A visa to govern them all?

Between a Schengen visa and British authorisation, a tourist trip with a stopover in London requires a double procedure. The devil is in the administrative detail.

Two friends I met on a trip to Asia want to come and visit me in Switzerland. As they will be passing through the United Kingdom, they would like to say hello to Big Ben before discovering the Jet d'Eau. Between visas, stopovers and stamps in their passports, their future trip is starting to look like an administrative imbroglio. What authorisations do they need to apply to whom before setting off?

Y., Geneva

After all, your Asian friends can't just turn up in Geneva with their good humour and customary gifts.

Schengen

For a tourist stay in Switzerland, nationals of a non-EU member state must in principle obtain a short-stay Schengen visa, known as a C visa, subject to an agreement with that state. This allows you to stay for up to 90 days within a 180-day period in the entire Schengen area, of which Switzerland is a part. Once a complete visa application has been submitted, processing time is normally fifteen days. The authorities will check the passport, the purpose of the trip, financial resources, travel insurance and, above all, the applicant's intention to leave the Schengen area at the end of the stay (art. 5 and 10 of the Federal Law on Foreign Nationals and Integration; art. 3 and 6 of the Ordinance on the Entry and Granting of Visas). On this last point, the Federal Administrative Court regularly points out that there is no automatic right to a visa. Travellers must demonstrate the real purpose of their stay and not just dream of our mountains.

The good news is that a valid Schengen visa issued by another Schengen state, for example France, Germany or Italy, also allows you to enter Switzerland in principle for a short stay, within the 90-day limit out of 180. In other words, if the visa is issued correctly and covers the planned dates, there is no need to collect Schengen visas.

However, the passage sought by the United Kingdom complicates matters somewhat. Since the Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the Schengen area. A British visa is therefore not valid for entry into Switzerland, and a Schengen visa is not valid for entry into the UK. To leave the airport in London, your visitors will therefore have to check separately for British requirements. For example, Chinese and Indian nationals are normally required to obtain a visa to enter the UK; certain transit situations may also require special authorisation.

Your two friends would therefore be well advised to organise their trip in two stages. For Switzerland, they will need a Schengen visa, unless they already have a valid one issued by another Schengen country. For the UK, they will need separate UK authorisation if their itinerary requires it. Swiss chocolate and English tea go well together, but visas are not so easy to get on the table...