Greece extends passport office hours as citizens queue before Aug 3 deadline

Thousands of Greek citizens have gathered in long queues at passport‑issuing offices across the country to obtain new identity cards and passports before the 3 August deadline, after which old IDs will no longer be accepted for international travel. In response, the General Police Directorate of Thessaloniki announced emergency opening hours for its passport sections on 2 August, operating from 08:00 to 14:30, and similar extended hours were set for the passport offices in Hama and Kilkis.

The government also clarified that the Personal Number assigned to each citizen replaces the need to remember the old ID number; the existing identity cards remain valid, and only those who obtain a new card will see a change in the number printed on it. No new procedure for contesting the Personal Number is provided.