Passenger Locator Forms: Travellers face fines at Swiss customs

A number of new arrivals into Switzerland have been fined up to 100 Swiss francs by the authorities after they failed to fill out the official Passenger Locator Form (PLF), with some citing privacy concerns.

Passenger Locator Forms were introduced at the end of September 

PLF forms have been required to enter Switzerland since the end of September 2021, as part of a number of measures introduced in the travel industry to help manage the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The form asks passengers to detail their name, passport information, address, mobile phone number, and means of transport into the country. So far, more than 900.000 of the forms have been completed since the Swiss government introduced the measure. 

Customs officers have been conducting spot checks at airports, ports and other Swiss border points, issuing fines to those without the proper documentation. 

Data protection activists are concerned

Several data protection activists have expressed concern about how data collected from the PLF forms is being stored. While basic details such as name and address are not unusual, passengers must also give their COVID-19 vaccination status, and for travellers arriving by road, vehicle registration is required. 

The Swiss government have defended their collection of the personal data by implementing a policy to delete all data relating to an individual’s PLF after 30 days.