People from the occupied regions of Ukraine as well as breakaway parts of Georgia with Russian-issued travel documents can no longer request a visa to enter the Schengen Area.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/dos
Русский
ru
Швейцария вводит ограничения в отношении российских паспортов
The government saidExternal link on Wednesday it had taken over a corresponding European Union (EU) decision to exclude these regions from the Schengen open-border travel system.
Although it is not an EU state, Switzerland is a member of the 27-country Schengen Area and is therefore obliged to implement such decisions, the government added.
The new restrictionsExternal link concern Russian-issued documents from the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine, as well as the two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, which were declared independent states by Moscow in 2008 – an opinion which most countries around the world, including Switzerland, do not share.
As for the date of issue after which the documents are no longer valid for Schengen travel, these vary: for example, from August 2008 for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, March 2014 for Crimea and Sevastopol, and May 2022 for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
The restrictions concern ordinary and diplomatic passports, residence permits for stateless persons, certificates of return, and seafarers’ identity cards.
Humanitarian visas, visas issued for reasons of national interest, or visas due to international obligations remain possible for people from the affected regions.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
This content was published on
A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Lack of smartphone sustainability in Switzerland hits environment
This content was published on
Almost half of all Swiss citizens hang on to their old smartphones, tablets and laptops, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Police clear out pro-Palestinian students protesting in Geneva
This content was published on
The police intervened early on Tuesday to dislodge pro-Palestinian students who had been occupying the University of Geneva for almost a week.
New gel developed in Zurich renders alcohol harmless
This content was published on
A newly developed gel composed of whey proteins breaks down alcohol in the body and could reduce its harmful and intoxicating effects in humans.
Pro-Palestine protests extend to Basel and Fribourg universities
This content was published on
Demonstrators called for an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and disassociation with Chaim Weizmann, the first Israeli president.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.