Travel to Switzerland

By | October 17, 2021

Visa

As an EU citizen, no visa is required for a stay of up to 90 days. No residence permit is required during this period. However, if you are in gainful employment, you must report it.

A residence permit must be applied for for stays longer than 90 days. This is usually issued without any problems with proof of work or sufficient proof of existence. You can find more information on this under immigration regulations.

Visa: no
Vaccinations: no
Airports:
Basel (BSL / MLH / EAP)
Bern-Belp (BRN)
Engadin (SMV)
Geneva (GVA)
Grenchen (ZHI)
Lugano (LUG)
Sion / Sion (SIR)
St. Gallen-Altenrhein (ACH)
Zurich (ZRH) National
Languages: German, French, Italian, Romansh
Currency: Swiss francs (CHF)
1 CHF = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
1 EUR = 1.097 CHF
1 CHF = 0.91 EUR
1 CHF = 0.78 GBP
1 CHF = 119.91 JPY
1 CHF = 1.08 USD
(rate from 07/01/2021)
Telephone area code: +41
Time zone: UTC + 1 CET
UTC + 2 CEST (March – October)
Mains voltage: 220V

Immigration

According to allcitycodes, EU or EEA citizens enter the country with a valid identity card or passport and are allowed to stay in the country for 90 days without a visa. If the duration of the stay exceeds 90 days, a residence permit from the cantonal migration office, which is responsible for the respective place of residence, is required.

Residence permit – for whom?

Anyone planning to stay in Switzerland for more than 3 months or to work there for more than 3 months requires a residence permit. The application must be submitted to the responsible cantonal migration office together with the required documents. If you are employed for less than 3 months, you do not need a residence permit. However, you have to register with the competent authority.

Types of residence permits

Short-term residence permit

  • For an employment relationship between 3 months and 1 year
  • The period of validity corresponds to that of the employment relationship; an extension is possible up to a total of 12 months
  • Job seekers are also entitled to a permit, but this does not include social security entitlements

Temporary residence permit

  • In the case of an employment relationship that is open-ended or limited to at least 365 days
  • Validity is 5 years, an extension of up to 5 years is possible
  • People without gainful employment (pensioners, students and other non-employed persons) are entitled to a permit if sufficient financial means and health and accident insurance can be proven

permanent residence permit

  • Issued after a stay in Switzerland of 5 or 10 years
  • Unrestricted right of residence

Registration

You must register with the community of residence (residents’ registration office) within 14 days of arrival and no later than 1 day before starting the job. In most cases you will have to register in person. The following documents are required for this:

  • Passport / ID card
  • Confirmation of membership from your health insurance company
  • Birth certificate, possibly marriage certificate
  • Employment contract or certificate of study
  • Current passport photo (required by every family member)
  • Copy of the rental agreement

Since the amount of the registration fee varies depending on the canton, it is best to ask the registration office responsible for you beforehand.

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Switzerland immigration

Embassies of Switzerland

In Germany:
Otto-von-Bismarck-Allee 4 A
10557 Berlin
Tel.: 030 – 390 40 00
Fax: 030 – 391 10 30
E-Mail:
vertretung@ber.rep.admin.ch www.eda.admin.ch

In Austria:
Prinz-Eugen-Strasse 7
1030 Vienna
Tel: 01 – 79 505
Fax: 01 – 79 505 21
Email: vie.vertretung@eda.admin.ch
www.schweizerbotschaft.at

Embassies in Switzerland

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany:
Willadingweg 83
3006 Bern

Postal address:
PO Box 250
3000 Bern 15
Switzerland

Tel: (+41) 31 – 359 41 11
Fax: (+41) 31 – 359 44 44
Visa department:
Tel: (+41) 31 – 359 42 42
Fax: (+41) 31 – 359 44 56
E- Mail: info@bern.diplo.de
www.bern.diplo.de

Embassy Austria:

Kirchenfeldstrasse 77/79
CH-3005 Bern
Tel: (+41) 31 – 35 65 – 252
Fax: (+41) 31 – 35 15 664
E-Mail: bern-ob@bmeia.gv.at
www.bmeia.gv. at

Travel to Switzerland

Currency

The currency of Switzerland is Swiss francs – CHF (rate 1 euro approx. 1.097 CHF in July 2021).

Payment transactions

Due to its proximity to the euro, many hotels, restaurants and shops also accept euros as a means of payment. However, you will receive Swiss francs as change. To be on the safe side or for the sake of simplicity, it makes sense to withdraw Swiss francs from an ATM. Of course, there is also the option of paying with an EC or credit card.

Banknotes

The current eighth series banknotes are among the most counterfeit-proof in the world. They have up to 18 different security features to make counterfeiting almost impossible. The paper is made from by-products of cotton production, and the special color is resistant to 18 different chemicals.

The current banknote series, which was introduced in 2016, comprises six denominations (face values) with the following portraits:

Nature

Mountains: There are 74 four-thousand-meter peaks in Switzerland. The twelve highest mountains in Switzerland are all in the Valais Alps. The highest among them is the Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa massif with 4634 m.

Switzerland has around 1500 lakes. Most of them are smaller mountain lakes. The largest lake in Switzerland is Lake Geneva (580.03 km²) on the French border.

Cities: The largest city in Switzerland is Zurich with around 380,000 residents. Other large cities are Geneva with around 185,000, Basel with around 166,000, Lausanne with 130,000, the federal city of Bern with around 129,000, and Winterthur with 100,000. The largest cities with fewer than 100,000 residents are St. Gallen (75,000), Lucerne (58,000), Lugano (53,000) and Biel / Bienne (51,000). The population density is very high in the flat Swiss Plateau, but naturally thin in the Alpine region and the Jura. (Population figures as of 2007)