Modified proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2006-03-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: admission of aliens, data protection, foreign national, harmonisation of standards, migration policy, residence permit, technical specification

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 10.3.2006 
COM(2006) 110 final 

2003/0218 (CNS) 

Modified proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION  

amending Regulation (EC) 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence 
permits for third-country nationals 

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Following  the  Thessaloniki  European  Council  of  19/20  June  2003,  where  it  was  confirmed 
that “a coherent approach is needed in the EU on biometric identifiers or biometric data which 
would result in harmonised solutions for documents for third country nationals, EU citizens’ 
passports  and  information  systems  (VIS  and  SIS  II)”,  the  Commission  presented  on  24 
September  2003  two  proposals  amending  the  uniform  format  for  visas  and  the  residence 
permit for third country nationals. 

The Commission’s intention with these proposals was twofold: 

–  to bring forward the final date for the implementation of the photograph from 2007 to 2005 

and at the same time,  

–  require  Member  States  to  integrate  two  mandatory  biometric  identifiers,  the  facial  image 
and  two  fingerprints  in  interoperable  formats  into  the  visa  and  the  residence  permit  for 
third country nationals in a harmonised way, thus ensuring interoperability. 

When  choosing  the  most  appropriate  biometric  identifiers,  the  results  of  the  work  of  the 
ICAO  (International  Civil  Aviation  Organisation),  which  has  taken  the  lead  for  the 
development of international standards in this respect, and of the feasibility study on the visa 
information system (VIS) have been taken into account.  

A large consensus could be found on the biometric identifiers and the approach proposed by 
the Commission and a political agreement–as requested by the European Council in Brussels 
on  16/17  October  2003-  was  reached  at  the  Council  (JAI)  on  27  November  2003.  The 
proposals  could  not  be  finally  adopted  as  the  European  Parliament  had  not  yet  issued  its 
opinion.  In  order  to  demonstrate  the  political  agreement  reached,  Council  conclusions  have 
been adopted which also take up the issue of the necessity of a second proposal amending the 
Common  Consular  Instruction  in  view  of  creating  the  obligation  to  enrol  fingerprints  and 
specifying the possible exceptions and which invite the Commission with the assistance of the 
“Committee Article 6” created by Regulation 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visa 
to start working on the technical specifications necessary for the implementation of biometrics 
in the two documents in view of the possible practical implementation of the Regulation. 

The  work  of  the  technical  committee  resulted  in  the  conclusion  that  at  this  stage  it  is 
technically not feasible to integrate biometrics into the visa sticker and the sticker version of 
the residence permit for third country nationals, as stated in the draft Regulation (problems of 
durability of the chip, and interference between several chips in one passport).  

As  a  consequence  the  Council  invited  the  Commission  on  24  February  2005  to  amend  its 
proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  1030/2002  laying  down  a 
uniform  format  for  residence  permits  for  third-country  nationals  to  take  account  of  the 
consensus  reached  by  the  Council  on  incorporating  biometric  identifiers  into  residence 
permits in the form of a separate card within a period of 24 months, and to take account of the 
Council's desire to discontinue the use of residence permits in the form of stickers". 

In this context, the Estonian delegation tabled the following declaration at the Council:  

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“The  Commission  should  take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  that  the  current  national 
developments with regard to authentication, certification, digital signature and e-Government 
services for third country nationals living legally on the territory of a Member State shall be 
taken into account.” 

While  drafting  the  amendment  to  the  proposal for  a  Regulation  the  question  arises  how  the 
Estonian  concern  can  be  taken  into  account.  The  use  of  new  technologies  as  e-government, 
digital  signature  etc.  and  the  reasoning  of  Estonia  who  wishes  to  treat  equally  their  citizens 
and  third  country  residents  giving  them  access  to  e-services  via  ID-cards  and  residence 
permits  should  in  principle  be  supported  if  there  are  no  major  obstacles.  Therefore  a  new 
“point 16” has been introduced in the Annex giving the possibility to integrate a contact chip 
into  the  residence  permit  which  Member  States  can  use  for  such  purposes  in  line  with  the 
relevant data protection rules. 

The insertion of this contact chip would be left optional for Member States and it should not 
disturb  the  uniformity  of  the  format,  as  already  now  Regulation  (EC)  1030/2002  gives  the 
possibility of issuing different versions of cards (cards made entirely out of plastic, cards with 
paper inlay in ID1 and ID2 format). It is placed at a space set out by the amendment for the 
Regulation. The uniform format is amended to that effect.  

Consequently,  the  new  draft  amendment  includes  a  new  prototype  of  uniform  residence 
permit  including  a  box  for  the  possible  insertion  of  a  contact  chip;  the  Annex  refers  to  this 
box (Nr. 16). 

At the same time, the proposal has been aligned with Regulation (EC) 2252/2004 on common 
security features and biometrics for passports and other documents issued by Member States 
as regards the changes adopted at the request of the Article 29 working party. In particular it 
has been clearly determined that the data stored on the chip can only be used for verifying the 
authenticity of the document and the identity of the holder. 

At the meeting of the Strategic Committee on 21/22 June 2005 in Luxembourg the decision 
has been taken that for the time being no additional solution will be adopted for integrating 
biometric  identifiers  on  the  visa  sticker  itself  or  on  a  separate  smart  card.  The  biometric 
identifiers will be only stored in the Visa Information System. 

As  most  of  the  Member  States  are  currently  anticipating  the  photo  integration  in  the  visa 
sticker  until  the  end  of  2005  both  aims  of  the  Commission  proposal  amending  Regulation 
(EC) 1683/95 laying down a uniform format for visas are superseded.  

Therefore  the  Commission  proposal  amending  Regulation  (EC)  1683/95  laying  down  a 
uniform format for visas will be withdrawn. 

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2003/0218 (CNS) 

Modified proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION  

amending Regulation (EC) 1030/2002 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 
Article 63 (3) a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The  Amsterdam  Treaty  aims  to  establish  establishing  progressively  an  area  of 
freedom,  security  and  justice  and  confers  a  shared  the  right  of  initiative  to  the 
Commission  in  order  to  take  the  relevant  measures  on  a  harmonised  immigration 
policy.  

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  fighting  against  illegal  immigration  and  illegal  residence.  It  must 
also be suited to use by all the Member States. 

The  integration  of  biometric  identifiers  is  an  important  step  towards  the  use  of  new 
elements,  which  establish  a  more  reliable  link  between  the  holder  and  the  residence 
permit as an important contribution to ensuring that it is protected against fraudulent 
use. The specifications set out in the ICAO document No 9303 on machine readable 
visas should be taken into account. 

The use of new technologies such as e-government and digital signature for access 
to e-services should be facilitated by giving Member States the possibility to use 
an additional storage medium for that purpose in residence permits. 

(5) (4)  This  Regulation  only  lays  down  such  specifications  as  are  not  secret;  these 
specifications  need  to  be  supplemented  by  further  specifications  which  may  are  to 
remain secret in order to prevent counterfeiting and falsifications and which may not 

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2 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

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include personal data or references to such data. Powers to adopt such supplementary 
specifications  should  be  conferred  to  the  Commission,  who  shall  be  assisted  by  the 
Committee established by Article 6 of Council Regulation(EC) n°1683/95 of 29 May 
1995 laying down a uniform format for visas3. 

(6) (5)  With regard to the personal data to be processed in the context of the uniform format 
for  residence  permits,  Directive  95/46/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 24.10.1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of 
personal data and on the free movement of such data4 applies. It must be ensured that 
no  further  information  shall  be  stored  on  the  uniform  format  for  residence  permits 
unless provided for in the regulation, its annex or unless it is mentioned in the relevant 
travel document. 

(7) (6)  In accordance with the principle of proportionality, it is necessary and appropriate for 
the  achievement  of  the  basic  objective  of  introducing  interoperable  biometric 
identifiers  to  lay  down  rules  for  all  Member  States  implementing  the  Schengen 
Convention. This Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve 
the  objectives  pursued  in  accordance  with  the  third  paragraph  of  Article  5  of  the 
Treaty.  

(8) (7)  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  taking  part  participating  in  the  adoption  of  this 
Regulation, and is therefore not bound by it or subject to its application. Given that 
this Regulation builds aims to build upon the Schengen acquis under the provisions of 
Title  IV  of  Part  three  of  theTreaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  Denmark 
shall 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  implement 
transpose it in into its national law. 

(9) (8)  As  regards  Iceland  and  Norway,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of 
provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning 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  which  fall  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 that Agreement5. 

(10)  As  regards  Switzerland,  this  Regulation  constitutes  a  development  of  the 
provisions of the Schengen acquis within the meaning of the Agreement signed by 
the European Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on 
the latter's association with the implementation, application and development of 
the Schengen acquis which fall within the area referred to in Article 4 (1) of the 
Council decision on the  signing, on behalf of the European  Community, and on 
the provisional application of certain provisions of this Agreement. 

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OJ L 164, 14.7.1995,p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation amending Regulation 1683/95 laying 
down a uniform format for visas. 
OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. 
OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31. 

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(11)(9) This  Regulation  constitutes  an  act  building  on  the  Schengen  acquis  or  otherwise 

related to it within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Act of Accession, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 is hereby amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 1 (1), the second sentence is replaced by the following: 

“The  residence  permit  shall  only  be  issued  as  a  stand-alone  document  in  ID  1  or  ID  2 
format  

(2) (1)  Article 2 (1), the following points d) and e) are added: 

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

e)  requirements  for  the  quality  of  and  common  standards  for  the  facial  image  and  the 
fingerprint images.” 

(3) 

In Article 3, the first paragraph is replaced by the following: 

“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. ” 

(4) (2)  In Article 4, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

“No information on in machine-readable form shall be included in 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 relevant travel document. by the issuing State 
in accordance with its national legislation. Member States may include in the residence 
permit an additional contact chip as set out in Part 16 of the annex to this Regulation for 
e-services such as e-government and e-business)” 

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

(a) the authenticity of the document; 

the  identity  of  the  holder  by  means  of  directly  available  comparable  features 

(b) 
when the residence permit is required to be produced by law.” 

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(5) (3)  The following Article 4a is inserted: 

“Article 4a 

‘The  uniform  format  for  residence  permits  shall  contain  include  a  storage  medium 
containing a facial image,. which shall function as interoparable biometric identifier and two 
fingerprint images of the holder. The fingerprint images are taken from flat fingers. Member 
States shall also include fingerprints in interoperable formats. The data shall be secured 
and  the  storage  medium  shall  be  of  sufficient  capacity  and  capability  to  guarantee  the 
integrity, the authenticity and the confidentiality of the data.” 

The biometric information shall be kept on a storage medium which shall be highly secured 
and which shall have sufficient capacity.”  

(6) (4)  In  The  third  subparagraph  of  Article  9,  the  third  paragraph  is  replaced  by  the 
following: 

‘The  integration  of  the  photograph  provided  for  in  point  14  of  the  Annex  shall  be 
implemented at the latest on 30 August 2006 14 August 2005. 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).’ 

For a transitional period of two years after the adoption of the technical specifications 
referred to in the third paragraph of Article 9 the residence permit may continue to be 
issued in sticker form.’  

The Annex is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  twentieth  20th  day  following  that  of  its 
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.  

Article 2 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President

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The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 is amended as follows: 

ANNEX  

(1) 

Point (a) is amended as follows: 

(1) The first paragraph is replaced by the following; 

“(a) Description 

The  residence  permit  will  be  produced  as  a  stand-alone  document  in  ID  1  or  ID  2 
format. It will be based 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 until 
two  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  technical  specifications  referred  to  in  the  third 
paragraph of Article 9. It will contain the following entries:……” 

(2) 

The following new point 16 is added: 

“16. Member States may incorporate in the residence permit a separate contact chip for 
national use which shall comply with ISO standards and shall in no way interfere with 
the RF chip.” 

(3) 

The following model is to be inserted: 

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(4) 
The reference “Residence permit for third country national in sticker form” and 
the model are deleted with effect from the date referred to in Article 9 of the Regulation. 

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