New Design Swiss Passports to be Issued

The Federal Office of the Swiss Police (Fedpol) has announced that citizens of Switzerland will have a new passport with a new design from the end of October.

Although the design has taken a completely different form, the functionality and performance process remains the same, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Switzerland is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association; however, it is not part of the European Union. It joined the Schengen Area in 2008, from which date world travellers can enter its territory with a Schengen visa.

In 2017, Switzerland issued a total of 451,528 uniform Schengen visas from 517,010 visa applications received at Swiss consulates and embassies around the world. The visa rejection rate was 7.25%.

Fedpol pointed out in a statement that the current design of the Swiss passport is about 20 years old. Meanwhile, the last update on the design of the passport dates back to 2006, when it was adapted to the security standards of the time in order to include biometrics.

‘Current security standards now make it necessary to renew the Swiss Passport family,’ the Federal Police Office said.

According to Fedpol, the Swiss passport will still have its famous red cover. In addition, the 26 cantons as well as the ‘fifth Switzerland’, which represents Switzerland abroad, will still be represented on one of the visa pages.

Fedpol also explains that all those who wish to travel abroad do not need to apply for a new one if their older one is still valid. On the other hand, those who want a passport with the new design must make an appointment by 31 October to submit their biometric data at passport offices and responsible Swiss missions abroad.

As for the issuing procedure, it remains unchanged, with the personalisation and delivery of the passport procedures continuing to be guaranteed by the Federal Office for Building and Logistics (FOBL). In addition, it is still possible to take advantage of the combined passport and identity card offer. In this case, the offer consists of the most current version of the relevant identity documents.

Moreover, the new series of Swiss passports include the ordinary passport, the diplomatic passport, the service passport, the travel document and the passport for foreigners living in Switzerland. The emergency passport with the new design will only be introduced later and will replace the current temporary passport.