travel and avoiding counterfeiting.
The issuance process will follow one similar to vaccines, as a plan is being prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Policy, according to which a platform will operate where the citizen will submit the application via gov.gr.
Citizens will submit an application on the platform; then a notification will come, and an appointment will be set at the police station for the issuance of the new police ID, the cost of which amounts to 10 euros.
Regarding the reactions of professional photographers, the Minister of Citizen Protection emphasised that this is a reasonable protest, and for this reason, the government is considering ways to resolve it.
The protests at the police stations are pointless
The Minister of Citizen Protection made it clear that the new IDs will not be forged and will contain the necessary personal information stored on the chip.
The chip will contain information such as gender, first name, last name, height, biometric characteristics, and fingerprints; he clarified that there is no possibility of geospatial identification, calling the theories about tracking through the new identities "nonsense".
Then Mr. Economou said that identity cards today are issued with outdated terms of 1961.
"Those who poison people's minds should consider that they are putting water in the mill of those who want to forge," he pointed out indicatively.
Mr. Economou also emphasised that the protests for keeping the old-style ID cards are pointless as they will not be valid for two years in August 2026, based on European regulation.
The minister spoke of political games that take advantage of religious sensitivities, calling the church to "fend off any attempt that moves into the realm of obscurantism."
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