2002R1030 — EN — 19.05.2008 — 001.001

This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

Amended by:









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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1030/2002

of 13 June 2002

laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals







THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular point 3 of Article 63 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ( 2 ), Whereas: (1) The Treaty of Amsterdam aims to establish progressively an area of freedom, security and justice and confers a shared right of initiative on the Commission in order to take the relevant measures on a harmonised immigration policy. (2) Paragraph 38(c)(ii) of the action plan of the Council and the Commission on how best to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam on an area of freedom, security and justice ( 3 ) provides for the preparation of rules concerning procedures for the issue by Member States of long-visas and residence permits. (3) The Tampere European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999 emphasised the need for this harmonised immigration policy, particularly in view of the provisions of the Treaty relating to the entry and residence of third-country nationals. (4) Council Joint Action 97/11/JHA ( 4 ) concerning a uniform format for residence permits confirms the need to harmonise the format of residence permits issued by Member States to third-country nationals. Consequently, it is appropriate that Joint Action 97/11/JHA should henceforth be replaced by a Community act. (5) It is essential that the uniform format for residence permits should contain all the necessary information and meet very high technical standards, in particular as regards safeguards against counterfeiting and falsification. This will contribute to the objective of preventing and combating illegal immigration and illegal residence. The format should also be suited to use by all the Member States and bear universally recognisable harmonised security features, which are visible to the naked eye. (6) In order to improve protection of residence permits against counterfeiting and falsification, Member States and the Commission will consider at regular intervals, in line with technological developments, what changes should be made to the security features built into permits, especially incorporation and use of new biometric features. (7) This Regulation only lays down such specifications as are not secret. These specifications need to be supplemented by specifications which are to remain secret in order to prevent the risk of counterfeiting and falsifications and which may not include personal data or references to such data. Powers to adopt such additional technical specifications should be conferred on the Commission, which will be assisted by the Committee established by Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format for visas ( 5 ). In this respect, it should be ensured that any lack of continuity with regard to the residence permits arising from the Council Decisions of 17 December 1997 and 8 June 2001 is avoided. (8) To ensure that the information in question is not divulged more widely than is necessary, it is also essential that each Member State designate a single body for printing the uniform format for residence permits, while retaining the possibility of changing that body, if necessary. For security reasons, each Member State should communicate the name of the competent body to the Commission and to the other Member States. (9) Member States should, in consultation with the Commission, implement the necessary measures to ensure that the processing of personal data complies with the level of protection referred to in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data ( 6 ). (10) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission ( 7 ). (11) This Regulation does not affect the competence of Member States with regard to the recognition of States and territorial entities and passports, travel and identity documents issued by their authorities. (12) In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark is not participating in the adoption of this Regulation and is therefore not bound by it or subject to its application. Given that this Regulation aims to build upon the Schengen acquis under the provisions of the third part of Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark will, in accordance with Article 5 of the said Protocol, decide within a period of six months after the Council has adopted this Regulation whether it will transpose it into its national law. (13) As regards the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway, this Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis falling within the area referred to in Article 1, point B, of Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis ( 8 ). (14) In accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, the United Kingdom gave notice, by letter of 3 July 2001, of its wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. (15) In accordance with Article 1 of the said Protocol, Ireland is not participating in the adoption of this Regulation. Consequently and without prejudice to Article 4 of the aforementioned Protocol, the provisions of this Regulation do not apply to Ireland, Whereas: HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:







Article 1

1. Residence permits issued by Member States to third-country nationals shall be drawn up in a uniform format and provide sufficient space for the information set out in the Annex hereto. ►M1 Residence permits to third-country nationals shall be issued as stand-alone documents in ID 1 or ID 2 format. ◄ Each Member State may add in the relevant space of the uniform format information of importance regarding the nature of the permit and the legal status of the person concerned, in particular information as to whether or not the person is permitted to work.

2. For the purpose of this Regulation,

(a) ‘residence permit’ shall mean any authorisation issued by the authorities of a Member State allowing a third-country national to stay legally on its territory, with the exception of: (i) visas; ▼M1 (ii) permits issued pending examination of a request for asylum, an application for a residence permit or an application for its extension; ▼M1 (iia) permits issued in exceptional circumstances with a view to an extension of the authorised stay with a maximum duration of one month; ▼B (iii) authorisations issued for a stay of a duration not exceeding six months by Member States not applying the provisions of Article 21 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders ( 9 );

(b) ‘third-country national’ shall mean any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 17(1) of the Treaty.

Article 2

1. Additional technical specifications for the uniform format for residence permits relating to the following shall be established in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7(2):

(a) additional security features and requirements including enhanced anti-forgery, counterfeiting and falsification standards;

(b) technical processes and rules for the filling in of the uniform residence permit;

(c) other rules to be observed for the filling in of the uniform residence permit;

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(d) technical specifications for the storage medium of the biometric features and the security thereof, including prevention of unauthorised access;

(e) requirements for the quality of and common standards for the facial image and the fingerprint images;

(f) an exhaustive list of additional national security features which could be added by Member States in accordance with point (h) of the Annex.

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2. The colours of the uniform residence permit may be changed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7(2).

Article 3

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In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7(2), it may be decided that the specifications referred to in Article 2 shall be secret and not be published. In that case they shall be made available only to the bodies designated by the Member States as responsible for the printing and to persons duly authorised by a Member State or the Commission.

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Each Member State shall designate one body having responsibility for printing the uniform residence permit. It shall communicate the name of that body to the Commission and the other Member States. The same body may be designated by two or more Member States. Each Member State shall be entitled to change its designated body. It shall inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly.

Article 4

Without prejudice to data protection rules, persons to whom the residence permit is issued shall have the right to verify the personal particulars contained in the residence permit and, where appropriate, to have them corrected or deleted.

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No information in machine-readable form shall be included on the resident permit or on the storage medium of the residence permit referred to in Article 4a, unless provided for in this Regulation, or its Annex or unless it is mentioned in the related travel document by the issuing State in accordance with its national legislation. Member States may also store data for e-services such as e-government and e-business as well as additional provisions relating to the residence permit on a chip referred to in point 16 of the Annex. However, all national data must be logically separated from the biometric data referred to in Article 4a.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the biometric features in residence permits shall only be used for verifying:

(a) the authenticity of the document;

(b) the identity of the holder by means of directly available comparable features when the residence permit is required to be produced by national legislation.

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Article 4a

The uniform format for residence permits shall include a storage medium containing the facial image and two fingerprint images of the holder, both in interoperable formats. The data shall be secured and the storage medium shall be of sufficient capacity and capability to guarantee the integrity, authenticity and confidentiality of the data.

Article 4b

For the purposes of this Regulation, Member States shall take biometric identifiers comprising the facial image and two fingerprints from third-country nationals.

The procedure shall be determined in accordance with the national practice of the Member State concerned and with the safeguards laid down in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The following biometric identifiers shall be taken:

— a photograph provided by the applicant or taken at the time of application and,

— two fingerprints taken flat and digitally captured.

The technical specifications for the capture of biometric identifiers shall be set out in accordance with the procedure described in Article 7(2) and with ICAO standards and the technical specifications for passports issued by Member States to their nationals pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States ( 10 ).

The capture of fingerprints is compulsory as of six years of age.

Persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible shall be exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints.

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Article 5

This Regulation shall not apply to third-country nationals who are:

— members of the families of citizens of the Union exercising their right to free movement,

— nationals of Member States of the European Free Trade Association party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and members of their families exercising their right to free movement in accordance with that Agreement,

— nationals of third countries who are exempt from the requirement to hold a visa and who are authorised to stay in a Member State for a period of less than three months.

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Article 5a

Where Member States use the uniform format for purposes other than those covered by this Regulation, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that confusion with the residence permit referred to in Article 1 is not possible and the purpose is clearly indicated on the card.

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Article 6

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 7(2).

Article 7

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set up by Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1683/95.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months.

3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 8

This Regulation shall not affect the powers of the Member States regarding recognition of States and territorial entities and passports, identity documents and travel documents issued by their authorities.

Article 9

Member States shall issue the uniform format for residence permits defined in Article 1 no later than one year after the adoption of the additional security features and requirements referred to in Article 2(1)(a).

From that date, this Regulation shall, in the Member States concerned, replace Joint Action 97/11/JHA.

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The storage of the facial image as primary biometric identifier shall be implemented at the latest two years, and the storage of the two fingerprint images at the latest three years, after the adoption of the respective technical measures provided for in Article 2(1)(d) and (e).

However, the validity of residence permits already issued shall not be affected by the implementation of this Regulation, unless the Member State concerned decides otherwise.

For a transitional period of two years after the adoption of the technical specifications for the facial image referred to in the third paragraph of this Article, the residence permit may continue to be issued in sticker form.

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However, the validity of authorisations already granted in another format of residence permit shall not be affected by the introduction of the uniform format for residence permits, unless the Member State concerned decides otherwise.

Article 10

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.









ANNEX

(a) Description

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The residence permit including biometrics will be produced as a stand-alone document in ID 1 or ID 2 format. It will draw on the specifications set out in the ICAO documents on machine-readable visas (document 9303, part 2) or on machine-readable travel documents (cards) (document 9303, part 3). The residence permit in sticker form may only be issued for two years after the adoption of the technical specifications referred to in the third paragraph of Article 9. It will contain the following entries:

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1. The title of the document (residence permit) will appear in the language(s) of the issuing Member State ( 11 ).

2. The document number (with special security features ►M1 ————— ◄ ).

3.1. Name: surname and forename(s) in that order (11) .

4.2. ‘Valid until’ will indicate the relevant expiry date or, where appropriate, a word to indicate unlimited validity.

5.3. Place of issue and date of beginning of validity: the place and date of issue of the residence permit (11) .

6.4. Type of permit: the specific type of residence permit issued by the Member State to the third-country national (11) . ►M1 The residence permit of a member of the family of a citizen of the European Union who has not exercised the right of free movement must contain the entry ‘family member’. In the case of beneficiaries under Article 3(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States ( 12 ), Member States may enter ‘beneficiary under Article 3(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC’. ◄

7.5.-9. Remarks: Member States may enter details and indications for national use necessary in the light of their national provisions on third-country nationals, including indications relating to any permission to work (12) .

8. Date/signature/authorisation: where appropriate, the signature and seal of the issuing authority and/or the signature of the holder.

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8.a The document title referred to in number 1 may also be repeated along the bottom of the card in a further two languages. The headings referred to in numbers 2 to 8 should be indicated in the issuing Member State's language(s). The issuing Member State may add another official language of the European Union institutions, either in the same line or in the line below, with a total of no more than two languages.

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9. The printed area will contain the national emblem of the Member State to distinguish the residence permit and provide a safeguard of its national origin.

10. Machine-readable area. Machine-readable area will conform to ICAO guidelines.

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11. The machine-readable area will contain a printed text in the background printing indicating the issuing Member State. This text may not affect the technical features of the machine-readable area.

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12. Metallised latent image effect, including the country code of the Member State, if a sticker is used.

13. OVD (optically variable device) (kinegram or equivalent sign) which provides a quality of identification and a level of security not less than the device used in the current uniform format for visas.

14. If the residence permit is produced as a stand-alone document, an identity photograph will be affixed in this space and secured by being integrated in the structure of the card or by means of a hot-seal laminate, the optically variable device being incorporated in each case. If the residence permit is produced as a sticker, this space will contain a photograph produced according to high security standards.

15. The following additional information boxes will be provided on the back in the case of a stand-alone document: — date and place of birth (12) , — nationality (12) , — sex (12) , — remarks (12) . The address of the permit holder may also be indicated (12) .

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16. A RF chip shall be used as a storage medium in accordance with Article 4a. Member States may store data on this chip or incorporate in the residence permit a dual interface or a separate contact chip for national use which shall be placed at the back of the card complying with ISO standards and shall in no way interfere with the RF chip.

17. ICAO symbol for a machine readable travel document with contactless microchip (e-MRTD).

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(b) Colour, printing process

The Member States will establish the colour and the printing process in accordance with the uniform format set out in this Annex and the technical specifications to be established in accordance with Article 2 of this Regulation.

(c) Material

The paper used for the residence permit giving biographical or other data must meet the following minimum requirements:

— no optical brighteners,

— duo-tone watermarks,

— security reagents to guard against attempts at tampering by chemical erasure,

— coloured fibres (partly visible, partly fluorescent under UV light),

— UV-fluorescent planchettes.

No watermarks are used if the residence permit is issued in the form of a sticker.

If a card for biographical data is made entirely of plastic, it is not usually possible to incorporate the authentication marks used in paper. The lack of such marks must therefore be compensated for by the use of security printing techniques, OVDs, or issuing techniques which go beyond the following enhanced security standards. The basic security features of the materials used should be of a uniform design.

(d) Printing techniques

The following printing techniques will be employed:

— Background printing: — two-tone guilloches, fluorescent rainbow colouring, UV-fluorescent overprinting, effective anti-counterfeiting and falsification motifs, reagent inks must be used on paper cards and stickers.

The lay-out of the front of a card will be distinguishable from the back of the card.

— Form printing: — with integrated micro printing (unless already included in background printing).

— Numbering: — printed (where possible with a special style of figures or typeface and in UV-fluorescent ink) or, in the case of cards, integrated, using the same technique as for the biographical data. For stickers, printed numbering using fluorescent ink and a special style of figures is obligatory.

If stickers are used, intaglio printing with latent image effect, micro text and optically variable ink will also be employed. Additional optically variable security devices will also be used on cards made entirely of plastic, at least through the use of optically variable ink or equivalent measures. The basic features of the security printing should be of a uniform design.

(e) Protection against copying

An OVD providing a quality of identification and a level of security not less than the device used in the current uniform format for visas will be used on the residence permit sticker or on the front of the residence permit card. This OVD will be incorporated into the structure of the card, into the hot-sealed laminate or as an OVD overlay, or, on stickers, as metallised OVD (with intaglio overprinting).

(f) Issuing technique

To ensure that residence permit data are properly secured against attempts at counterfeiting and falsification, biographical data including the photograph, the holder's signature and the other main data will in future be integrated into the basic material of the document. Conventional methods of attaching the photograph will no longer be used.

The following issuing techniques may be used:

— laser printing,

— thermo-transfer,

— ink-jet printing,

— photographic,

— laser engraving.

To ensure that biographical issue data are adequately protected against attempts at tampering, hot-seal lamination with OVD security laminate will be compulsory where laser printing, thermo-transfer or photographic techniques are used. Residence permits in card form should also be laminated in this manner when issued using ink-jet printing. Since multiple hot-seal lamination of travel documents is not feasible when residence permits are affixed in the form of stickers, ink-jet printing will be the only possible technique for issuing stickers. Laser engraving will be used for plastic cards (made entirely or partly of synthetics).

(g) Member States have the possibility, with regard to points (c), (d) and (e), to introduce further security features provided that these are in conformity with decisions already taken on these matters. The technical requirements and the security features will correspond to the requirements and specifications set out in Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas.

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(h) Member States may also add additional national security features, provided that these are included in the list established under Article 2(1)(f) of this Regulation and provided that they comply with the harmonised appearance of the following models and that the efficiency of the uniform security features is not diminished.

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