Commentaries: Art. 99

Fingerprints of all fingers as well as photographs shall be taken of asylum seekers and persons in need of protection. The Federal Council may provide for exceptions in the case of minors under the age of 14.¹
The fingerprints and photographs shall be stored without the corresponding personal details in database managed by the Federal Office of Police and SEM.²
The new fingerprints shall be compared with the fingerprint database managed by the Federal Office of Police.³
If the Federal Office of Police determines a match with existing fingerprints, it shall inform SEM, the cantonal police authorities concerned and the Frontier Guards Corps and provide them with the personal details of the person concerned (name, first name, aliases, date of birth, sex, reference number, personal number, nationality, process control number and canton of allocation). Where there is a police report, the date, place and reason for taking the fingerprints contained therein shall also be provided in code form.⁴
SEM shall use this information to:
1. check the identity the person concerned;
2. check whether the person concerned has already applied for asylum before;
3. check whether there is data that confirms or refutes the statements made by the person concerned;
4. check whether there is data that call into question the eligibility of the person concerned to be granted asylum;
5. facilitate administrative assistance between SEM and the police authorities.
Personal data disclosed in accordance with paragraph 4 may only be disclosed abroad with the consent of the controller responsible for the data processing. Article 16 paragraph 1 of the FADP⁵appliesmutatis mutandis .⁶
The data shall be erased:
1. if asylum is granted;
2. at the latest ten years after the legally binding rejection, withdrawal or abandonment of the application for asylum or after a decision to dismiss the application;
3. ⁷ in the case of persons in need of protection, at the latest ten years after the lifting of the temporary protection.

Amended by Art. 3 No 2 of the FD of 17 Dec. 2004 on the Approval and the Implementation of the Bilateral Agreements between Switzerland and the EU on Association with Schengen and Dublin, in force since 12 Dec. 2008 (AS 2008 4475405Art. 1 let. a;BBl 2004 5965). ↩
Amended by No I of the FA of 16 Dec. 2005, in force since 1 Jan. 2008 (AS 2006 4745, 2007 5573;BBl 2002 6845). ↩
Amended by No I of the FA of 16 Dec. 2005, in force since 1 Jan. 2008 (AS 2006 4745, 2007 5573;BBl 2002 6845). ↩
Amended by No I of the FA of 16 Dec. 2005, in force since 1 Jan. 2008 (AS 2006 4745, 2007 5573;BBl 2002 6845). ↩
SR 235.1 ↩
Amended by Annex 1 No II 5 of the Data Protection Act of 25 Sept. 2020, in force since 1 Sept. 2023 (AS 2022 491;BBl 2017 6941). ↩
Amended by No I of the FA of 16 Dec. 2005, in force since 1 Jan. 2008 (AS 2006 4745, 2007 5573;BBl 2002 6845). ↩

Art. 99

Footnotes