The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel advice on 8 November, adding Switzerland to a list of destinations—including Finland, Iceland and Mexico—where winter travellers may face tighter visa checks, sporadic protests and heightened border scrutiny. Travel And Tour World notes that the advisory coincides with the EU’s phased launch of the Entry/Exit System (EES), which will require third-country nationals to register facial images and fingerprints from 17 November at Zurich Airport.
While British citizens remain visa-exempt for short stays in Switzerland, the FCDO warns of “longer processing queues” as kiosks come online and reminds travellers that passport validity must cover the entire stay plus three months. The advisory also highlights potential labour-action disruptions in neighbouring France and Germany that could cascade onto Swiss rail and air connections.
![UK Issues Pre-Winter Travel Advisory Flagging New Visa Hurdles and Border Delays for Switzerland]()
Corporate travel managers should brief UK-based employees on biometric requirements, advise early airport arrival (minimum three hours for non-EU passport holders during the EES roll-out) and ensure that mobile-phone numbers are registered in emergency-notification systems. Visa vendors report a 15 % spike in last-minute Schengen applications from British contractors seeking multi-entry comfort.
Employers running ski-season incentives in the Alps may consider staggering arrival dates or booking flights into Basel’s EuroAirport (which will introduce EES in January rather than November) to spread the compliance load.
While British citizens remain visa-exempt for short stays in Switzerland, the FCDO warns of “longer processing queues” as kiosks come online and reminds travellers that passport validity must cover the entire stay plus three months. The advisory also highlights potential labour-action disruptions in neighbouring France and Germany that could cascade onto Swiss rail and air connections.
Corporate travel managers should brief UK-based employees on biometric requirements, advise early airport arrival (minimum three hours for non-EU passport holders during the EES roll-out) and ensure that mobile-phone numbers are registered in emergency-notification systems. Visa vendors report a 15 % spike in last-minute Schengen applications from British contractors seeking multi-entry comfort.
Employers running ski-season incentives in the Alps may consider staggering arrival dates or booking flights into Basel’s EuroAirport (which will introduce EES in January rather than November) to spread the compliance load.
