Embassy of Switzerland

A respected diplomatic mission fostering strong economic and international relationships between Switzerland and the United States.

I did not have a good experience. They lost some of the papers I sent along with all my documents. My situation was urgent and I lost about 15 days due to this mistake because I had to send them again. I was in contact with the canton in Switzerland, which is the main authority in my situation, to speed up the process. It took 6 weeks in total for Washington to just receive the paperwork and send my passport back, even though canton completed the process within the day they received my documents (thanks again to the canton). Of course, while all this is going on, you cannot reach someone you can contact. They kindly called me on my phone when they made their own mistake, but you don't have a chance to get a response to your calls or e-mails. Congrats on a super working system!

I had to renew my Swiss Passport. The website to make an appointment is a little confusing, but once I figured it out my appointment was confirmed quickly. On the day of the appointment it took less than 10 minutes to do the biometrics. I received my new passport in 10 days.

So rude. You MUST contact them via email under every circumstances (even for the situations which do not need any email or phone contacts), they will take their time to reply and you have to respond them almost at once whenever you receive the reply (I took their phone call 30 seconds late and the lady starts blaming me). Most importantly, everything on the website seems to be changeable based on the lady's emotion. I received the work authorization letter from the local canton in Switzerland. The authorization specifically told me that I need retrieve the entry VISA from D.C., and the embassy's website noticed me that I have to hand over all the documents in person and no appointment is needed. So, I bought an airline ticket and flew myself from Madison, WI to D.C., unfortunately, the embassy was closed on Thursday, so I went there on Friday. The lady with the embassy told me that I need to send them an email to describe my situation then they will contact me later. It was the next Tuesday when they reached me out by phone. In the conversation, the same lady told me that I need to contact the consulate in New York to get this done, because I rented an apartment in Madison, WI. Politely, I replied "I'm a US J-1 VISA holder and my legal status is non-resident alien for tax purpose, most importantly, I worked in Virginia for more than two years and only 10 months in Wisconsin, probably this indicates that the embassy could possibly handle my entry visa processing". But the answer was No. Now, I am counting that I will stay in the 3-star hotel for two-week to have all these issues sorted out.

Friendly, caring and professional staff. I lost my passport in Washington DC and I’m lucky enough to live close to the embassy - but I only realized I lost my passport two days prior to my flight back to Switzerland and they were able to provide me a temporary passport. Great job!

Visited the swiss embassy in 2018. Process is smooth although communication is bit slow. The only thing thing bothered me was they gave me visa for exact days (not even 1 day margin) and my flight was late in evening. What if the flight was cancelled for some reason.

One of the best Swiss embassies, they are super quick and professional. I got my Schengen visa within a week. Thank you so much swiss embassy at Washington DC!

Almost lost my passport due to FedEx's irresponsibility. But the team in Swiss Embassy took all their affords and time to find my passport! Thank you for your professionalism, Swiss Embassy!

I love nice watches, fondue, my best friend's husband, yodeling, neutrality and of course, Roger Federer, so you can only imagine my excitement and anticipation prior to attending an event at the Embassy of Switzerland. (Wasn't that amazing how American I just was?!) My first time at the embassy, I turned into a rather long driveway where the valet so kindly took care of my car. I immediately spotted an interesting, ornamental looking white tree in the front, next to a vanity pool. Soft lights illuminated both as I looked through the large glass windows of the embassy. This is a great space for a reception or networking event. There is a large foyer, living room, side room which is perfect for a caterer to set up foods or a bar and a gorgeous, sweeping patio that overlooks a well manicured, rolling lawn. The embassy representatives couldn't have been warmer or more inviting, encouraging us to stay as long as we wanted as the embassy's dog wandered among us looking for scraps as the party died down. They were truly amazing hosts for the event and the space was sophisticated and pristine without feeling terribly sterile. Can't wait for my next opportunity to visit.

I am a Swiss Citizen born and raised in Swizterland. I moved to the USA 10 years ago. Can you believe my own government my country ! Has denied me to renew my passport! Because I didn't chronically provide papers of my son birth my husband and I were stationed in Bahrain my son was born there. We have all the original document of our son birth! But they want documents to be no older than 6months. The only way to get them is to go back to Bahrain. My passport expires in a couple of months. It's is MY ONLY PASSPORT. I have been calling and emailing I have gotten one responses saying they would look in to It that was one month ago!

Occupying a large corner lot in a nice residential NW neighborhood, the Embassy of Switzerland looks like some kind of small office compound or pharmaceutical laboratory. I saw a screening here as part of the DC Environmental Film Fest... the movie was awesome, but the embassy isn't a good venue for film. There are lots of informative brochures and booklets on Switzerland, covering everything from gourmet travel in the Alps to educational opportunities and Swiss renewable energy.

Apparently, the Swiss Embassy is held highly for it's cultural offerings? I did not have the good fortune of paying a visit for a pleasant event, but the rather stressful experience of getting a work visa for Switzerland. Going to a government service agency isn't something you ever really look forward to, especially if it's a foreign agency. I found the process for obtaining a work visa in Switzerland to be quite daunting and strict. I had to provide proof not only that I had accommodations procured (evidence coming directly from the party providing the lodging in Switzerland, along with documentation of that person's residence permit), but that I had enough money in my bank account to support myself in the rather expensive Geneva market. I also needed my employer to contact the Embassy directly to inform them of the conditions of my employment, including health insurance. I was sent away to come back once I had all of my proper documentation. To be fair, I've never applied for a foreign work visa before and perhaps the level of documentation necessary is standard, and I had come sorely unprepared after realizing in the middle of the night that I needed to get cracking on this visa issue. The immigration officer was strict but very helpful, and went through all of the documents that I would need to bring one by one. She also wrote out the details that I would need in each of my documents on the standard list provided by the Embassy. Don't come in with originals expecting them to make copies for you, as it seemed that they would send me back to return with the necessary number of copies even if I had all of my other documents in place. Also, it takes 8-10 weeks to process a work visa (only 10 days if your employer is an international organization), so make sure you have plenty of time!

It's not pleasant to apply for a visa with any consulate, especially if you hold a passport from a Middle Eastern country, but the Swiss Consulate in Washington DC is the mother of them all. The staff are extremely uncourteous and treat you like you do not belong to the human race. I have traveled from the US to Switzerland at least once a year since 1995 to visit my relatives, and have therefore had the misfortune of applying for a visa each and every time. You would think that the number of employment verifications, alone, that I have filed with that office would attest to the fact that I am not a terrorist and that I do not intend to live in that country. But has that changed anything? No. Are they in denial or do they pretend to be? That is the question. So if you have a choice, dear readers, apply for a Schengen visa at another embassy - not the Embassy of Switzerland.

I made one article about the mistreatment from Swiss Embassy in Jakarta. My family and I are very disappointed with the recent treatment of Embassy of Switzerland in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am scheduled to get married to my fiancé (who is a Swiss) this coming August. As is customary anywhere in the world, you would want to have your family to join you to celebrate this happy day. To that end, my parents and two sisters submitted their visa application to the Switzerland Embassy on August 8, 2013. The four of them visited Switzerland in 2011 and stayed for 1 month. Given the precedent, we knew very well the requirements to obtain a visa. On the 18th of July '13 when we went back to the Embassy to collect our passport, it caught us by surprise that my sisters' applications were denied, and only my parents got their visas. My younger sister is 15 and she is in high school. My elder sister is in her productive age (30) and unemployed, but that's because she is differently abled. Therefore, I do not see any valid reason why their visas have been rejected. My fiancé called the embassy to seek some answers, and nobody gave him a satisfactory answer. This obviously caused my fiancé distress so near to our wedding, but the embassy opted to hang up rather than rectify the issue. Where is the professionalism? This is not our first experience with the Embassy, rather the third one. We had 3 visa/marriage-wise cases and the reception of our cases was very unwelcome. Please note that every case was payable. Moreover, every time my family had to go to the embassy, almost every personnel treats them poorly, from the guard at the entrance to the higher ranked official. I remember my mom told me once she was waiting for her turn outside the Embassy standing in queue; there was a pregnant woman who was treated the same way. No seat, nothing at all. And when my mom protested, the guard only said "I'm sorry that is the regulation." I am not pointing the fault to the guard, but to the Embassy. The guard is only there to execute what he is told. That is inhuman. Switzerland is said to be a country that highly holds up the value of humanity, this value seems non-existant in their representative in Jakarta. Given Switzerland is a country with a direct democracy system, I would like to express the following. First, it would cause no harm for the Embassy to have a system where humanity and modest level of flexibility are applied. I agree time and resources are scarce, and immigration is now a big challenge. But the very rigid system has started to impair people's lives and the impression of the country. Is Switzerland saying that all visitors, in their productive age (including the differently abled), though enrolled in schools, from Indonesia are no longer able to visit the country? If that is the case, make it clear in your regulation. That way, we will not be bothered to spend millions of rupiahs in the first place. Do not trap us this way; that is what I am saying. A lot of other developed countries I know for sure are competing to improve their visa system (e.g. promoting two ways communication, shortening typical wait time) to attract more visitors and students from Indonesia and elsewhere. Also, as far as I know, the developing countries are learning from the developed countries in upholding better equality and human rights in practice. So what kind of moral lessons do we learn from our recent experience? An Indonesian friend of mine who lives in London and plans to come to my wedding recently submitted her visa application at a local Switzerland Embassy. She received appropriate treatment and got her visa back in three working days. The security guard and visa officer were undoubtedly strict, yet informative, helpful and polite. I am sure that all the Swiss diplomats are well received by the Indonesians. Isn't it normal to treat us the way you would like to be treated? Those people at the embassy ARE JUST INCOMPETENT. Amita