Switzerland entry requirements, by passport
Switzerland visa requirements at a glance: 51 of the 81 passports VisaRadar tracks can enter Switzerland without arranging a visa beforehand — visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorization. The other 30 must obtain a visa before they travel.
Which passport do you hold?
We'll take you straight to the entry requirements for Switzerland for your nationality.
What we've verified for Switzerland
Beyond the yes/no matrix, we've checked these against an official primary source (last checked 2026-08-24). The specifics depend on your nationality — open your passport's row in the table for the detail that applies to you.
- Typical processing time
- Required documents (5)
- Required vaccinations
- Health-insurance rules
- Customs limits (cash, alcohol, tobacco)
- Overstay penalties
- Airport transit rules
Sources: sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/einreise.html (SEM — State Secretariat for Migration); bazg.admin.ch/bazg/en/home/information- individuals/travel-and-purchases--allowances-and-duty-free-limit/ importation-into-switzerland/duty-free-allowances--foodstuffs-- alcohol-and-tobacco.html (BAZG/FOCBS — alcohol and tobacco allowances); bazg.admin.ch/bazg/en/home/information-individuals/ bans--restrictions-and-authorisations/cash--foreign-currencies-- securities.html (BAZG/FOCBS — cash control regime from CHF 10,000, verified via direct fetch); fedlex.admin.ch, Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA), Art. 115 and Art. 67 (legal basis for the irregular-stay penalty and entry ban, cited via droit-bilingue.ch/lawbrary.ch); swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-politics/ overstaying-can-be-painfully-pricey (real fine example and note that the amount is set by each canton); travel-europe.europa.eu/etias (ETIAS "not operational" status, applicable to Switzerland as a Schengen member, same basis as data/destinations/spain.yml) (checked 24 August 2026).
Switzerland is part of the Schengen Area but not the European Union: the short-stay regime (90 days within any 180-day period) is the same as the rest of Schengen, though the country doesn't apply the EU's common customs tariff. Switzerland has not adopted the euro: its official currency is the Swiss franc (CHF), and its cash and goods import limits are governed by its own customs law, not the EU's.
This table summarizes the exact entry mechanism for every passport we track — the difference between entering visa-free, with an electronic authorization, with an e-Visa, or with a traditional visa is explained in visa, e-Visa, and electronic authorization: what's the difference. How we verify every row before publishing it is on methodology.
Base entry rules refreshed 2026-09-17. Published: .
| Passport | Requirement | Max. stay |
|---|---|---|
| Free movement | ||
| Austria | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Belgium | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Bulgaria | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Croatia | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Czech Republic | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Denmark | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Finland | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| France | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Germany | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Greece | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Hungary | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Iceland | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Ireland | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Italy | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Malta | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Netherlands | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Norway | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Poland | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Portugal | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Romania | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Spain | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Sweden | Free movement (EU/EEA/Switzerland) | No limit (tourism)* |
| Visa-free | ||
| Argentina | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Australia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Brazil | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Canada | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Chile | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Colombia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Costa Rica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| El Salvador | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Georgia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Guatemala | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Honduras | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Israel | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Japan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Malaysia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mexico | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Moldova | Visa-free | 90 days |
| New Zealand | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Nicaragua | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Panama | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Paraguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Peru | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Singapore | Visa-free | 90 days |
| South Korea | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Ukraine | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Arab Emirates | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United States | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uruguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Venezuela | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Visa required | ||
| Algeria | Visa required | — |
| Bangladesh | Visa required | — |
| Bolivia | Visa required | — |
| Cape Verde | Visa required | — |
| China | Visa required | — |
| Cuba | Visa required | — |
| Dominican Republic | Visa required | — |
| Ecuador | Visa required | — |
| Egypt | Visa required | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | Visa required | — |
| Gambia | Visa required | — |
| Ghana | Visa required | — |
| India | Visa required | — |
| Indonesia | Visa required | — |
| Jordan | Visa required | — |
| Kenya | Visa required | — |
| Mali | Visa required | — |
| Morocco | Visa required | — |
| Nigeria | Visa required | — |
| Pakistan | Visa required | — |
| Philippines | Visa required | — |
| Russia | Visa required | — |
| Saudi Arabia | Visa required | — |
| Senegal | Visa required | — |
| South Africa | Visa required | — |
| Sri Lanka | Visa required | — |
| Thailand | Visa required | — |
| Tunisia | Visa required | — |
| Turkey | Visa required | — |
| Vietnam | Visa required | — |
* EU/EEA/Switzerland free movement: no stay limit for tourism; after 90 days of residence you must register with the destination country's local authorities.
Staying in Switzerland? Work out your Schengen 90/180-day limit with our calculator →
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Do you need a different visa for Zurich, Geneva, or Bern?
No. Switzerland sets the requirements, so entering through Zurich asks for the same as entering through Geneva or Bern. If you're arriving overland or through a small border post, check that separately: some countries apply their own rules to specific crossings.
What does change is where you file the application when a visa is needed, and that depends on the country you live in rather than the city you're travelling to.
What draws travelers to Switzerland
Switzerland is small, expensive and superbly connected by train: almost everything is done in short, scenic hops. The Alpine axis gathers the Jungfrau region (Interlaken, Grindelwald, the Eiger), Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn, and the Aletsch massif, the largest glacier in the Alps and a World Heritage site. The cities offer another face: Zurich and its lake, Lucerne and its wooden bridge, Bern with its medieval centre — World Heritage — and Geneva on Lake Geneva. The Italian-speaking south of Ticino (Lugano, Locarno) and the scenic trains — the Glacier Express, the Bernina — are experiences in themselves. Switzerland has 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites. A week covers two or three Alpine bases plus a city. Summer is for hiking; winter for skiing; spring and autumn are quieter and cheaper.
Sources for this section: myswitzerland.com (Switzerland Tourism); UNESCO World Heritage List (whc.unesco.org, 13 sites in Switzerland); UK FCDO travel advice for Switzerland. Accessed 31 August 2026.
Things to see and do in Switzerland
Tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips, most with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Seeing the featured activities here needs advertising cookies. In the meantime, you can open them directly:
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Where can Switzerland passport holders travel visa-free? →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.