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March 1st marks a new milestone for Swiss passports as Switzerland as launches its first biometric passport (passport 10). Passports have evolved through the years with technology advances and changing security needs, and Switzerland has had many versions and styles that have evolved with time into a work of art. The biometric passport is the sixth revision since the introduction of the first Swiss passport in 1915. This latest version has an embedded micro-chip on which biometric data is stored. The data contains one digital facial photograph, a digital signature, and two digital fingerprints.
This new feature will prohibit lost or stolen Swiss passports from being fraudulently used. Nor can the biometric passport be reproduced, as any manipulation of the electronic data would be immediately detected by authorities when verifying its authenticity.

For Swiss travellers to the United States, this new passport has the additional benefit of not requiring a Visa to enter the U.S.

Please note: the existing machine-readable passports (Passport 03 and Passport 06) issued prior to March 1, 2010, will continue to be valid until their expiration date.

ThinkSwiss is your opportunity to get involved with Switzerland. ThinkSwiss is an official program of the Swiss Confederation — promoting exchanges and sharing knowledge between the U.S. and Switzerland. Join us for events, exhibits, and exchange opportunities online and around the U.S.

More information at:  www.thinkswiss.org