How to apply for a Switzerland Schengen visa from the UK

Where you apply

Apply to Switzerland if it is your main destination. The Regional Consular Centre London, 16–18 Montagu Place, decides; it does not take applications itself and gives no visa information by phone. VFS Global receives them:

• London: applications go from here to the consular centre.
• Manchester and Edinburgh: satellite centres. VFS sends files to its London office and on to the mission the next day, so it asks you to add two days to the processing time.

You need a valid UK residence permit: VFS says that if you hold only a UK visitor visa, you apply in your country of residence. Each applicant, children included, needs their own appointment. Book under the right category (Tourism, Family or Friends Visit, Business, Sports, Study and Culture, Minors or EU/EEA and Swiss Family) and with details that match your passport exactly; VFS says errors can stop you handing in your documents. If your fingerprints were taken for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months, the embassy does not need them again but asks for a copy of that visa, issued after 20 November 2015.

Step by step

1. 1

   Fill in the form

   VFS lets you fill in the visa application form online as part of booking; print and sign it. You can also download the six-page Schengen form from VFS or the State Secretariat for Migration.
2. 2

   Book at VFS Global

   Choose London, Manchester or Edinburgh and the category for your trip, at the earliest six months and at the latest 15 days before you travel.
3. 3

   Gather the documents

   Follow the UK checklist for your purpose, in its order, on A4 paper and without staples, with English translations of anything in another language.
4. 4

   Attend the appointment

   Hand in the form and documents, give fingerprints unless they are on file, and pay the visa fee and the VFS service fee.
5. 5

   Wait for the decision

   The embassy says a decision is generally made within 15 days, and can take longer when other Schengen states must be consulted.

Documents

The country's own checklist is the one that counts. The core of it:

• Passport issued within the last ten years, valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages.
• Proof of your UK immigration status, such as your eVisa and a share code, valid beyond your return.
• The signed application form and a photo to the ICAO passport standard.
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
• Recent bank statements, and a letter from your employer or proof of studies or self-employment.
• A flight reservation, and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.

On top of that, the Swiss embassy's UK tourist checklist asks for:

• Your UK residence permit, original and copy, valid more than one month after you leave the Schengen Area, and a Home Office share code, which is mandatory.
• A copy of your passport, including the signature page.
• An employer letter, dated no more than one week before you apply, with your position and start date, plus three months' payslips; the self-employed bring a letter from an accountant, banker or solicitor, three months of bank statements and a self-assessment form.
• UK bank statements no more than one week old, covering at least the past three months and showing your name, account number and latest balance; online statements are accepted.
• Insurance from a UK or Schengen-based company, on its letterhead with your name and date of birth; if your bank provides it, a letter no more than a month old.
• A confirmed hotel booking or a paid package tour, your transport booking, and a confirmed return to the UK or onward ticket; travelling by car, a ferry ticket, your driving licence and vehicle insurance.

Fees and processing time

Visa fee, adults

€90, paid in pounds: £76 (VFS Global, November 2026) or £79 (embassy fee table, December 2025)

Children aged 6 to 11

€45, paid as £40 (VFS Global and the embassy fee table)

VFS service fee

£20 including VAT, per application (VFS Global, November 2026)

Refunds

None if the application is withdrawn or refused (Embassy of Switzerland)

Processing

Generally within 15 days (Embassy of Switzerland in the UK)

The official pages disagree on three points. VFS lists the adult visa fee as £76, while the embassy's fee table, valid from 8 December 2025, lists £79; the embassy says the pound amount can change with the exchange rate. VFS says all fees can be paid in cash or by card, while the embassy's UK tourist checklist says the visa fee is by card only, not American Express, so bring a card. And the checklist puts processing at about five working days, against 15 days on the embassy website, which VFS calls the minimum; plan on the longer figure.

Applications and refusals

In 2025, the consulates of Switzerland in the UK received 16,123 short-stay Schengen visa applications: 3.1% of all those lodged in the UK, and the 9th most of any Schengen country. They refused 10.6% of the applications they decided; across every Schengen country in the UK the rate was 10.5%, according to the European Commission's visa statistics.

Applications, 2025

16,123

Rank in the UK

9th of 28 Schengen countries

Refused

10.6%

All Schengen countries in the UK

10.5% refused

The Commission counts applications where they are lodged, not by nationality, so these are residents of the UK of many nationalities. A refusal rate is an average over every applicant and says little about any one file; and the country you apply to is set by your main destination, not by its refusal rate.

What applicants reported

40 applicants in the United Kingdom have reported their Switzerland visa to Visa Catcher's statistics. The median time from appointment to passport back was 8 days.

Reports

40

Appointment to passport back (median)

8 days; typically 6–10 days

Approved

95% of 40 with a known outcome

Validity granted (median)

3 months

Multiple entry

84%

See every Switzerland report from the United Kingdom · how the statistics work

How often new dates appear

London. Our monitors saw new Switzerland appointments appear in London 540 times in the last 90 days, on 86 different days; the typical gap between two releases was about 2 hours. The latest release we saw was on 10 November at 10:10 UK time. Over the past year (1310 releases) they were spread across the week and the day, with no day or hour that stands out: new dates can appear at any time.

Getting the appointment

The form is the easy part. The hard part is a free date with VFS Global: when demand is high the calendar can stay empty, and new dates go quickly when they appear. In the last 90 days our monitors saw new dates appear in London 540 times, typically about 2 hours apart.

These are the ways to get a date, including ours:

Each Switzerland route we track has its own page, and every route is on the UK appointment board page. For how the booking systems work, see how to book a Schengen visa appointment in the UK.

• Switzerland visa appointment, London
• Switzerland visa appointment, Manchester
• Switzerland visa appointment, Edinburgh

Questions

Where do I apply for a Swiss visa in the UK?

At VFS Global in London, Manchester or Edinburgh, by appointment booked online. The Regional Consular Centre London at the Embassy of Switzerland decides. The embassy says applications made through any other provider are not valid.

How recent must my documents be for a Swiss visa from the UK?

Very recent. The Swiss embassy’s UK tourist checklist asks for an employer letter and bank statements no more than one week old, with the statements covering at least the past three months.

How late can I apply for a Swiss visa?

At the latest 15 days before you travel, and at the earliest six months before, depending on the appointments available, according to the Swiss embassy’s UK checklist.

Do I need to give fingerprints again for a Swiss visa?

Not if they were taken for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months: the Swiss embassy asks instead for a copy of that visa, issued after 20 November 2015. You still need an appointment at VFS Global to hand in the application.

What is the refusal rate for Switzerland Schengen visas in the UK?

In 2025, the consulates of Switzerland in the UK refused 10.6% of the short-stay visa applications they decided, against 10.5% across all Schengen countries in the UK, according to the European Commission’s visa statistics. They received 16,123 applications, the 9th most of any Schengen country.

Sources

• Embassy of Switzerland in the UK: visa, entry and residence
• Embassy of Switzerland in the UK: Schengen visa application and procedure
• Embassy of Switzerland in the UK: Schengen visa fees
• Embassy of Switzerland in the UK: fee table, valid from 8 December 2025 (PDF)
• Embassy of Switzerland, Regional Consular Centre London: UK tourist visa checklist (October 2025, PDF)
• State Secretariat for Migration: Schengen visa application form
• VFS Global: Switzerland visa application centres in the UK
• VFS Global Switzerland, UK: how to apply
• VFS Global Switzerland, UK: visa fees, documents and processing time
• VFS Global Switzerland, UK: book an appointment
• VFS Global Switzerland, UK: appointments only through the online portal (25 September 2025)
• EU Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (consolidated text of 28 June 2024)
• European Commission: visa policy and the short-stay visa fee
• European Commission: Schengen visa statistics for consulates, 2025 (2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx)

Rules and fees are set by the consulates and their visa centres and can change; check the official pages above before you apply. Our coverage, prices and release statistics on this page are live. Visa Catcher is an independent appointment-tracking service, not affiliated with any visa centre, embassy, consulate or government.