Booking flights online is challenging without a valid date of birth
Keystone
People who don’t know or cannot prove their date of birth face a range of challenges, such as reserving flights or hotel rooms online. This problem has been solved in Switzerland: from next year, “January 1” will be entered in such passports.
This situation applies to some 800 people in Switzerland, the Federal Department of Justice said on Monday. These are typically migrants whose documents are held by their country of birth and are impossible to obtain.
“The government is thus offering a speedy and pragmatic solution to affected citizens who have problems when travelling or in banks or post offices,” it said in a statementExternal link.
Until now, the birthdate section on such documents recorded 00/00 and the year of birth, for example 00/00/76 – a practice which created a problem for holders at border controls and even when shopping online.
The justice ministry said it would amend the legal basis by the end of the year.
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