Keystone-SDA
An identity card containing biometric data should be introduced in Switzerland for the end of 2026. It should make it possible to continue to travel freely within the EU. It will remain possible to obtain a non -biometric card for use in Switzerland.
(Keystone-ATS) The new biometric identity card, as is the current Swiss biometric passport, will be fitted with a chip containing two fingerprints and a facial image. The Federal Police Office is currently working on the development of the first Swiss biometric identity card, in collaboration with its cantonal and federal partners, Fedpol announces in a statement published on Monday.
Biometric data benefit from enhanced protection. Their reading is only possible if the identity card is physically presented. Any remote reading is impossible. In addition, Switzerland only authorizes access to fingerprints to the countries applying data protection rules equivalent to its own.
EU trips
The introduction of the biometric identity card guarantees in particular that the Swiss can continue to travel freely in the EU. In 2019, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted a regulation providing that member states delivered exclusively biometric identity cards from 2021. This point was also part of the Swiss-EU-UAE negotiation package.
Switzerland should probably introduce the biometric identity card at the end of 2026 and no later than one year after the entry into force of the revised agreement on the free movement of people, specifies Fedpol.
The non -biometric identity cards delivered before this deadline can be used to travel in the EU until their expiration (10 years maximum for adults). For example, if the revised agreement on free movement comes into force in 2027, the cards delivered until 2028 will remain valid for trips to the EU until 2038. On the other hand, non -biometric identity cards delivered after 2028 will no longer allow to enter the EU.
However, it will always be possible to obtain an identity card without biometric data for use in Switzerland, as specified by the law. The Swiss biometric passport will also remain a valid alternative for identification during international trips.
www.passeportsuisse.ch
