Biometrics platform: another credit
The platform for capturing biometric data such as fingerprints, signatures and facial images needs to be renewed. The Federal Council has signed off on another loan.
Already in summer 2017, the Federal Assembly approved a corresponding credit of 33 million Swiss francs, which will be released in stages (cf. Message 2016). At its meeting on April 11, 2018, the Federal Council took note of the need for 9.8 million Swiss francs for the second stage.
Commissioning 2020
The introduction and commissioning of the new system platform for biometric data collection (Esysp) should take place in 2020, according to the Federal Council's statement. There have been no significant problems with the program so far, and Esysp is on schedule and within budget. In the second quarter of 2017, the Swiss Federal Audit Office audited the program for the first time and concluded that the Esysp program was properly designed and that the status at the end of April 2017 was essentially in line with expectations. The recommended measures to improve cooperation have since been implemented and are having the expected effect.
Today's system
The current system for capturing biometric data was put into operation in 2010. The platform is used to issue the Swiss passport and Swiss identity cards (ISA), visas (Orbis), biometric foreigners' identity cards (Zemis) and travel documents for foreigners (ISR). According to the federal government, around 1.5 million entries are recorded annually. The system is also used by border control authorities to verify the biometric data of Swiss passports and biometric foreigners' ID cards, he said. The main components of this system are designed for a maximum service life of ten years, which makes replacement necessary.
Source: Confederation
