The new Swiss Residence Permits will now have a credit card format. Find out what else will be in the new permits.

When it comes to residence permits for foreigners, it is usually in paper. Some countries use laminated cards or passports to serve as their residency cards. For the new Swiss residence permits, it will be using a new style for its updated personal documents.

On Friday, the Swiss government said that the new residence permits will be done in a credit card format. This will be available starting November 1.

Details of the New Residence Permits

According to the announcement, the changes will be done in stages and 1.8 million permits will be a part of it. The new residence permit has a target date of June 2021, 6 months late than its original target of January 2021.

According to the State Secretariat for Migration, the new residence permits are more convenient. It also has a lot of modern features to make it fraud-proof and unique. It will also not contain any biometric data to protect the users.

Those who can apply for the new credit-card permits are European Union and European Free Trade Agreement citizens who have L, B and C permits. Cross-border workers, working family members of diplomats, asylum seekers and provisionally admitted foreign nationals will also be able to apply for the new permits.

Foreign nationals from third world countries are not a part of the new policy. Their permits are already in credit card format and it contains their biometric data.

Foreigners do not need to carry their residence permits while they are traveling around Switzerland. Under Swiss law, if foreigners cannot present their residency cards, some time will be provided for them to show it to the authorities.

The government also added new rules on sanctioning cross-border workers who fail to inform the government when they change jobs. Those who do not tell the authorities their new job may be fined up to CHF1,000.

Switzerland Travel Tips

For those who wish to travel around Switzerland, you can check out the official website of Switzerland Tourism for information. We also have articles about which Swiss city to visit and where to stay while in Geneva.

If you are considering on working in Switzerland, we have an article about the cost of living in Zurich.

To find out if you require a visa to travel to Switzerland, you can check out the official visa page by the Federal Department of Justice and Police.