whereTOemigrate
Get your free results
CH country scene

Airport transit visa

SwitzerlandTransit

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

Explore pathways in Switzerland Read the five questions ↓

Which travellers require a transit visa/permission and which officially documented exemptions are important?

Airline passengers on authorised regular services generally need no airport transit visa if they meet the listed conditions. Citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Congo (Democratic Republic), Pakistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Cuba require one. Exempt: holders of diplomatic/service/special passports; holders of a valid visa issued by a Schengen state, Cyprus, Ireland, Japan, Canada, the USA or the overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; holders of a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen state, Cyprus, Ireland, Andorra, Canada, Japan, San Marino, the USA, the United Kingdom or those Dutch overseas territories; family members of EU/EFTA and UK citizens who exercised free movement before 1 January 2021; flight crew members who are nationals of a party to the 7 December 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/en/data/rechtsgrundlagen/weisungen/visa/bfm/bfm-anh01-liste2-e.pdf.download.pdf/sem-anh01-liste2-e.pdf
    Airline passengers on authorised regular services do not require an airport transit visa provided they meet all the following requirements:
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/en/data/rechtsgrundlagen/weisungen/visa/bfm/bfm-anh01-liste2-e.pdf.download.pdf/sem-anh01-liste2-e.pdf
    Citizens of the following states require an airport transit visa: • • • • • • • • Afghanistan Iraq Bangladesh Nigeria Congo (Democratic Republic) Pakistan Eritrea Somalia 2.1.3 Special provisions • • • • • • • Ethiopia Sri Lanka Ghana Iran Syria Turkey Cuba
  • https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/sem/en/data/rechtsgrundlagen/weisungen/visa/bfm/bfm-anh01-liste2-e.pdf.download.pdf/sem-anh01-liste2-e.pdf
    The following categories of persons are exempted from the requirement to hold an airport transit visa: 1) Holders of a valid diplomatic, service or special passport 2) Holders of a valid visa issued by any of the following states: − Schengen member state − Cyprus* − Ireland* − Japan* − Canada* − United States of America* − Overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.* * Please note: The visa must be valid at the time the person leaves the country that issued the visa but can be expired by the time the person transits Switzerland. If, after the expiry of the visa, the aforementioned third country nationals do not travel back from one of the listed countries, but from any other third country, the airport visa exemption does not apply. 3) Holders of a valid residence permit, issued by one of the following states: − Schengen member state − Cyprus − Ireland − Andorra* − Canada * − Japan* − San Marino* − United States of America* − United Kingdom* − Overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. * Please note: Provided the holder's unconditional readmission is guaranteed. 4) -- 5) Family members of citizens of the EU/EFTA and of the United Kingdom who exercised their right to free movement before 1 January 2021 6) Flight crew members who are nationals of a contracting party to the Convention on International Civil Aviation dated 7 December 1944

Can the traveller remain airside, and under what circumstances must immigration control be crossed?

The passenger must not leave the transit area; airport transit means changing planes at a Swiss airport between non-Schengen countries without leaving the international transit zone, with no entry into Switzerland. Circumstances requiring passage through immigration control are not described.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Situations requiring entry/immigration control not described.

What officially documented baggage collection, terminal, separate-ticket or self-transfer situations affect the immigration requirement?

For visa-free transit the connecting flight must be booked before arrival at the Swiss airport, with an airline ticket to the destination. Baggage collection, terminal change and self-transfer are not addressed.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Baggage, terminal and self-transfer situations not addressed.

What maximum transit period, overnight, airport-change or multiple-stop rules matter?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm the maximum transit period and overnight, airport-change or multiple-stop rules.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • No exact active official source record and country-scoped substantive capture were available for this route at execution time.

If permission is required, what permission is it, where/how is it obtained, and what core onward-travel evidence is required?

The permission is an airport transit visa (the SEM refers to section 2.1 of Annex CH-1, list 2). The traveller must hold the travel documents and visa required for entering the destination country. The official source does not state where or how to apply for the airport transit visa.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Where/how to obtain the airport transit visa not stated in sources read.
  • Onward-evidence conditions are worded for visa-free transit.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

Explore more pathways in Switzerland · All pathways

Your story.
Your next step.

Explore pathways in Switzerland →