The Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and the Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong are pleased to introduce a new appointment and information system with effect from May 01, 2012. With the opening of this new Call Center the Embassy and Consulates will improve the level of their services. 

Procedure:
Please find all the necessary information on how to book an appointment at  TLScontact

Contact information:
The call center and telephone information service of TLScontact can be reached Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 12:00 and 13:15 to 16:30 under the following numbers:

Beijing:          +86 10 84 46 02 00
Shanghai:     +86 21 51 87 27 52
Guangzhou:  +86 20 61 13 17 43
Hong Kong:  +852 6515 3879

Please note that written enquires may be done directly through the TLScontact website after creating your account.

Switzerland is a member state of the Schengen area. Unless otherwise stated on the visa sticker, a visa issued by Switzerland is also valid for the other Schengen states and vice versa.
The following states are currently issuing Schengen visas: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Kindly note that the application has to be made at the Schengen representation of the country of your main destination. Tourists who spend equal time in several Schengen states are required to apply for the visa at the representation of the country where they enter the Schengen area.

Visa applicants whose main destination is Switzerland are asked to come in person to this Consulate General according to appointments previously made with TSLcontact. Kindly bring all required documents along with you (for information please refer to the different visa requirement documents on this page). In order to assess the applicant’s personal, financial or professional situation or to determine the purpose of his/her travel, additional papers may be requested by the visa officer. Incomplete applications cannot be accepted.

Applicants must apply at least 15 business days prior to their planned departure date. There are no express visas available.

Applicants for sponsored visitor visas as well as applicants for long stay visas (more than 90 days) for studies, employment or joining spouses should apply at least 3 months prior to traveling to Switzerland.

In case of a visa refusal the applicant will be informally notified of the decision. The applicant may request a contestable written decision by the Swiss Federal Office for Migration which is subject to a charge.

Holders of a Hong Kong SAR passport, BNO passport or Macau SAR passport may enter the Schengen area without a visa, provided that no employment is pursued.

The above mentioned passport holders may stay in the Schengen area up to 90 days per half-year. After staying 90 days in Schengen they have to leave Schengen for at least 90 days before being allowed to return to Schengen (meaning that each 3-month-stay needs to be interrupted by a 3-month-break).

Any stay beyond 90 days requires a residence permit issued by the Migration Office of the relevant canton in Switzerland.

Holders of a valid national passport (of a country requiring a visa to enter Schengen) in conjunction with a valid Swiss permanent residence card are permitted to enter the whole Schengen area without a visa.

Holders of a Document of Identity (DI) on the other hand require a visa to enter Switzerland.