Schengen Visa Application Procedure - Embassy of Switzerland in Kuwait

 No telephone inquiries accepted.

• Visa applications must be submitted only with appointment.
• All appointments to submit the visa application must be obtained personally or by messenger at the Embassy of Switzerland.

                -  Sunday to Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - 01:00 p.m.
                -  No appointments granted by telephone.

In an event where your application has not been completed, your appointment stands void and you will need to make a new appointment to submit your application.

 
The agreement with the Schengen member states came into operational force on 12 December 2008. Schengen visas are accepted in conjunction with a valid travel document for entry into Switzerland. Switzerland now only issues Schengen visas. If not otherwise noted, the Schengen visa is valid for all Schengen member states. This also applies to Schengen visas issued by other Schengen States which permit entry to Switzerland.

The Schengen regulations apply to the examination of requests for short-term stay visas whose validity does not exceed 90 days, including transit visas valid for the Schengen space. The time needed for a visa request to be processed may vary from case to case, but in general takes up to two weeks at the most for a short stay visa. The issuance of long term visas for more than three months remains subject to national procedures. Such visa will permit only entry to the territory of the issuing state and transit via another Schengen state.
The former Swiss visa is still valid to enter Switzerland until its date of expiry but it does not entitle to enter other Schengen states.

Foreign nationals are required to submit their visa application to the Embassy of the country in whose territory the main destination of the visit is situated. In order to determine the country of main destination, the Embassy considers the reason or purpose of the visit and the duration of the stay in the various countries. If a main destination cannot be determined, the Embassy of the country that the foreign national is planning on visiting first is responsible.
It does not matter which airport you arrive at or depart from, providing you stay in the Schengen area. The number of entries applies to the whole of the Schengen area and not just to individual member countries (if not otherwise noted on the visa). Therefore you may travel throughout the whole of the Schengen area on the same visa for the duration of its validity.

Please note that Great Britain and Ireland are not part of the Schengen area and you therefore require separate visas for these two countries. 

General requirements for tourist and business visa for all applicants 

• Application form: The application form can be downloaded from the following webpage:
   www.bfm.admin.ch  
   
  One form per person (and 1 copy if applying at our Consulate General in Bahrain), duly completed and signed by the applicant (father and mother have to sign the application for children aged under 18 and join a copy of their signed passports). 
   
  The forms are available in different languages, but please note that the form has to be filled out using the Roman alphabet. No Arabic, Chinese, Russian etc. will be accepted. 
   
• 2 recent passport-sized pictures of the applicant (light background). 
   
• Signed passport (original and copy), which has to be valid for at least three months beyond the expiry date of the Schengen visa. Copies of the past obtained visas. (2 copies if applying at our Consulate General in Bahrain). 
   
  Passport has to remain at the Embassy of Switzerland during the processing time. 
   
• Travel Insurance, covering the entire journey in the Schengen space, minimum coverage of 30’000 Euros, taking in charge the possible repatriation costs and the local outpatient and inpatient medical treatment costs (copy). 
   
  Diplomatic and Special passports need a “Note verbal” from either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Rulers Office, exemption of Travel Insurance. 
   
• Flight tickets, the electronic flight tickets (E-Tickets), (copy). 
   
• Confirmed hotel reservation covering the entire duration of the stay (copy), or obvious and recent proof of owning a house/flat in Switzerland. You must spend at least half of your time in Switzerland that you are entitled to apply at the Swiss Embassy.
   
• Bank statements of the last three months. 
   
• Fee equivalent to EUR 60 paid upon submission. No fee refunded for rejected applications. 
   
• Additional requirements for non Kuwaiti/ Bahraini/ Qatari nationals: 
  - Company letter of your employer/sponsor duly stamped and signed (original). 
  - Residency permit / ID card (copy), which has to be valid for at least three months beyond the expiry date of the Schengen visa.
  - Trade license (copy).

Additional requirements for:

Business trips 
Invitation sent to the Swiss Embassy by the host company in Switzerland, including: 

• The name and the passport number of the applicant. 
• The nature of the business. 
• The guarantee of bearing all accommodation and medical expenses. 
• The declaration that the applicant will return to Kuwait before the visa expiry date. 

Household employees (come personally to the Embassy / Consulate General before and after the journey to Switzerland):

• Liability Declaration (please see Downloads above) 
• Copy of the employers’ family passports and their Schengen visas. 
• Have to be in Kuwait / Bahrain / Qatar at least one year and with the same sponsor.

Invited visitors 
The host should fax/e-mail a dated/signed invitation letter mentioning the personal data of the invited person (name, passport details and exact dates of stay) to the Embassy of Switzerland, certifying that he/she will be responsible for all expenses related to the stay (accommodation, transport, medical) and for the return to Kuwait before the expiry of the visa. 
Host must add a copy of his/her passport or ID (and copy of the Residence Permit if not a Swiss citizen).

Please note that additional documents might be requested

Visa fee 
Fee is equivalent of EUR 60 at the Swiss governments exchange rate.
Visa for children below the age of 6 years is free of charge. Visa fee for children aged between 6 and 12 is equivalent of EUR 35.
The fee is to be paid in cash (personal checks and credit cards are not accepted).
Postage: If your application must be submitted to the competent authorities in Switzerland for a decision (e. g. work or study residence visa, family reunification visa), an additional postage fee of KWD 4.000 will be levied (respectively 5.000 BHD). 

How to apply for a visa?
Complete the visa application form (available online) and bring it with you together with all other requirements. 

• Residents in Kuwait: The applicant has to come in person to the Embassy to submit the documents. 
• Residents in Bahrain: The applicant has to come in person to the Consulate General to submit the documents. 
• Residents in Qatar: The applicant can send his/her documents along with his/her original passport with courier proposing a return service. The courier service will pay the application fee on his/her behalf in Kuwaiti currency and charge him/her back in Qatar. Please note that you may be requested to come to our Embassy in Kuwait or Consulate General in Manama.

Responsibility of the Visa Officer
Please note that while we believe the given information is correct and up-to-date, the Swiss Embassy or the Swiss Consulate General are not legally responsible in the event of errors, omissions or obsolescence. Once an application has been submitted, no further changes can be made. No claim is possible for cancelled reservations. Only the immigration officers or the Swiss Federal or Cantonal authorities are competent to ultimately accept or deny visa applications. The operators (such as airlines and travel agencies) must use appropriate means to inform their customers of potential travel requirement issues before making any nonrefundable reservations.