Published on 1 February 2026

Privileges and immunities

Privileges, immunities and facilities

Foreign representations, i.e. embassies, consular posts and permanent missions, and the international organisations with which the Federal Council has concluded an agreement on privileges and immunities, as well as their staff members and the persons entitled to accompany the latter, enjoy certain privileges, immunities and facilities in accordance with international law and international customs.

Categories of beneficiaries

Immunities may apply to different categories of beneficiaries, in particular:

• states
• Representatives of States (including Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs) and members of diplomatic and consular missions
• international organisations, and the persons appointed to them in an official capacity

The privileges and facilities include in particular:

• immunity from jurisdiction and execution, which may be limited to acts performed in an official capacity, as well as personal and household inviolability for certain categories of persons;
• customs privileges;
• fiscal privileges;
• exemption from Swiss social security and compulsory insurance schemes, as well as access to the Swiss labour market for family members.

Privileges and immunities arise from customary international law or from international treaties (bilateral or multilateral). Their scope is determined for each beneficiary in accordance with these rules.

Bilateral or multilateral domain

The bilateral domain refers to relations between Switzerland and foreign states, notably through their embassies and consulates.

The multilateral domain refers in particular to relations among states within international organisations, to the permanent missions to international organisations of these states, and to international conferences.

The FDFA Protocol is the point of reference for the bilateral domain while for the multilateral domain it is the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and to the other international organisations in Geneva. Each of these two services provides a manual on the regime of privileges, immunities and facilities applicable to the beneficiaries concerned. The Directorate of International Law of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs deals with fundamental legal issues relating to privileges, immunities and facilities, as well as their scope.

Legal reference texts

The regime of privileges, immunities and facilities in Switzerland is based in particular on:

• Federal Act of 22 June 2007 on the Privileges, Immunities and Facilities and the Financial Subsidies granted by Switzerland as a Host State (Host State Act, HSA) and its implementation ordinance of 7 December 2007 (Host State Ordinance, HSO)
• the agreements on privileges, immunities and facilities concluded with the various international organisations
• the Vienna Convention of 18 April 1961 on Diplomatic Relations applicable by analogy to permanent missions
• the Vienna Convention of 24 April 1963 on Consular Relations
• the customary practices of Swiss authorities with regard to questions not covered by the above mentioned texts

Links

• Handbook of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations and the International Organizations in Geneva
• Federal Acton the Privileges, Immunities and Facilities and the Financial Subsidies granted by Switzerland as a Host State (Host State Act, HSA)
• Ordinance to the Federal Act on the Privileges, Immunities and Facilities and the Financial Subsidiesgranted by Switzerland as a Host State (Host State Ordinance, HSO)
• Message on the approval and implementation of the UN Convention on the Immunities of States and their Property from Jurisdiction (de, fr, it)
• Federal Supreme Court decisions concerning state immunity (120 II 400) (fr)
• Federal Supreme Court decisions concerning state immunity (124 II 382) (fr)
• European Convention on State Immunity (de, fr, it)
• United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property (de, fr, it)

Documents

• List of the organizations with which switzerland has concluded an agreement on privileges, immunities and facilities

  (multilingual: German, French, English)

  PDF557.43 kB1 January 2026

International law