Swiss identity card
| Swiss identity card | |
|---|---|
| Issued by |
 Switzerland |
| Valid in |
 Andorra Iceland Liechtenstein Monaco Norway San Marino Turkey
 Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Kosovo Macedonia Montenegro Serbia Vatican City
 Alderney Guernsey Herm Jersey Sark(Channel Islands) |
| Type of document |
Identity card, optional replacement for passport in the listed countries |
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 travel document when travelling to all Schengen Treaty countries and the UK. (Remark: The European Union countries do not fully correspond with the Schengen treaty countries).
History
The Swiss identity card was blue and first introduced in 1955 when the European travel was starting to be more prevalent and after World War II. The Swiss confederation also wanted to make it easier for Swiss citizens to identify themselves within everyday business operations like picking up parcels or registered mail from the post offices at the time.
The Swiss identity card was then modified in 1977 and it changed its colour to a more green/brown colour.
Both the 1955 and 1977 series of Swiss identity cards were in a booklet format with the outer page on the 1955 ID card with the coat of arms of Switzerland, and then the wording in the three official languages of Switzerland: German, French and Italian.
When the 1977 version of the Swiss identity card was issued, the first period also had the documents printed in German, French and Italian. Later on, the Romansh language became a national Swiss Language with the referendum of the Swiss voters on March 6, 1996 and later on in the new 1999 Swiss Constitution.
External links
See also
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