Not all foreign nationals spending less than three months in a six-month period require a visa for entry into Switzerland. Switzerland has been one of the 24 European member states of the Schengen Agreement since 2008 and allows citizens of 71 nations and sovereign city-states, including the United States, to enter without a visa given the listed time constraints. For U.S. citizens, the passport must be signed on the second page of the cover, before the passport is paginated, where it reads that Secretary of State permits the passport holder "to pass without delay." U.S. citizens who are members of the armed forces can enter with a valid military ID card in civilian clothes, but must have a permit to wear their uniform. Other nationals must submit a visa application to the Swiss foreign mission in their home country. In some nations, a declaration of sponsorship might also be required to prove that the foreign national can support himself while staying in Switzerland.
Citizens of the other 23 European member states of the Schengen Agreement and of 16 other nations and sovereign city-states do not need a visa for stays of longer than three months. The United States is not one of those nations. Visa applications must be submitted to the Swiss foreign mission in the travelers' home country. Longer stays will elicit requests from the Swiss foreign mission for proof of applicants' purpose for travel and personal solvency. If the applicant will be traveling or relocating to Switzerland for a job, a work permit must be approved before the applicant arrives in Switzerland. The applicant's future place of employment should be handling that application process.
Most airline passengers en route to Switzerland who have the required travel documents and visas do not require an additional airport transit visa, given those passengers do not leave the transit area during their travels or continue their journey by air within 48 hours of their first departure. No citizen of the United States, Canada, Japan, or any nation of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association ever requires an airport transit visa. Citizens from 19 nations in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East do unless those passengers hold diplomatic, service, or special passports.
