Switzerland long-stay (Type D) visa
Required documents, fees and processing time for a Switzerland long-stay (Type D) Schengen visa when you apply from United Kingdom.
SCHENGEN · VISA C✈ DOCUMENTS
🇨🇭 Switzerland·····✈·····🇬🇧 from United Kingdom
To
Switzerland
Type
D · LONG STAY
Apply at
UK
Centre
VAC
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Action neededLong stay — national (Type D) · applying from United Kingdom.
Documents ready00 / 07
Competent authority
Embassy of Switzerland, Regional Consular Centre London (national D visas for UK residents); file decided by the cantonal migration authority in Switzerland.
Application centre
VFS Global (submission/biometrics; decision by the Swiss authorities)
Recommended — commonly expected even when not on the official list
Cover letterA letter of introduction stating who you are and why you are travelling.
Travel itineraryA day-by-day plan of your trip to attach to the application.
Fees
Consular (Type C)
€90
Service fee
£20
Est. total (adult)
£101
Long stay (Type D)
—
The short-stay (Type C) consular fee is harmonised at €90 for adults across all Schengen states; collected in GBP · centre: VFS Global.
Fee notes
Non-EU Schengen. VFS Global; Swiss Regional Consular Centre London. Also handles Liechtenstein.
Timeline
medium confidenceProcessing
15–45 days
End-to-end
3–8 weeks
Centre
VAC
Appointment wait
Book well in advance — commonly several weeks ahead. Realistically ~2-4 weeks to secure an appointment, more in summer.
Application centre
TLScontact (the Embassy of Switzerland transferred visa intake to TLScontact). London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Prime Time / premium slots offered.
Timeline notes
Processing follows Schengen baseline. TLScontact UK had a past IT-incident appointment disruption — capacity can be volatile.
Funds to show
high confidenceThe figures below are the short-stay (Type C) means of subsistence. A long-stay (Type D) visa sets its funds requirement nationally by purpose (study, work, family reunification, income) — check the consulate for the amount that applies to your case.
Per day
CHF 100
Minimum
—
In EUR ≈
€107 / day
standard (foreign national bearing own costs, per day)
CHF 100 / day
student with valid student card (per day)
CHF 30 / day
Notes
Swiss Aliens Act of 16 Dec 2005 (RS 142.20), administrative practice: approx. CHF 100/day for those bearing own costs; approx. CHF 30/day for students with a valid student card. Alternatively a host's declaration of liability (Verpflichtungserklaerung) set as an irrecoverable liability of CHF 30,000. EUR equivalent approx at ~1.07 EUR/CHF.
Consulates apply discretion and may expect a buffer above this figure — treat it as a floor, not a guarantee.
Funds source ↗⚠ Special cases & caveats
- All D-visa applicantsSubject to authorisation by the competent cantonal migration authority in Switzerland; longer processing than Schengen C visas.
- Non-UK nationals resident in the UKValid UK residence permit and Home Office share code required.