
COUNCIL DECISION of 3 December 1998 on common standards relating to filling in the uniform format for residence permits (98/701/JHA) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to Joint Action 97/11/JHA of 16 December 1996 concerning a uniform format for residence permits, and in particular Article 2(1) thereof,
Whereas it is necessary to establish common standards relating to filling in the said format, so as to ensure the uniform aspect thereof;
Whereas this Decision does not affect the competence of Member States relating to the recognition of States and territorial entities, as well as of passports and travel documents issued by these States or entities; whereas the attribution of the codes in the Appendix to this Decision is of a purely administrative nature and is without prejudice to the determination of the nationality of third country residents,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 
The uniform format for residence permits shall be filled in in accordance with the procedures contained in the Annex hereto.
Article 2 
The Council shall examine, at least once a year, the procedures and codes contained in the Annex and the Appendix hereto with a view to adapting them.
Article 3 
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Done at Brussels, 3 December 1998.
For the Council
The President
K. SCHLÖGL
ANNEX
I. PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION OF THE COMMON REFERENCE AREA OF THE STICKER IN THE UNIFORM FORMAT OF THE RESIDENCE PERMIT. 

The format adopted for the sticker is in ID2 format (conforming with the dimensions for the ID2 type card (ISO7810)).

There are eight spaces to be completed in accordance with the technical specifications, where appropriate, as follows:
 1. Permit No 

The number of the document shall appear in this space (protected by special security features and preceded by a letter code), in accordance with part one paragraph 3.7 (initial letters) as detailed in paragraph 3.2) of the technical specifications.
 2. Name 

The surname(s) and first name(s) shall be inserted here in order. The surname(s) and first name(s) on the document to which the sticker is attached must be exactly the same as those on the sticker.
 3. ‘Valid until’ space 

The relevant date of expiry shall be entered in this space or, if necessary, a word or a code indicating unlimited validity.

Member States shall forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various words or codes referred to in the previous subparagraph, to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.

Where an expiry date is entered, the date must be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the following order, two for the day, two for the month and two for the year, to be separated by a hyphen, and the first figure shall be a nought where the number is lower than 10 (e.g. 15-01-96: 15 January 1996).
 4. Place/date of issue 

This space shall indicate the place and date of issue of the residence permit.

The date of issue shall be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the order laid down in the third subparagraph of point 3.
 5. Type of permit 

This space shall show the specific type of the residence permit issued by the Member State to the national of a third country.

This space should not be harmonised because of disparities between the laws of the Member States. However, Member States will forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various references they include in this space to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.
 6. Remarks 

Member States may enter in this space information and remarks for national use which are required by national provisions concerning nationals from third countries, including information on authorisation to work and passport number.

Member States will forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various permanent references they include in this space to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.
 7. Date/signature/authorisation 

Where necessary, the issuing authority may affix here its signature and its stamp and/or require the holder to affix his signature.

If this space is used, the date should be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the order laid down in the third subparagraph of point 3.

Where the Member State's legislation or practices require the affixing of an issuing-office stamp, the stamp should be located in the rectangle bounded on the right by the right edge of the sticker, on the left by the ‘Remarks’ box, above by the emblem of the Member State and below by the machine-readable area.

It is also desirable that the stamp consist of a rectangle 1 cm high × 2,5 cm wide showing the name of the authority issuing the residence permit and the signature and/or the date. The signature and/or the date should be framed on each side by three parallel horizontal lines, the middle one being half as long as the other two.
 8. Machine-readable area 

The area reserved for machine reading (including codes indicating nationality or other status) shall be completed in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as set out in the technical specification. On the second line, either the number of the permit or the passport number shall be recorded. The three codes relating to the nationality or status of the permit holder shall be entered in accordance with the list in the Appendix.

Member States shall notify the General Secretariat of the Council whether they intend to record the permit or the passport number. The Secretariat will circulate this information to all Member States.

II. PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION OF THE COMMON REFERENCE AREA OF THE STAND-ALONE DOCUMENT IN THE UNIFORM FORMAT OF THE RESIDENCE PERMIT. 

The format adopted for the stand-alone document is either the ID1 or ID2 format in accordance with ISO standard 7810.1995. In both formats there are 12 boxes to be completed in accordance with the technical specifications where appropriate.
 A. FRONT 
 1. Permit No 

The number of the document shall appear in this space preceded by a letter code, in accordance with Part 2 of paragraph 3.2 (initial letter(s) as detailed in Part I, paragraph 3.2) of the technical specifications.
 2. Name 

The surname(s) and first name(s) shall be inserted here in order.
 3. ‘Valid until’ space 

The corresponding date of expiry shall be entered in this space or, if necessary, a word or a code indicating unlimited validity.

Member States shall forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various words or codes referred to in the previous subparagraph, to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.

Where an expiry date is entered, the date must be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the following order, two for the day, two for the month and two for the year, to be separated by a hyphen, and the first figure shall be a nought where the number is lower than 10 (e.g. 15-01-96: 15 January 1996).
 4. Place/date of issue 

This space shall indicate the place and date of issue of the residence permit.

The date of issue shall be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the order laid down in the third subparagraph of point 3.
 5. Type of permit 

This space shall show the specific type of the residence permit issued by the Member State to the national of a third country.

This space should not be harmonised because of disparities between the laws of the Member States. However, Member States will forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various references they include in this space to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.
 6. Remarks 

Member States may enter in this space information and remarks for national use which are required by national provisions concerning nationals from third countries, incuding information on authorisation to work.

Member States will forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various permanent references they include in this space to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.
 7. Date/signature/authorisation 

Where necessary, the issuing authority may affix here its signature and its stamp and/or require the holder to affix his signature.

If this space is used, the date should be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the order laid down in the third subparagraph of point 3.

Where the Member State's legislation or practices require the affixing of an issuing-office stamp, the stamp could be located in the rectangle bounded on the right by the right edge of the standalone document, on the left by the ‘Remarks’ box, above by the emblem of the Member State and below by the base of the card in the ID1 format, or by the machine-readable area in the ID2 format.

It is also desirable that the stamp consist of a rectangle 1 cm high x 2,5 cm wide showing the name of the authority issuing the residence permit and the signature and/or the date; the signature and/or the date should be framed on each side by three parallel horizontal lines, the middle one being half as long as the other two.
 B. BACK 

Where there is a stand-alone document, the following additional references shall appear on the back.
 8. Date and place of birth 

Reference to the place and date of birth of the holder of the residence permit shall be entered here.

The place of birth shall be the name of the city, if known, as well as the country where the holder of the permit was born. Reference to the country of birth must be given since the holder's nationality may be different from the country of his birth.

The date of birth shall be entered by means of three groups of two figures in the order laid down in the third subparagraph of point 3.
 9. Nationality 

The nationality or any other status of the holder of the residence permit shall be entered here.

Reference to the nationality shall be by reference to the name of the country of which the foreigner is a national, or to any other relevant status, e.g. Colombia.
 10. Sex 

The sex of the holder of the residence permit shall be entered here in accordance with ICAO standards for the machine-readable zone.

Member States will forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various references they include in this box to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.
 11. Remarks 

Member States may enter in this box information and remarks for national use which are required by national provisions concerning nationals from third countries, for example the holder's address.

Member States will forward to the General Secretariat of the Council the various references they include in this box to enable the Secretariat to draw up a list for distribution to all Member States. Such a list could also be used as an additional device for discovering falsifications.
 12. Machine-readable area 

(on reverse side of the document in ID1 format and on the front of the document in ID2 format)

The area reserved for machine reading (including codes indicating nationality or other status) shall be completed in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as set out in the technical specification. The three codes relating to the nationality or status of the permit holder shall be entered in accordance with the list in the Appendix.

Appendix
List of the codes for entering the nationality or status of the holder of the residence permit in the machine-readable area
 Country Code
EUROPE
 Albania ALB
 Andorra AND
 Armenia ARM
 Azerbaijan AZE
 Belarus BLR
 Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH
 Bulgaria BGR
 Croatia HRV
 Cyprus CYP
 Czech Republic CZE
 Estonia EST
 Georgia GEO
 Holy See (Vatican City State) VAT
 Hungary HUN
 Latvia LVA
 Lithuania LTU
 Malta MLT
 Moldova, Republic of MDA
 Monaco MCO
 Poland POL
 Romania ROM
 Russian Federation RUS
 San Marino SMR
 Slovakia SVK
 Slovenia SVN
 Switzerland CHE
 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia FRM
 Turkey TUR
 Ukraine UKR
 Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of YUG
AFRICA
Algeria DZA
 Angola AGO
 Benin BEN
 Botswana BWA
 Burkina Faso BFA
 Burundi BDI
 Cameroon CMR
 Cape Verde CPV
 Central African Republic CAF
 Chad TCD
 Comoros COM
 Congo COG
 Congo, the Democratic Republic of the COD
 Cote d'Ivoire CIV
 Djibouti DJI
 Egypt EGY
 Equatorial Guinea GNQ
 Eritrea ERI
 Ethiopia ETH
 Gabon GAB
 Gambia GMB
 Ghana GHA
 Guinea GIN
 Guinea-Bissau GNB
 Kenya KEN
 Lesotho LSO
 Liberia LBR
 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya LBY
 Madagascar MDG
 Malawi MWI
 Mali MLI
 Mauritania MRT
 Mauritius MUS
 Morocco MAR
 Mozambique MOZ
 Namibia NAM
 Niger NER
 Nigeria NGA
 Rwanda RWA
 Sao Tome and Principe STP
 Senegal SEN
 Seychelles SYC
 Sierra Leone SLE
 Somalia SOM
 South Africa ZAF
 Sudan SDN
 Swaziland SWZ
 Tanzania, United Republic of TZA
 Togo TGO
 Tunisia TUN
 Uganda UGA
 Zambia ZMB
 Zimbabwe ZWE
AMERICA
 Antigua and Barbuda ATG
 Argentina ARG
 Bahamas BHS
 Barbados BRB
 Belize BLZ
 Bolivia BOL
 Brazil BRA
 Canada CAN
 Chile CHL
 Colombia COL
 Costa Rica CRI
 Cuba CUB
 Dominica DMA
 Dominican Republic DOM
 Ecuador ECU
 El Salvador SLV
 Grenada GRD
 Guatemala GTM
 Guyana GUY
 Haiti HTI
 Honduras HND
 Jamaica JAM
 Mexico MEX
 Nicaragua NIC
 Panama PAN
 Paraguay PRY
 Peru PER
 Saint Kitts and Nevis KNA
 Saint Lucia LCA
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VCT
 Suriname SUR
 Trinidad and Tobago TTO
 United States of America USA
 Uruguay URY
 Venezuela VEN
ASIA
 Afghanistan AFG
 Bahrain BHR
 Bangladesh BGD
 Bhutan BTN
 Brunei Darussalam BRN
 Cambodia KHM
 China CHN
 East Timor TMP
 India IND
 Indonesia IDN
 Iran (Islamic Republic of) IRN
 Iraq IRQ
 Israel ISR
 Japan JPN
 Jordan JOR
 Kazakhstan KAZ
 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of PRK
 Korea, Republic of KOR
 Kuwait KWT
 Kyrgyzstan KGZ
 Lao People's Democratic Republic LAO
 Lebanon LBN
 Malaysia MYS
 Maldives MDV
 Mongolia MNG
 Myanmar MMR
 Nepal NPL
 Oman OMN
 Pakistan PAK
 Palestine *
 Philippines PHA
 Qatar QAT
 Saudi Arabia SAU
 Singapore SGP
 Sri Lanka LKA
 Syrian Arab Republic SYR
 Tajikistan TJK
 Thailand THA
 Turkmenistan TKM
 United Arab Emirates ARE
 Uzbekistan UZB
 Vietnam VNM
 Yemen YEM
OCEANIA
 Australia AUS
 Fiji FJI
 Kiribati KIR
 Marshall Islands MHL
 Micronesia (Federated States of) FSM
 Nauru NRU
 New Zealand NZL
 Palau PLW
 Papua New Guinea PNG
 Samoa WSM
 Solomon Islands SLB
 Tonga TON
 Tuvalu TUV
 Vanuatu VUT


The following codes are also used:Stateless XXA
Refugees (Convention of 28 July 1951) XXB
Other refugees XXC
International Committee of the Red Cross CRC
UNHCR UNR