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Applying for an identity document

Passport  and identity card applications

The Regional Consular Centre London continues to experience very high demand for new passports/ID cards. We strongly recommend that you start the application process early, as it may take longer than usual to renew your Swiss identity documents.

The new Swiss passport and/or ID card will be valid from the date of issue, not the date of expiry of the current passport/ID card.

Booking any trips abroad while you do not hold a valid passport/ID card is at your own risk.

Please enter your request for a Swiss identity document online (one request per person) and follow the instructions on the website:

If you are resident abroad the processing centre will normally be the Swiss representation at which you are registered. Please contact this centre if you have any problems entering your request online.

Do not forget to provide the following information:

Under the heading “Delivery address”

  • If you still need your current identity documents while waiting for the new documents, indicate “processing centre”. You will be contacted for an exchange of identity documents in due course;
  • If it is possible to cancel your identity documents at the time of your visit, indicate the address of your domicile or another delivery address so that the new documents can be forwarded directly by post.

Under the heading “Remarks”

  • Your preferred dates for making a personal appearance for the capture of your biometric data;
  • Mention an alternative processing centre in Switzerland or abroad (i.e. a different Swiss representation abroad or one of the cantonal passport offices), if you wish to make an appointment for the biometric data capture in a place other than the Swiss representation responsible for your place of domicile.

You will receive online acknowledgement of your request.

As soon as your personal data has been verified, an appointment for the capture of your data will be confirmed (usually within a week) and you will be informed what documents to bring and the fees to be paid.

Please note that the personal data contained in Swiss identity documents (family name, first name, date of birth and place of origin) are taken from the Swiss civil status register (Infostar).

Do not hesitate to contact the Swiss representation responsible for your place of residence if you have any questions concerning an ID document requested or an appointment for the capture of biometric data.

FAQs – frequently asked questions about passport or ID applications

The statutory delivery period is 30 days abroad and 10 days in Switzerland.

Once your application is reviewed, you receive an email inviting you to make an appointment to record your biometric data. You must do this in person at the Swiss representation where you are registered or, if you are in Switzerland, at the cantonal passport office.

To record their biometric data, minors must be accompanied by their parent/s or legal guardian/s. A divorced parent with sole legal custody of their child must present an official document to that effect. Where divorced parents have joint legal custody of their child and only one parent is able to attend the appointment, the absent parent must present written authorisation for the issuing of the child’s passport or identity card.

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Last update 27.03.2023