Switzerland updates aviation security, identification, and farming rules

Switzerland is implementing several regulatory changes across aviation, border security, identification documents, agriculture, and trade starting November 1.

Aviation companies in Switzerland will begin submitting detailed passenger data to a national unit at the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) by February 2027. This new regulation establishes specific formats and timelines for data submission to help authorities combat terrorism and serious crimes. Passengers will receive information about this data collection before they book their flights.

New rules also standardize how Swiss authorities manage and exchange personal data for international police cooperation under the Schengen Information System. These updates clarify the roles of the national coordination point at Fedpol to strengthen internal security and improve border controls. The government is modernizing identification documents by renaming the provisional passport as a emergency passport. New regulations will offer identity cards with or without data chips and specify how authorities collect biometric data like fingerprints.

These changes include updated fees for different types of documents. In agriculture, the Federal Office for Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Affairs (BLV) is introducing a new regime for managing Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD). The system will now only categorize farms as BVD-free or not BVD-free. BVD-free farms can move animals without restrictions, while other farms must follow specific requirements. The BLV aims to eradicate the disease, noting that over 99 percent of Swiss cattle farms are currently free of BVD.

Additionally, a new 2 Euro processing fee will apply to online shop operators from non-EU countries, including those in Switzerland, due to an EU customs reform. Patrick Erny, Director of the Swiss Retail Federation, expects the impact on the industry to be minor because Swiss retail focuses heavily on the domestic market.