Notes from the Federal Palace Traditional and cosmopolitan at the same time The passport takes you on a virtual journey through all of Switzerland’s cantons in order of their highest elevation. A continuous landscape, from high mountains to rolling lowlands, represents the unifying element in the background. The cantons in this order of sequence do not all share a border, hence the contours depicted on the page are a virtual representation of a typical Swiss landscape. The new passport retains the iconic red cover. Very much in keeping with the overall theme, the page containing the passport holder’s personal details features the highest peak in the Gotthard massif, the Pizzo Rotondo. The sources of Switzerland’s main rivers stretching beyond the country’s borders are contained within the Pizzo Rotondo. This is where mountains and water are intertwined as the main leitmotifs. Waterways are the silvery thread that runs through all 26 cantons, from the Alpine peaks down to the valleys. Taken as a whole, these visuals epitomise the traditional but cosmopolitan qualities of today’s Switzerland. The Swiss passport has evolved over time The cantons used to be able to issue passports before the First World War suddenly made international travel much more difficult. As a consequence of the hostilities, the Federal Council enacted an ordinance on 27 November 1916, which specified that there should be one standard passport application form for the whole country. Initially, the cover of the Swiss passport was green and then brown. It was not until 1959 that the passport’s contemporary red livery and the Swiss cross were introduced. Back then, the document contained such details as the holder’s eye colour and their profession. Children had their photos stuck on to their parents’ passport. The design was updated in 1985, with the Swiss cross moving to the centre of the passport cover. Since 2003, the cross has been positioned higher up. Biometric passports were introduced in 2006. ERWIN GASSER, CONSULAR DIRECTORATE, FDFA The new mobile biometric passport device ■The new biometric data infrastructure includes state-of-the-art mobile biometric passport devices at your local Swiss representation abroad – a new facility that enables you to have your biometric data captured without the need to visit an embassy, a general consulate or a regional consular centre. ■This mobile biometric service saves Swiss Abroad from having to travel long distances to renew their identity documents. They can complete the process near their place of residence instead. ■ A limited fleet of mobile biometric devices are available for Swiss representations to use. Whenever a representation is planning to use one of these devices, it will notify in advance all Swiss registered in the vicinity. ■ Make sure you renew your identity documents before they expire. Depending on staff and financial resources as well as availability, it may only be possible to use a mobile biometric passport device once every year or two at your local representation. Note that you can also renew any Swiss identity document several months or even one to two years before its expiry date. ■ All identity documents that have been issued retain their validity until their expiry date. The application procedure remains the same. ■To obtain the new Swiss passport, you must arrange an appointment at your local Swiss representation abroad for the purpose of entering your biometric data. ■ Please order your Swiss passport or identity card online at www.schweizerpass.ch. Your local Swiss representation abroad will then deal with your application. The new family of identity documents combines functionality and aesthetics with countless security features. Photo: fedpol 27 Swiss Review / March 2023 / No.2
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