Visa

Please find below all the necessary information about the visa requirements for your private or tourist visit. Moreover, you will learn more about how to apply for a visa extension or for a return visa.

Private or tourist visit requiring a visa

The Swiss representations abroad are in charge of issuing visitor and tourist visas.

Important comment on permanent residence in Switzerland

A visitor visa or tourist visa is only valid for a temporary stay in Switzerland of up to a maximum of 90 days. If you wish to take up permanent residence in Switzerland, you must apply for an entry permit and state the purpose of your stay. The following links will guide you directly to the respective information pages.

Visa extensions

Visa extensions may be granted in case of force majeure or if humanitarian or serious personal reasons prevail. In order for us to assess the situation, we need to see you personally at our office. If you are on a private visit, your personal guarantor is required to accompany you. If a visa extension involves children or adolescents under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must be present as well.

The following situations do not represent important reasons justifying a visa extension:

  • awaiting a decision on permanent residence in Switzerland
  • taking care of family members
  • medical treatment unless it is an emergency in-patient treatment
  • business reasons
  • organizational reasons (e.g. personal assistance is required, no travel experience, communication problems)

Guarantors

The guarantor must be domiciled in the Canton of Zurich. Moreover, it must be the same person who committed himself/herself in the visa application submitted to the Swiss representation abroad.   

The respective commitment may be signed by a solvent Swiss citizen, a legal entity registered in the Commercial Register, or by a foreign national with a valid residence or settlement permit and a registered place of residence in the Canton of Zurich.

Apply for visa extension

Return visa

You will require a return visa if your visit is not governed by a permit. However, such return visa is only issued if one of the following requirements is fulfilled:

  • if you meet the requirements related to residence in Switzerland, but your residence or settlement permit is temporarily not in your possession;
  • if your application for a residence permit is pending and the Migration Office authorized you to stay here during the application procedure; or
  • if the Migration Office or Residents’ Registration Office is reviewing your application to extend your residence or settlement permit and you wish to go on holidays.

In order for us to assess the situation, we need to see you personally at our office. If children under the age of 18 are involved, a parent or legal guardian must be present as well.

There is no legal entitlement to a return visa.

Further information

Use the accordion controls to toggle the visibility of each panel (below the controls).

Contact

Migrationsamt

Address

Berninastrasse 45
Postfach
8090 Zürich
Route (Google)


Montag bis Freitag
08.00 bis 16.30 Uhr

Phone

+41 43 259 88 00

Telefon

Montag bis Freitag
08.00 bis 12.00 Uhr und
13.00 bis 16.30 Uhr  

Öffnungszeiten Weihnachten/Neujahr

Das Migrationsamt des Kantons Zürich bleibt von Dienstag, 24. Dezember 2024 bis und mit Freitag, 3. Januar 2025 geschlossen. 

Email


Online-Kontaktformular

Wenn Sie uns Ihr Anliegen auf elektronischem Weg mitteilen möchten, nutzen Sie bitte das Kontaktformular. Wir verfügen über keine E-Mail-Adresse. 

Weiterführende Informationen zu unserer Praxis finden Sie hier