The Swiss Federal Council adopted a change to the Ordinance on Identity Documents for Swiss Nationals on Wednesday, creating the legal basis for a biometric identity card. The revised ordinance takes effect on November 1, and citizens who want the new card can apply for it from November 2.
A parallel amendment to the Federal Department of Justice and Police ordinance on identity documents, approved by the head of the department, enters into force on the same day. Both were adopted after a consultation that ran from November 12, 2025 to February 28, 2026.
As with the biometric Swiss passport, the card carries a chip holding a facial image and two fingerprints. Fedpol says that makes the card more strongly protected against misuse.
The change brings organisational adjustments. The biometric card will be available only from the cantonal offices responsible for issuing identity cards and passports, and from Swiss representations abroad. In cantons where municipalities are authorised to issue non-biometric identity cards, residents can still apply for one there.
Fees stay at the level charged for the current chipless identity card. The revision also renames the provisional passport as the emergency passport, matching international terminology, and that document arrives on November 2 as well, at the fee charged for the provisional passport today.
Citizens will be able to choose between the two cards. EU countries have issued only biometric identity cards since 2021 for security reasons, and fedpol says the new Swiss card guarantees continued free travel in the EU. Non-biometric cards issued before the new card appears stay valid for EU travel until they expire, up to ten years for adults.
The biometric card is recommended for people who travel within the EU, while the non-biometric card is described as sufficient for anyone who needs it only as identification inside Switzerland. Fedpol first set out the project in June 2025, and Switzerland separately adopted EU migration pact rules introducing biometric border screening in May.
Fedpol distinguishes the card from the E-ID. The identity card is an official identity and travel document, while the E-ID is an electronic identity for proving identity online and is not a travel document. Swiss voters narrowly approved the E-ID law in September 2025, and the government has since pushed its launch back to December 2026.
Sources: fedpol, SWI swissinfo.ch
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By Cass Kennedy
