Various regulations apply for entering Switzerland. A basic distinction is made between citizens of the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and those of other countries. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) is the responsible authority in Switzerland.

SEM

Since Switzerland’s adherence to the Schengen and Dublin agreements came into force (12 December 2008), Swiss representations abroad are able to issue certain categories of visa, depending on the length of stay and purpose of the journey in Switzerland.

Online visa appointment system for all Schengen visa applications

An appointment is mandatory to submit your visa application at the counter.

Appointment can be booked online only through our platform www.swiss-visa.ch (see appointment system below, for more information).

The Embassy of Switzerland will not satisfy appointment requests sent by email.

Be aware that, due to increasing number of visa applications, the waiting time to get an appointment may be up to 6 weeks, especially during visa high season (May to October).

We therefore request all applicants to anticipate and organise their travel plan and visa application accordingly.

For more information on requirement and documentation to submit, please click here.

Schengen Visa and Fraudulent Practice

The Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal would like to alert you to the existence of fraudulent practices and offers in connection with the granting of visas and strongly advises you not to follow them.

Indeed, it happens that companies fraudulently offer their services on websites claiming to be able to help you to obtain an appointment or a visa. In return for information, they demand a fee. Please note that only the information on the official website of the Embassy is valid.

Please note: the visa application form and the appointment system are free of charge.

Further Information:

• Swiss Crime Prevention
• The State Secretariat for Migration warns against fraudulent e-mails

Process for Visa Application

Before applying for a Schengen visa:

• An appointment is mandatory to submit your visa application at the counter (see appointment system below): be aware that the waiting time may be up to 2 months, especially during high season.
•   Bear in mind that the Schengen visa application processing takes up to 15 days from your application date.
•  We therefore request applicants to organize their travel plan and visa application accordingly.
•  You can book an appointment as early as 6 months prior to the date of your departure flight.
• Please cancel your appointment when you do no longer plan to travel to Switzerland in order to allow other applicants to make their trip.

Incomplete applications (items not presented/missing photocopies) will be returned to the applicant without being processed. A new appointment has to be taken. The requirements to enter the Schengen Area vary depending on the reason of your travel. Please check the leaflet related to your travel reason: Schengen visa requirements.

1. Is Switzerland/Poland/Slovakia/Latvia/Liechtenstein/Belgium your main destination for a short Schengen visa type C (up to 90 days) ? 

Schengen Regulation (Visakodex)

• If the travel destination is one Member State, that Member State's Consulate/Embassy must deal with the application.
•  If the travel destination includes more than one Member State, the application must be dealt with by the Consulate/Embassy of the main destination. The main destination is understood to be the destination where the applicant intends to spend the longest time or where the main purpose of the intended journey is carried out.
•  If no main destination can be determined, the Consulate/Embassy of the Member whose external border the applicant intends to cross first, must deal with the application (point of first entry).

It is the travelers’ sole responsibility to determine prior to travel whether they fulfil the entry conditions for the countries they intend to visit.

Information on the individual represented destinations can be found here: 

Latvia

Poland

Slovakia

Belgium

The information is given by the individual states; the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal is not responsible for the content. 

2.  Online visa application form

All applicants for a Schengen visa (type C, stays up to 90 days) should complete the visa application form online. Please go to www.swiss-visa.ch. At the end of the process, you have to print the application and click send to transmit the date online to the Consulate/Embassy.

Sign the printed PDF form and submit it to the Consulate/Embassy with all the required documents. Make sure you have the complete file with all the required documents or we may reject your application. Schengen visa requirements.

3.  Personal appearance

If your fingerprints have NOT been collected within the last 59 months by a Schengen visa section, your personal appearance is mandatory (no exceptions).

If your fingerprints WERE collected within the last 59 months for a Schengen visa, you may not have to give new fingerprints for your next visa application and your personal appearance is not necessary, if the Schengen visa system allows. This means that someone can submit your application on your behalf, but an appointment and a physical submission of the visa application remain mandatory. Please provide a photocopy of all Schengen visas issued within the last 59 months, in addition to all other required documents: Schengen visa requirements.

In case the previously collected fingerprints prove to be of insufficient quality, you will still have to appear in person to give your fingerprints. 

Personal appearance and fingerprints are not necessary for children under the age of 12.

The Embassy reserves the right to ask the applicant to appear for a personal interview after checking the application.

4.  Online visa application form and appointment system

Residents living within our consular district that are applying for a Schengen visa need to submit their visa application file with an appointment.

Both application form and appointment must be filled out and booked through our online platform www.swiss-visa.ch . Making an appointment is free of charge.

At the end of the online visa application process, please don’t forget to download and print the form. No copy of the form will be provided by email. If for technical reasons the form is not downloadable, please keep your registration number safely and fill in manually a pdf form (see online visa application form) additionally.

Drop-offs of visa applications files and walk-ins are not accepted. Each individual applicant requires an appointment. This also applies to each member of a group application. 

Please do not schedule several appointments for the same person. 

No appointments can be scheduled by e-mail, at the counter or by phone. 

5. Requirements

Please check the leaflet related to your travel reason for the requested documents. If necessary, you may be requested to bring/send additional documents.
Schengen visa requirements.  

6. Travel and Health Insurance

A valid travel insurance for the entire Schengen territory is required. A letter from your insurance company mentioning the coverage of at least $ 40,000 or Euro 30,000 for any medical, evacuation and repatriation expenses during your whole stay has to be presented. A photocopy of your insurance card will not suffice. The insurance coverage letter is compulsory. If your insurance company does not provide such a letter or such coverage, please purchase an international insurance. Applicants missing this document will systematically have their visa denied.

7. Passport

Your valid passport must have been issued within the last ten years, have at least two empty pages and be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the Schengen Area.

8. Questions

General visa questions are not answered. Only if you have a specific question that is not answered on our website, may you write an email to  kathmandu.consular@eda.admin.ch indicating your first names, names, date of birth, nationality and visa application online ID.

9. For Switzerland only long stay visas (stays more than 90 days, Type D visa application)

Only duly completed applications are accepted. Incomplete applications (items not presented/missing photocopies) will be returned to the applicant without being processed. The requirements to obtain a long-term visa vary, depending on the reason of your travel. Please check the leaflet related to your reason of stay.

National visa requirements.

There are different types of long stay visas, e.g., family reunion, student, work, international organizations, general residence. Some long stay visas are preapproved by the Swiss authorities and can be collected using a simple process at our Embassy. Other long stay visa applications will need to be initiated at the Swiss Embassy in Kathmandu. For more information, please see here: visa information: National visa for a stay of more than 90 days.

Your valid passport must have been issued within the last ten years, have at least two empty pages and be valid for at least six months after the intended date of departure to Switzerland.

We wish you a pleasant stay.

Note: All information is subject to change and the Embassy of Switzerland cannot take any guarantee of completeness and correctness of the above-mentioned information.