Federal Council adopts a consular strategy for the first time

Consular work is gaining in importance and is facing new challenges in a changing world – characterised by increasing mobility, growing digitalisation and innovative technologies on the one hand, and the return of war to Europe, pressure on the multilateral order and increasing geopolitical tensions on the other. Switzerland's representations around the world assist over 826,000 Swiss citizens living abroad and support Swiss nationals travelling abroad, who make around 12 million trips each year. They also process around 700,000 visa applications per year. These figures give an idea of how important reliable and efficient consular services are. 

The Federal Council is responding to these changing conditions with its first consular strategy. It creates a coherent, structured and forward-looking framework for addressing the current challenges and opportunities in the consular field, and for continuing to offer easily accessible and reliable services to the various client groups, in particular Swiss citizens. The strategy, drawn up by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), is a thematic follow-up strategy to the Foreign Policy Strategy 2024–27 and its foreign policy objectives, in line with the Swiss Abroad Act (SAA), which came into force exactly ten years ago. 

The foundation and central principle of the new strategy is the principle of personal responsibility, as enshrined in the Swiss Abroad Act. Together with the equally important principle of subsidiarity, it stipulates, among other things, that Swiss nationals themselves are responsible for preparing and organising a stay abroad – and that the federal government only intervenes on a subsidiary basis if assistance is truly essential. 

This approach has been a mainstay of consular practice for many years. For example, the FDFA provides Swiss citizens with a country-specific assessment of the security situation and country-independent travel information via Travel Advice (de/fr/it). The Travel Admin app enables travellers to register, record their travel plans, subscribe to security-related messages and contact a Swiss representation quickly in an emergency. The principle of personal responsibility is also key in everyday life, for example when emigrating, making pension provisions abroad or returning to Switzerland. 

This approach combines proximity to citizens with realistic expectations: the state helps where necessary, but at the same time promotes awareness that safety, precautions and information are primarily the responsibility of travellers themselves. 

For the first time, the new strategy provides a clear policy framework for consular work. It comprises four priorities: prevention, emergency protection and assistance, administrative services, and visa application management. 

Prevention aims to strengthen the personal responsibility of Swiss nationals travelling or living abroad through proactive communication, targeted information and digital tools. This means ensuring that everyone heading abroad is better prepared before they leave in order to minimise the need for subsidiary action by the state. 

Emergency protection and assistance are a key pillar of consular action, aimed at providing rapid, targeted support to Swiss nationals in critical situations such as accidents, deaths, detentions, repatriations, security crises or natural disasters. The goal is to enhance the effectiveness of the response through well-defined cooperation arrangements and continually improved operational systems. 

Administrative services cover tasks such as registering Swiss citizens and their political rights, issuing identity documents (Swiss passports and identity cards) and managing civil status documents or notarial deeds, the aim being to make these processes simpler, quicker and more accessible. In line with the digital first principle, the objective is to modernise these services through digitalisation and the use of innovative technologies. 

Visa application management is the fourth priority of this strategy. Issued by our consulates, visas allow foreign nationals to enter Switzerland. The aim here is to optimise procedures by making them faster and more efficient while ensuring rigorous controls in accordance with legal requirements to safeguard the security of Switzerland and the Schengen area. 

The Consular Strategy 2026–2029 aims to help shape the administration of the future – with technologies that serve people. The use of AI is intended to speed up processes without replacing personal contact. At the same time, employees will receive targeted training to further develop their skills in crisis management, communication and digital transformation. 

With this new strategy, the Federal Council is laying the foundations for optimising and further developing modern, people-oriented and efficient consular services that are capable of meeting current and future challenges. These challenges will not diminish after 2029: advancing digitalisation, growing public expectations, more frequent crises and increasing complexity call for forward-looking action. Partnerships also play a key role in this: the FDFA already works closely with the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Rega, Touring Club Switzerland and European partner countries to create synergies and use resources efficiently. This partnership-based cooperation will be even more important in the future. 

Lastly, consular staff will continue to play a crucial role. Paradoxically, digitalisation is making the consular profession more visible: even though administrative tasks are largely automated, human input is still required in an environment where the demands are not diminishing. Supporting Swiss nationals and families in emergency situations and repatriating people, for example, requires empathy, proximity and responsiveness. Public expectations of emergency assistance will continue to rise, as will the need for a flexible and available presence. 

The aim is to further develop consular services by 2035 in such a way that they remain accessible, secure and agile – and are based on the fundamental principles of personal responsibility, solidarity and service to the community. As Ignazio Cassis puts it: "Switzerland leaves no one behind, no matter where they are."