According to official figures, Switzerland, or, as it is called correctly, the Swiss Confederation, is not a member of the European Union. However, in order to visit this country with both a business visit and a tourist one, it will be necessary to issue a “Schengen”.
In the modern world, many people do not quite distinguish between two concepts - "membership in the European Union" and "participation in the Schengen agreement."
The difference between Schengen and the EU
Speaking essentially, the Schengen zone is the territory of different countries, between which the borders are erased, and their population can freely move through the lands of these states. The EU is an allied union of countries that has symbols, a flag, and a single currency zone. It follows that the country is not obliged to join the European Union in order to legitimize the rules of the Schengen agreement. But the question remains open. Is Switzerland a Schengen zone or not?
How was the Schengen zone created?
In the distant 1985 of the last century, the first documents were signed defining visa-free travel between certain countries. Since the whole procedure took place in a small village with a laconic name - Schengen, which is located on the territory of dwarf Luxembourg, the agreements were named after her.
However, not everything went so easy. The process of formation and amendment of the legislative acts of each state was completed only by 1995. And already in 1996, Switzerland and the Schengen zone merged. They made their borders free from visa delays.
Entry Rules for Switzerland
For many years, tourists can visit Switzerland on a Schengen visa. Along with the other twenty-six countries, you can enter both by aircraft, and by personal car, bus or train. There are no restrictions on crossing the border with this entry document.
But despite the free access to any country that has signed the agreement, it is worth knowing some features of the entry:
- If the tourist decided to make an exciting trip to the countries included in the Schengen zone, but the Swiss Confederation is on the first line, then it is necessary to apply for the Swiss "Schengen". All documents are submitted to the official diplomatic mission of the country in the Russian Federation. Accordingly, having received a visa to Switzerland, a tourist will already be obliged to call in through its border. This is called the first entry rule.
- The second point is the rule of the main country, that is, the issuance of a visa (to Switzerland, as in this case) at the embassy of the state in which the applicant will be most of the time.
Border control requirements
In order to avoid problems at the border, a number of rules related to passport control should be observed:
- The passport must be in proper form. That is, without scuffs, torn, dirty pages, any adhesive visas should not close the friend’s arcs, and all the stamps are not blurred.
- Citizen information must be readable.
- Passport must be valid for at least three months from the first day of arrival in Switzerland according to "Schengen", and the same after departure.
- Visa must be targeted. This moment has already been mentioned above - if a tourist travels to Switzerland, then he must enter by visa to Switzerland, and not to Italy. Otherwise, the border guards may deploy back to their homeland, in particular, if this is the first trip to the Schengen zone.
- It is worth being attentive to the visa itself, as it indicates not only the validity period, but also the number of allowed days of stay for a given period. For example, a Swiss “Schengen” was issued to a citizen for six months, but he can stay in the country for only ten days, which means that he can spend these days at any time for six months. He has the right to enter every month for a couple of days or use all days at once.
- In the case of an invitation from relatives, the employer or friends, along with the passport, you must show the corresponding supporting document with the personal data of the inviting person (last name, first name, contact number and so on).
- There is a high probability that border guards will be asked to present return tickets for the plane, train, bus.
- In the absence of friends or relatives, it is worth printing and putting the hotel reservation closer to the passport.
- If it so happened that the tourist did not take with him supporting documents on the two points listed above, then, at the discretion of the border guard, they may require evidence of financial security.
It is worth knowing that with semi-annual, annual and other types of visas there are stay options - ninety days and one hundred eighty. Take the first option for parsing. For six months there is the possibility of a continuous stay in the state for three months, but if there is a need to stay for a longer period, then with the help of the immigration service you can make an extension for another three months. However, after leaving, the opportunity to get into the Swiss “Schengen” will appear only six months later, since the limit has already been exhausted.
Act of 2015
In 2015, new rules for processing documents were introduced for the entire Schengen area, which stipulate the mandatory passage of two procedures: fingerprinting or the provision of fingerprints and a biometric photo. Since the question "is Switzerland included in the Schengen?" we have already figured out, then when applying for an entry document to this country, each applicant must personally come to transmit such data to the leadership of the Schengen Union.
Fingerprinting is performed only for citizens who are twelve years old. Data update is required once every five years. Therefore, for five years, after the next delivery, you can relax and draw up all the documents without additional trips to the embassy or consulate.
What types of Schengen visas does Switzerland provide?
Besides the fact that tourists are often interested in information about whether Schengen is valid in Switzerland, the next thing they are trying to find out is what types of entry documents can be issued.
There are three categories of "Schengen":
- Single entry visa with which a citizen has the right to enter the country only once.
- Double entry visa. It allows you to stay on the territory of the state for three months over a six-month period, but you can only enter the Schengen area twice.
- Multivisa. The presence of such a document gives you the right to make an entry countless times. In terms of validity and stay, it depends on the specific type (for example, a work or business visa).
Types of Swiss Visas
In addition to the "Schengen", Switzerland is ready to issue other visas that have their own subspecies:
- Entry document for transit. A tourist applies for this visa if any Swiss airport is used as a transfer hub, and he intends to either leave the transit zone or the final destination is not a member of the Schengen agreements.
- Long stay visa - national. It can be obtained for up to twelve months with the possibility of extension in the country. This document is a kind of private permission to reside exclusively on the land of the Swiss Confederation.
Fee value
Most often, a “Schengen” can be obtained in five days, and a national visa is considered up to three months. The difference comes not only in terms of registration, but also in price. Of course, the urgent question, after collecting all the documents, is: "How much does a Schengen visa to Switzerland cost?"
So, the sum of the consular fee for "Schengen" is thirty-five euros, if, together, documents for a visa are issued for a child under six years old, then this fee is not paid for it.
When applying for a national visa, the payment increases to sixty euros, but there is a nuance: the fee may not be paid by students who are full-time students in any university in a country in the Schengen zone.
After payment of the fee, a receipt is issued, which must be attached to the rest of the documentation.
Visa to the Swiss Confederation
To apply for a tourist entry document, several points must be observed, according to which the applicant must be provided with the official representatives of Switzerland in the Russian Federation:
- A passport with a validity of at least three months after returning from travel.
- At least two blank pages for visa and subsequent stamp.
- Copies of all pages of an internal Russian passport.
- Indication of all previously issued passports and Schengen visas for the last three years.
- Two color photographs: 3.5 by 4.5 cm. The shelf life of the photo should not exceed six months from the date of application for a visa. There should not be glasses or a hat on the face, except in cases when medical or religious requirements do not allow a person to take them off. The background should be white.
- Purchased round-trip tickets or a printout of their reservation.
- Medical insurance with a minimum coverage of thirty thousand euros. Insurance must be valid throughout the Schengen area.
- Paper certifying the legality of residence in the country: hotel reservation or other document indicating the address of stay.
- Bank statement.
- Application form completed in English, German, French or Italian, at the choice of the applicant.
- Certificate of employment, which indicates: the contact details of the company, its details, the position of the applicant, the amount of the monthly salary, evidence that, while the citizen is absent, management leaves this workplace for him. The papers are signed by the CEO and chief accountant.
- If an application for a visa is submitted in accordance with an invitation from a second party residing in Switzerland, the original of the invitation letter, a copy of the sponsor’s passport or identity card is attached.
- In the case of a business trip, copies of the pages of the Commercial Register of the company and an invitation from a company registered in Switzerland are added.
- When employing, an original employment contract is required.
- If a person is going to study, then the original letter from the leadership of the university or other educational institution, as well as a document proving the admission of the candidate, is reported in the folder with the documentation. If the training is paid, then a receipt is applied according to the charter of the organization.
- There are options when a citizen needs medical treatment outside the home state, in this case a copy of the invitation from the medical center where the applicant is going to undergo rehabilitation is attached. The paper is signed by the head physician of the organization.