EFTA as an organisation does issue rules for passport design and validity of the four countries, but the European Union does this through the Schengen regulations, besides the global ICAO regulations. The EFTA member states are bound by the Schengen regulations as they are part of the Schengen Area.[1]
Instead of being part of the EEA, Switzerland has a series of bilateral agreements with the EU. The European Single Market consequently has been extended, with exceptions, to all EFTA member states. The EFTA member states are also signatories of the Schengen Agreement and part of the Schengen Area. Citizens of the EFTA member states generally have the same rights as EU citizens in EEA countries and are treated as EU citizens for the purposes of travel and entry into EEA countries.
When going through border controls to enter an EFTA or EEA member state, EFTA and EU/EEA citizens possessing valid biometric passports are sometimes able to use automated gates instead of immigration counters, whilst all other citizens (such as those using a national identity card or a non-biometric passport) and non-EEA citizens must use an immigration counter. Anyone travelling with children must also use an immigration counter.[6]
Characteristics
Passport standards are issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which are treated as recommendations to national governments. All EFTA member states except Liechtenstein are ICAO members, but Liechtenstein has delegated Switzerland to implement the treaty to make it applicable in the territory of Liechtenstein.[7]
ICAO has published standards for machine-readable passports[8] contained in Document 9303 Machine Readable Travel Documents[9] and a more recent standard covering biometric passports.[10][11] All EFTA countries issues biometric passports.
The size of passport booklets shall be 125mm ×88mm (4.9in ×3.5in), as specified in ISO/IEC 7810 ID-3 standard.
The data page follows a standardized layout, divided into seven zones which contain mandatory elements in a standard sequence. Zones I to VI forms the Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ), and Zone VII is the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ).
All fields for mandatory data elements in the VIZ shall have captions which may be in the official language of the issuing State. If that language is not English, French or Spanish, it shall be followed by an oblique character (/) and the equivalent of the caption in English, French or Spanish. If the official language is English, French or Spanish is shall be followed by one of the other two languages.
Latin-alphabet characters (i.e. A to Z) and Arabic numerals (i.e. 1234567890) shall be used in the VIZ with diacritics permitted.
Schengen member states shall issue passports and travel documents that comply with minimum security standards. This is according to Council Regulation (EC) 2252/2004 and 444/2009 which the EFTA countries are bound by, as it constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and Iceland and Norway, the agreement concluded by the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation, and the Protocol signed between the European Union, the European Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation, concerning the association of the four States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis.[12][13]
Passports and travel documents issued by Member States shall comply with the minimum security standards set out in the Annex of the regulation.
Passports must incorporate a storage medium (a chip) that contains the holder's facial image and fingerprints. This obligation does not apply to identity cards or to temporary passports and travel documents with a validity of one year or less.
In addition to harmonization of security features and biometrics, member states of the European Union have started to harmonise aspects of the designs of their ordinary passports. Most passports issued by EU member states have the common recommended lay out; burgundy in colour with the words “European Union” followed by the name(s) of the country, the emblem of the state and the word "Passport".
Of the EFTA member states, only Iceland and Liechtenstein follows the same order as on EU passports, but with a blue cover. Swiss and Norwegian passports have a brighter red cover. The Swiss passport with the word "Swiss passports" in German, French, Italian, Romansh and English above the Swiss equilateral white cross, and the Norwegian passport sports the coat of arms of Norway emblazoned in the top left of the front cover, above the words "Kingdom of Norway" and "Passport" in Bokmål, Nynorsk, Sami and English.
Passports and travel document shall contain a machine-readable biographical data page, which shall comply with Part 1 (machine-readable passports) of ICAO Document 9303 and the way they are issued shall comply with the specifications for machine-readable passports set out therein.[12] Newer EFTA passports contain a Machine-readable zone, which contains the name, nationality and most other information from the identification page. It is designed in a way so that computers can fairly easily read the information, although it still human readable, since it contains only letters (A–Z), digits and "<" as space character, but no bar graph or similar. Apostrophes and similar have to be omitted, but hyphens and spaces should be replaced by an angle bracket. Diacritical marks are not permitted in the MRZ. Even though they may be useful to distinguish names, the use of diacritical marks in the MRZ could confuse machine-reading equipment.
Names containing non-English letters are usually spelled in the correct way in the visual (non-machine-readable) zone of the passport, but are mapped into A-Z according to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the machine-readable zone.
The following mapping is specified for languages of the EFTA countries: å → AA or A, æ → AE, ä → AE or A, ð → D, ø → OE, ö → OE or O, ß → SS, þ → TH and ü → UE. Letters with accents are otherwise replaced by simple letters (François becomes FRANCOIS etc.).
For example, the Norwegian names Sætre becomes SAETRE, Møller becomes MOELLER, and Nygård becomes NYGAARD (or NYGARD). The ICAO mapping is mostly used for computer-generated and internationally used documents such as air tickets, but sometimes (like in US visas) also simple letters are used (MOLLER, NYGARD).
The three possible spelling variants of the same name (e.g. Nygård / Nygaard / Nygard) in different documents sometimes lead to confusion, and the use of two different spellings within the same document (like in the Norwegian passports) may give people who are unfamiliar with the foreign orthography the impression that the document is a forgery.
It is recommended to use the spelling used in the machine-readable passport zone for visas, airline tickets, etc., and to refer to that zone if being questioned. The same thing applies if the name is too long to fit in the airline's ticket system, otherwise problems can arise. (The machine-readable has room for 39 letters for the name while the visual zone can contain as many as will fit)
Icelandic passports are blue, with the Icelandic coat of arms emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "ÍSLAND" (Icelandic), "ICELAND" (English) and "ISLANDE" (French) are inscribed above the coat of arms and the words "VEGABRÉF" (Icelandic), "PASSPORT" (English) and "PASSEPORT" (French) are inscribed below the coat of arms. Icelandic passports have the standard biometric symbol at the bottom.[14]
Vegabréf literally means "road letter" and is a word used in Scandinavia in historic centuries meaning internal passport.
Identity Information Page
The Icelandic passport includes the following data:
Liechtenstein passports are blue with the coat of arms of Liechtenstein emblazoned in the centre. The words "FÜRSTENTUM LIECHTENSTEIN" are inscribed above the coat of arms, with "REISEPASS" and the international biometric passport symbol below.
Current regular Norwegian passports are red in colour, with the coat of arms of Norway emblazoned in the top left of the front cover. The words "Kongeriket Norge", "Kongeriket Noreg", "Norgga gonagasriika" and "Kingdom of Norway" ("Kingdom of Norway" in Bokmål and Nynorsk (the two forms of Norwegian), Sámi and English respectively) are inscribed in the bottom left corner and the word "Pass", "Pássa" and "Passport" emblazoned below the name of the country. In the bottom right corner is the standard biometric symbol.
Identity information page
The Norwegian passport includes the following data:
Photo of passport holder
Type (a two-letter code beginning with "P")
Code of Issuing State (NOR)
Passport No.
Surname
Given Names
Nationality (NORSK/ NORWEGIAN)
Date of birth
Date of issue
Date of expiry
Issuing authority (The police district)
Sex
Height
Place of birth (Three letter country code, NOR for those born in Norway)
CAN (six digit number)
The holder's signature and Personal No. was included on the information page on the previous passport version but was moved in the current version.
The information page ends with the machine-readable zone starting with "P<NOR", the previous version started with "PxNOR, where x indicated the type of passport. For example, ordinary passports contained "PVNOR", where the "V" presumably means "vanlig" ("ordinary" in Norwegian.)
Swiss passports are red in colour, with the words Schweizer Pass (German), Passeport suisse (French), Passaporto svizzero (Italian), Passaport svizzer (Romansh) and Swiss passport (English) in the top right corner with the Swiss equilateral white cross below. The standard biometric symbol is placed on the bottom right hand side.
Identity information page
A Swiss passport includes the following data on the full plastic information page [15]
(left) Photo of the passport bearer
Type of Passport (PA - without biometrics, PM - with biometrics, PD - temporary passport, PB - diplomatic passport)
Norway allows their citizens to have more than one passport at once to circumvent certain travel restrictions. This can be useful if wanting to travel while a passport remains at a consulate while a visa application is processed, or wanting to apply for further visas while already in a foreign country. It can also be needed to circumvent the fact that visitors whose passports show evidence of a visit to Israel are not allowed to enter Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Syria and Yemen (It is, however, possible to get the Israeli entry and exit stamp on a separate piece of paper).
Since each EFTA member state can make its own citizenship laws, dual citizenship is not always possible. Of the EFTA countries, Iceland and Norway allows dual or multiple citizenship without any restrictions, Switzerland regulate/restrict it (the conditions for the naturalization of immigrants vary regionally), and Liechtenstein only allows it for citizens by descent, but not for foreigners wanting to naturalize.
A citizen of an EFTA member state can live and work in all other EFTA- or EU member states (but not necessarily vote or work in sensitive fields, such as government, police, military where citizenship is often required). Non-citizens may not have the same rights to welfare and unemployment benefits as citizens.
Visa requirements are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states.
EFTA member states' citizens enjoy freedom of movement in each other's territories in accordance with the EFTA convention.[26] EFTA nationals also enjoy freedom of movement in the European Union (EU). EFTA nationals and EU citizens and are not only visa-exempt but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries. The Citizens’ Rights Directive[27] (also sometimes called the "Free Movement Directive") defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA),[4] which includes the three EFTA members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and the member states of the EU. Switzerland, which is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA, is not bound by the Directive but rather has a separate bilateral agreement on free movement with the EU.[5]
As a result, de facto, a citizen of an EFTA country can live and work in all the other EFTA countries and in all the EU countries, and a citizen of an EU country can live and work in all the EFTA countries (but for voting and working in sensitive fields, such as government / police / military, citizenship is often required, and non-citizens may not have the same rights to welfare and unemployment benefits as citizens).[28]
All EFTA member states are part of the Schengen Area, an area comprising 26 European states that have officially abolished passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. The area mostly functions as a single country for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy. The area is named after the Schengen Agreement. Since the implementation of the Schengen rules, border posts have been closed (and often entirely removed) between participating countries; that and the pro forma borders are the subject of a photo-journalistic art project.[29] The Schengen Borders Code requires participating states to remove all obstacles to free traffic flow at internal borders.[30]:Article 22 Thus, road, rail and air passengers no longer have their identity checked by border guards when travelling between Schengen countries, although security controls by carriers are still permissible.[30]:Article 21 (b) Travellers should still bring a passport or national identity card, as one may be required. As an alternative to holding a passport, a valid national identity card can also be used to exercise the right of free movement within the EEA and Switzerland.[31] Strictly speaking, it is not necessary for an EEA or Swiss citizen to possess a valid passport or national identity card to enter the EEA or Switzerland. In theory, if an EEA or Swiss citizen outside of both the EEA and Switzerland can prove his/her nationality by any other means (e.g. by presenting an expired passport or national identity card, or a citizenship certificate), he/she must be permitted to enter the EEA or Switzerland. An EEA or Swiss citizen who is unable to demonstrate his/her nationality satisfactorily must nonetheless be given 'every reasonable opportunity' to obtain the necessary documents or to have them delivered within a reasonable period of time.[32][33][34]
States in the Schengen Area have strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries. Participating countries are required to apply strict checks on travellers entering and exiting the Schengen Area. These checks are co-ordinated by the European Union's Frontex agency, and subject to common rules. The details of border controls, surveillance and the conditions under which permission to enter into the Schengen Area may be granted are exhaustively detailed in the Schengen Borders Code.[30][35]
Other countries
As part of the Schengen Area, reciprocity is required when it comes to visa free access. Since 2001, the European Union has issued two lists regarding visas for the Schengen Area: a white list of countries whose nationals do not require visas (Annex II)[36] and a black list of countries whose nationals do require visas (Annex I).[37] As per Regulation No 539/2001 (amended by Regulation No 1289/2013)[38] reciprocity is required from all Annex II countries and territories. That means that these countries must offer visa-free access for 90 days to citizens of the 26 Schengen member states.
Passport rankings
Passport rankings by the number of countries and territories their holders could visit without a visa or by obtaining visa on arrival were as follows as of 10January2022[update] (Henley Passport Index):[39]
The European Union itself does not issue ordinary passports, but ordinary passport booklets issued by its 27 member states share a common format.[40] This common format features a coloured cover (for which burgundy is recommended but not compulsory: all countries except Croatia follow this recommendation) emblazoned—in the official language(s) of the issuing country (and sometimes its translation into English and French)—with the title "European Union", followed by the name(s) of the member state, its coat of arms, the word "PASSPORT", together with the biometric passport symbol at the bottom centre of the front cover.[12] The common design features are a result of several non-binding resolutions and the security characteristics in EU passports are regulated through both non-binding resolutions and binding regulations.
As part of the Schengen agreement, passports and travel documents issued by member states shall comply with minimum security standards, and passports must incorporate a storage medium (a chip) that contains the holder's facial image and fingerprints. This obligation does not apply to identity cards or to temporary passports and travel documents with a validity of one year or less. Ireland is not (and the UK wasn't) bound by the rules as they are not part of the Schengen area, and Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 constitutes a development of provisions of the Schengen acquis.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European single market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the bearer may return to the issuing country, and are often issued in booklet form to allow other governments to place visas as well as entry and exit stamps into them.
The visa policy of the Schengen Area is a component within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union. It applies to the Schengen Area and to other EU member states except Ireland. The visa policy allows nationals of certain countries to enter the Schengen Area via air, land or sea without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. Nationals of certain other countries are required to have a visa to enter and, in some cases, transit through the Schengen area.
Currently, all of the European microstates have some form of relations with the European Union (EU).
The Citizens' Rights Directive 2004/38/EC sets out the conditions for the exercise of the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the member states of the European Union (EU) and the three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Switzerland, which is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA, is not bound by the Directive but rather has a separate multilateral sectoral agreement on free movement with the EU and its member states.
The Armenian passport is a passport issued to Armenian citizens to enable them to travel outside Armenia, and entitles the bearer to the protection of Armenia's consular officials overseas. Armenian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 65 countries and territories as of 2023.
A Norwegian passport is the passport issued to nationals of Norway for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Norwegian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Norwegian consular officials abroad.
Liechtenstein passports are issued to nationals of Liechtenstein for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Liechtenstein citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Liechtenstein consular officials abroad.
Swedish passports are issued to nationals of Sweden for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as proof of Swedish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Swedish consular officials abroad.
A Danish passport is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark to facilitate international travel. Besides serving as proof of Danish citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Danish consular officials abroad.
The Swiss passport is a biometric identity document issued by the Swiss Confederation. It can be ordinary or provisional, or in special cases, diplomatic or service-related.
The European Union itself does not issue ordinary passports, but ordinary passport booklets issued by its 27 member states share a common format. This common format features a colored cover emblazoned—in the official language(s) of the issuing country —with the title "European Union", followed by the name(s) of the member state, the heraldic "Arms" of the State concerned, the word "PASSPORT", together with the biometric passport symbol at the bottom center of the front cover.
Icelandic passports are issued to citizens of Iceland for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Icelandic citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Icelandic consular officials abroad.
The Schengen Area is an area encompassing 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
The Swiss identity card in its current form dates back to July 1994. It is in the form of a plastic photocard. It can be used as a travel document when travelling within European Free Trade Association or to the European Union, the European microstates, Georgia, Turkey, and on organized tours to Tunisia.
The Liechtenstein identity card is issued to Liechtenstein citizens by the Immigration and Passport Office in Vaduz. The card costs CHF65 for adults aged 18 or over and is valid for 10 years. For children, the card costs CHF30 and has a validity of 3 years.
National identity cards are identity documents issued to citizens of most European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) member states, with the exception of Denmark and Ireland. As a new common identity card model replaced the various formats in use from 2 August 2021, recently issued ID cards are harmonized across the EEA, while older ID cards are currently being phased out according to Regulation (EU) 2019/1157.
The Norwegian identity card, commonly referred to as the national identity card in Norway, is a non-compulsory biometric identity document issued since 30 November 2020. It is one of two official identity documents issued by the Norwegian Police Service, the other being the Norwegian passport. It is only issued to Norwegian citizens, and may indicate citizenship so that it can be used as a travel document facilitating freedom of movement within the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Area. For travel within the Nordic countries no identity documentation is legally required for Nordic citizens due to the Nordic Passport Union.
Visa requirements for EFTA nationals are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states.
Passports in Europe are issued by each state individually, e.g. the Netherlands or United Kingdom. In general, passports issued in Europe either grant the holder the right of freedom of movement within the European Economic Area, to those that don't. The majority of European states are members of the European Union, and therefore issue EU passports.
↑ "Member States.English.pdf"(PDF). ICAO. Retrieved 2014-07-20. The Minister of Switzerland made the following statement in the note transmitting the Swiss Instrument of Ratification: "My Government has instructed me to notify you that the authorities in Switzerland have agreed with the authorities in the Principality of Liechtenstein that this Convention will be applicable to the territory of the Principality as well as to that of the Swiss Confederation, as long as the Treaty of 29 March 1923 integrating the whole territory of Liechtenstein with the Swiss customs territory will remain in force".
↑ "Verordnung des EDA vom 13. November 2002 zur Ausweisverordnung (VVAwG)"[Order of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs about Identity documents of Swiss nationals]. The Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation (in German). Chancellerie fédérale. Die Bundesbehörden der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft. 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
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