Register Harmonisation Act (RHA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 1 Aim and subject matter
1 This Act aims to simplify: a. the collection of data for statistics through the harmonisation of official registers of persons (the registers); b. the exchange of personal data between the registers provided for by the law. 2 For this purpose the Act determines: a. the identifiers and attributes that must be recorded in the registers; b. the responsibility of the Federal Statistical Office (Federal Office) for the harmonisation of definitions, attributes and attribute characteristics; c. the requirement of completeness and accuracy in the registers; d. the obligation to update the registers of residents.
Art. 2 Scope of application
1 This Act applies to the following registers: a. the computerised civil status register (Infostar) maintained by the cantons and operated by the Federal Office of Justice; b the Central Migration Information System (ZEMIS) of the State Secretariat for Migration; c. the Ordipro information system of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; d. the information system for the networked administration of data on and for the Swiss Abroad (E-VERA) maintained by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; e. the Central Register of Insured Persons, the Central Pensions Register and the Register of Benefits-in-Kind of the Central Compensation Office in accordance with Article 71 of the Federal Act of 20 December 1946 on Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASIA); f. the information system of the Central Compensation Office for processing data related to supplementary benefits in accordance with Article 71 OASIA. 2 It also applies to the cantonal and communal: a. registers of residents; b. elect
Para. 1 let. b — The name of this administrative unit was amended by Art. 16 para. 3 of the Publications Ordinance of 17 Nov. 2004 (AS 2004 4937) as of 1 Jan. 2015. Para. 1 let. d — Amended by Annex No III 3 of the Swiss Abroad Act of 26 Sept. 2014, in force since 1 Nov. 2015 (AS 2015 3857; BBl 2014 1915 2617). Para. 1 let. d — This name was modified on 1 Sept 2016 pursuant to Art. 12 para. 2 of the Publications Act of 18 June 2004 (SR 170.512). Para. 1 let. e — Amended by No II 1 of the FA of 2
Art. 3 Definitions
In this Act the terms below are defined as follows: a. register of residents: register maintained manually or electronically by the canton or the commune, in which anyone who is permanently settled or is resident in the canton or in the commune is recorded; b. commune of permanent settlement: commune in which a person resides with the intention of remaining there permanently, in order to establish the focus of his or her life there, as must be recognisable to others; a person is regarded as permanently settled in the commune in which he or she has deposited the required document, and may have only one commune of permanent settlement; c. commune of residence: commune in which a person resides for a specific purpose, without the intention of remaining there permanently, for a minimum of three consecutive months or three months within a single year; residency for the purpose of attending a educational institution or school and the accommodation of a person in a corrective, residential, or
Art. 4 Task of the Federal Office
1 The Federal Office defines the identifiers and attributes in accordance with Articles 6 letters b–t, 7 and 13 paragraph 2 as well as the corresponding attribute characteristics, nomenclatures and coding keys. The recording of data relating to civil status in the registers is governed by Articles 39–49 of the Civil Code. 2 In devising the definitions, the Federal Office takes account of the demands and needs of the cantons and communes as well as of the federal agencies that maintain or rely on the registers under Article 2 paragraph 1. 3 It provides the cantons, the communes and the federal agencies under Article 2 paragraph 1 with the required definitions, nomenclatures and coding keys free of charge. 4 It regularly publishes an official catalogue of attributes that contains the attribute characteristics as well as the nomenclatures and coding keys.
Para. 1 — SR 210
Art. 5 Completeness of the registers
The registers must be up-to-date, accurate and complete in relation to the group of persons recorded therein.