Visa Information System-Ordinance (VISO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Section 1 Online Consultation of the C-VIS
(Art. 109a FNIA)
Art. 11
1 The following authorities may consult C-VIS data online in order to fulfil the duties assigned to them: a. at SEM: 1. the Entry Section and the Admission and Residence Section: to fulfil their tasks in relation to visas, 2. the Dublin Sections and the employees in reception and processing centres responsible for assessing applications for asylum: to determine the Dublin state responsible for assessing an asylum application, 3. the Asylum Division: to assess asylum applications where Switzerland is responsible for deciding, 4. the Statistics Service: to compile visa statistics under Article 17 of the EU VIS Regulation; b. the border posts of the cantonal police authorities and the Border Guard: to issue exceptional visas; c. the Swiss representations abroad and the Swiss Mission to the UN in Geneva: to assess visa applications; d. the State Secretariat, the Consular Directorate and the Directorate of Political Affairs of the FDFA: to assess visa applications for which the FDFA is resp
Para. 1 let. a let. 4 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a. Para. 1 let. e — Amended by No I of the O of 19 Feb. 2020, in force since 1 April 2020 (AS 2020 917).
Section 2 Data Categories for Consulting the C-VIS
Art. 12 Consultation to assess visa applications and for visa decisions
1 The consultation of the C-VIS to assess visa applications and for visa decisions is carried out in accordance with Article 15 paragraph 2 the EU VIS Regulation on the basis of one or more of the following data: a. application number; b. first name, surname, name at birth (previous surname), sex, and date, place and country of birth; c. nature and number of the travel documents, issuing authority, date of issue and expiry date; d. first name, surname and address of the natural person or name and address of the legal entity issuing the invitation or that is required to bear the subsistence costs of the visa applicant during the stay, and the first name, surname and address of the contact person for the legal entity; e. fingerprints; f. the number of the visa vignette and date of issue of previously issued visas. 2 If the search produces a hit, the authority may consult the previous application data files for the applicant under Article 15 paragraph 3 of the EU VIS Regulation and the li
Para. 1 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a.
Art. 13 Consultation during checks on the Schengen external borders or on Swiss sovereign territory
1 The consultation of the C-VIS during checks at crossing points on the external borders of the Schengen area in order to verify the identity of the visa holder or the authenticity of the visa or to assess whether the requirements for entry into Schengen area are met is carried out in accordance with Article 18 paragraph 1 EU VIS Regulation on the basis of the visa vignette number and the visa holder's fingerprints. 2 If the search produces a hit, the authority may under Article 18 paragraph 4 EU VIS Regulation consult the data in categories I, II and V–VII in accordance with Annex 3. 3 The consultation of the C-VIS to verify the identity of the visa holder or the authenticity of the visa or to assess whether the requirements for entry into Swiss sovereign territory or for residence there are met is carried out in accordance with Article 19 paragraph 1 EU VIS Regulation on the basis of the visa vignette number and the visa holder's fingerprints or solely on the basis of the visa vignet
Para. 1 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a.
Art. 14 Consultation for identification
1 Consultation of the C-VIS solely on the basis of fingerprints may be carried out under Article 20 paragraph 1 EU VIS Regulation if: a. the verification of the identity of a visa holder under Article 13 was not successfully; b. there is doubt as to the identity of the visa holder or the authenticity of the visa or of the travel documents; c. the identity of a person without a visa must be verified. 2 If the consultation on the basis of fingerprints is not successful or if it cannot be used, a consultation on the basis of the following data may be carried out: a. first name, surname, name at birth (previous surname), sex, and date, place and country the birth; or b. nature and number of the travel documents, issuing authority, date of issue and expiry date. 3 The consultation under paragraph 2 may be carried out in combination with current nationality or nationality at birth. 4 If the search produces a hit, the authority may under Article 20 paragraph 2 EU VIS Regulation consult the da
Para. 1 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a.
Art. 15 Consultation to determine the responsible Dublin state
1 The consultation of the C-VIS to determine the responsible Dublin state in accordance with Articles 12 and 34 of Regulation (EC) No 604/2013 (EU Dublin-Ordinance) is carried out on the basis of the asylum seeker's fingerprints. 2 If the consultation on the basis of the fingerprints is unsuccessful or cannot be used, the consultation may be carried out in accordance with the procedure under Article 14 paragraphs 2 and 3. 3 If the search produces a hit and if a visa has been issued or extended that expired no later than six months before the date on which the asylum application was filed, the data in categories I, II, VI and VII in accordance with Annex 3 may be consulted in accordance with Article 21 paragraph 2 the EU VIS Regulation. 4 Only applications that are linked due to the applicants belonging to the same family may be consulted.
Para. 1 — Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (recast), version in accordance with OJ L 180 of 29.6.2013, p. 31. Para. 3 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a.
Art. 16 Consultation to assess asylum applications
1 The consultation of the C-VIS to assess an asylum application is carried out on the basis of the asylum seeker's fingerprints. 2 If the consultation on the basis of the fingerprints is unsuccessful or cannot be used, the consultation may be carried out in accordance with the procedure under Article 14 paragraphs 2 and 3. 3 If the search produces a hit and if a visa has been issued, the data in categories I, II and V–VII in accordance with Annex 3 may be consulted in accordance with Article 22 paragraph 2 the EU VIS Regulation. 4 Only applications that are linked due to the applicants belonging to the same family may be consulted, together with the various related application data files for the same applicant.
Para. 3 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a.
Section 3 Access to C-VIS via the Central Access P
Art. 17 Federal authorities that may request data
The following federal authorities may request C-VIS data in accordance with Article 109a paragraph 3 letters a–c FNIA: a. at fedpol: 1. the operations centre, 2. the Federal Criminal Police, 3. the International Identifications Service; b. at the Federal Intelligence Service: 1. the Procurement Section, 2. the Evaluation Section, 3. Counter Terrorism Coordination, 4. Intelligence Service Coordination, 5. Counter Extremism Coordination, 6. Non-Proliferation Coordination, 7. the Aliens Division; c. at the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland: 1. the Judgment Enforcement Service: to implement the decisions of the federal criminal justice authorities, unless the cantons have jurisdiction, in particular in application of Article 82 paragraph 1 of the Ordinance of 24 October 2007 on Admission, Period of Stay and Employment, 2. the divisions conducting proceedings in Bern, namely National Security and Organised Crime, White-Collar Crime, Mutual Legal Assistance, Terrorism, Internatio
let. c — Amended by No I of the O of 10 Nov. 2021, in force since 1 May 2022 (AS 2022 735). let. c let. 1 — SR 142.201 let. c let. 2 — SR 312.0
Art. 18 Cantonal and communal authorities that may request data
The following cantonal and communal authorities may request C-VIS data in accordance with Article 109a paragraph 3 letter d FNIA: a. the cantonal police authorities; b. the communal police authorities in the cities of Zurich, Winterthur, Lausanne, Chiasso and Lugano; c. the prosecution authorities via the cantonal police authorities.
Art. 19 Procedure for receiving data
1 The authorities under Articles 17 and 18 shall submit an application for access to the C-VIS data with a statement of the grounds to fedpol OC in paper form or electronically. 2 In urgent exceptional cases, an authority may also submit an application verbally. The fedpol OC shall process the application immediately and assess subsequently whether the requirements under Article 20 have been met and whether it is actually an urgent exceptional case. Retrospective assessment must be carried out immediately after the application is processed. 3 Fedpol set out the modalities of the procedure in processing regulations.
Art. 20 Requirements for receiving the data
The fedpol OC shall assess whether: a. the data are required to prevent, disclose or investigate terrorist or other serious offences; b. their transmission are justified in the specific case; c. there are justified grounds to assume that their transmission will considerably assist in preventing, disclosing or investigating terrorist or other serious offences.
let. a — Amended by No I of the O of 10 Nov. 2021, in force since 1 May 2022 (AS 2022 735). let. c — Amended by No I of the O of 10 Nov. 2021, in force since 1 May 2022 (AS 2022 735).
Art. 21 Consultation and transmission of the data
1 If the requirements under Article 20 are met, the fedpol OC shall consult the C-VIS data. The consultation may be carried out only on the basis of the data specified in Article 5 paragraph 2 of Decision 2008/633/JHA (EU VIS Decision) and in accordance with the rights to consult data set out in Annex 3. 2 If the consultation produces a hit, the fedpol OC shall transmit the data specified in Article 5 paragraph 3 of the EU VIS Decision to the authority by secure means.
Para. 1 — Council Decision 2008/633/JHA of 23 June 2008 concerning access for consultation of the Visa Information System (VIS) by designated authorities of Member States and by Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences, version in accordance with OJ L 218 of 13.8.2008, p. 129.
Art. 22 Exchange of information with EU member states not bound by the EU VIS Regulation
1 The EU member states where the EU VIS Regulation is not in force may submit applications to obtain C-VIS data either directly to the fedpol OC via the secure connections intended for criminal police correspondence or to the other authorities in accordance with Articles 17 and 18. 2 The fedpol OC shall assess the applications and respond to them directly. 3 The procedure is governed by Article 19. 4 The fedpol OC may, with a view to obtaining information in relation to visas, submit applications to the responsible authorities in the EU member states where the EU VIS Regulation is not in force.
Para. 1 — See footnote to Art. 2 let. a.