COVID-19 rules
Countries may restrict travel or bring in rules at short notice. Check with your travel provider for changes.
If you test positive for COVID-19, you may need to stay where you are until you test negative. You may also need to get treatment there.
Read TravelHealthPro’s general COVID-19 advice for travellers.
Travel to Switzerland
There are no COVID-19 testing or vaccination requirements for people entering Switzerland.
More information is available from the Federal Office of Public Health or by calling the Coronavirus Infoline on +41 58 463 00 00 (7am to 5pm GMT). Assistance is available in English.
Public spaces
Cantons (administrative area) may impose further restrictions. Check cantonal websites for more details.
Passport validity requirements
If you’re planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must follow the Schengen area passport requirements.
Your passport must be:
- issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)
- valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)
You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.
Contact the Embassy of Switzerland in the UK if you think that your passport does not meet both these requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.
Check with your transport provider or travel company that your passport and other travel documents meet their requirements.
Passport stamping
Check your passport is stamped if you enter or exit the Schengen area through Switzerland as a visitor. Border guards will use passport stamps to check you’re complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area. If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit.
You can show evidence of when and where you entered or exited the Schengen area and ask the border guards to add this date and location in your passport. Examples of acceptable evidence include boarding passes and tickets.
You can find more information on travel documents on the cantons website website. If you live in Switzerland, read our Living in Switzerland guide for passport stamping information.
Visa requirements
You can travel to countries in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. This applies if you travel:
- as a tourist
- to visit family or friends
- to attend business meetings, cultural or sports events
- for short-term studies or training
UK nationals do not need a visa to enter Switzerland. At passport control, UK nationals should use the ‘ALL PASSPORTS’ lane, whatever their residence status.
If you’re travelling to Switzerland and other Schengen countries without a visa, make sure your whole visit is within the 90-day limit. Visits to Schengen countries within the previous 180 days before you travel count towards your 90 days.
To stay longer (to work or study, for business travel or for other reasons), you must meet the Swiss government’s entry requirements. Check which type of visa or work permit you may need with the Swiss Embassy website.
If you are travelling to work in Switzerland, read the guidance on visas and permits.
If you stay in Switzerland with a residence permit or long-stay visa, this does not count towards your 90-day visa-free limit.
Additional documents required by tourists
At Switzerland’s border control, you may need to:
- show proof of your accommodation, for example, a hotel booking confirmation or proof of address if visiting your own property (for example, a second home)
- show proof of insurance for your trip – check FCDO’s travel insurance guidance
- show a return or onward ticket
- prove that you have enough money for your stay – around 100 Swiss francs a day
Customs rules
There are strict rules about goods that you can take into and out of Switzerland. You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty. There is information about Swiss customs regulations on the cantons website.
Vaccination requirements (other than COVID-19)
At least 8 weeks before your trip, check the vaccinations and certificates you need in TravelHealthPro’s Switzerland guide.