Federal Council continues support for the Swiss Human Rights Institution

Services and visa

All consular services and visa issues are provided by the Regional Consular Centre in Vienna/Austria.

Consular services
Visa and entry to Switzerland

Comprehensive information on living and working in an EU/EFTA member state

Services

Contact the responsible Swiss representation or consulate when you want to register or unregister as a resident, when you need a new passport, have moved or wish to apply for citizenship. The entire selection of services offered can be found in the dropdown menu to the right. The contact details of the responsible Swiss representation are shown on the corresponding page.

Swiss citizens who get into difficulties abroad, also can ask for advice and help from the Swiss representative.

The magazine for the Swiss Abroad appears six times a year and provides information about what is happening at home and the activities of Swiss associations abroad. It also answers administrative questions.

Online desk FDFA

Using the FDFA’s online consular services while abroad.

The relevant Swiss representation abroad can answer any questions concerning the FDFA’s online desk.

Following the Federal Council's approval on 13 December 2019 of the project to create a national human rights institution (NHRI), the SHRI was founded in Bern on 23 May 2023. The SHRI is an independent institution tasked with contributing to the promotion and protection of human rights in Switzerland. It provides information, documentation, research, advice and awareness-raising services. To that end, it works with federal, cantonal and communal authorities, as well as with NGOs, the private sector, the scientific community and international organisations. In accordance with the Federal Act on Measures pertaining to Civil Peace Support and the Promotion of Human Rights, funding for the SHRI is provided jointly by the Confederation and the cantons.

NHRIs are a recognised part of the international human rights architecture. Today, some 120 countries, including almost all European countries, have such institutions. Based on the Paris Principles adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993, these institutions play a complementary role to state mechanisms for the protection of human rights.