Switzerland visa requirements for Cuban citizens

Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, by compulsory prior appointment: there is no external centre in Cuba

For a Cuban traveller, what sets Switzerland apart shows up in the stopovers. Cuba is on the list of states whose nationals need an airport transit visa for Switzerland, published by the State Secretariat for Migration, alongside Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, DR Congo, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey. The visa is required even if the traveller never leaves the airport's international transit zone, so a connecting flight through Zurich or Geneva needs one just as a visit does. There are defined exemptions: a diplomatic, service or special passport; a valid visa from a Schengen state, Cyprus, Ireland, Japan, Canada, the United States or the Dutch overseas territories; a residence permit from those same states plus Andorra, San Marino and the United Kingdom; family members of EU, EFTA or UK citizens covered by pre-2021 free movement; and air crew. The visa-based exemption carries important small print: the visa must be valid when you leave the country that issued it, it may already have expired by the time you transit Switzerland, but it stops working if you arrive from a third country rather than from the issuing one. Otherwise the Schengen visa application is lodged at the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, by compulsory prior appointment and with no external centre involved. A decision takes around fifteen days, extendable, and the embassy itself advises applying up to six months ahead because some files go to consultation with other states.

Official application site →

Fee

€90

The €90 is the short-stay Schengen visa fee, set by Article 16 of the Visa Code (Regulation (EC) 810/2009) as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1415, in force since 11 June 2024. It is not a fee set by Switzerland: the same amount is paid at any Schengen consulate. Children from the age of 6 and under 12 pay €45, and children under 6 are exempt. Travellers entering without a visa pay no fee at all.

Processing time

Where the trip requires a Schengen visa, the consulate must decide within 15 calendar days of an admissible application being lodged. That period may be extended to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases, particularly where the application needs closer examination; in justified urgent individual cases the decision is taken immediately (Regulation (EC) 810/2009, Art. 23). An application may not be lodged more than six months before the intended trip and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before it; where the consulate requires an appointment, it is normally given within two weeks of being requested (Art. 9).

Required documents

• A valid passport or travel document, issued within the previous ten years and valid for at least three months beyond the date you plan to leave the Schengen area (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Art. 6(1)(a))
• If your funds are insufficient or in doubt, the Swiss consulate (or the border police, for travellers who need no visa) may require a declaration of guarantee signed by your host. It covers costs of illness, accident, return travel and living expenses up to CHF 30,000 in total, for a single person or for a group or family of up to ten people travelling together
• The declaration can be signed by Swiss citizens, foreign nationals holding a Swiss residence or settlement permit, and legal persons listed in the commercial register; the same rules apply to hosts in the Principality of Liechtenstein

How much money you need to show

About CHF 100 per day if you pay for your own stay, or about CHF 30 for students with a valid student card

What each Schengen country asks for →

Source: European Commission, Annex 25 to the Practical Handbook for Border Guards (reference amounts notified by each State), version of 8 June 2026, and State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Checked on 1 November 2026.

Health insurance

Mandatory to apply for the Schengen visa: minimum coverage of €30,000, valid across the whole Schengen area and for the entire length of the stay (Regulation (EC) 810/2009, Art. 15).

Which policies meet the €30,000 requirement →

When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓

How long you can stay

Schengen rule: a maximum stay of 90 days within any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area (Switzerland applies the same regime even though it is not an EU member).

Calculate your available Schengen days →

Why isn't your passport being stamped? The EES system →