Reader question: Do Russians now have to leave Switzerland?
As part of sanctions that the Federal Council adopted on Monday, Russian citizens can no longer enter Switzerland and those already in the country must leave. Here's what you need to know.
Russian citizens present in Switzerland will have to leave the country when their tourist visa expires. On Monday, the Federal Council suspended a 2009 rule which allowed Russians to obtain short-term visas to visit Switzerland.
This ruling extends only to Russian tourists and other visitors who need a visa to enter Switzerland; permanent residents with a B or C permit are not included in the sanctions and are thereby permitted to remain in Switzerland.
Leaving Switzerland, however, is not as simple as it sounds because Russian planes can no longer land on Swiss soil, and vice-versa.
So how are Russians supposed to get home?
“The organisation of the return journey is the responsibility of the persons concerned; Switzerland does not provide any support in this regard”, Roland E. Fluekiger, spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) told The Local.
As the European Union has the same sanctions in place, these tourists cannot simply fly to a EU country and reach Russia from there.
Sanctions on Russia: Is Switzerland still a neutral nation?
“As far as we know, Russia can also be reached indirectly, for example via Istanbul. A return journey may also be possible by land”, Fluekiger said.
SWISS airlines announced a suspension of all Russia-bound flights until the end of March after the announcement was made.
Due to the current developments, we no longer operate flights to/from Russia with immediate effect until the end of March. Affected passengers will be informed. We will also no longer use Russian airspace until further notice and continue to monitor the situation closely. pic.twitter.com/hgwGfr5zLR
— Swiss Intl Air Lines (@FlySWISS) February 28, 2022
Prior to that, Swiss had flown from Zurich to Moscow five times per week, from Geneva to Moscow twice a week and from Geneva to St Petersburg once per week.
The ban applies to commercial and private jets and the only exception to the ban is for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic flights.
READ MORE: What do Russia flight bans mean for international travel from Switzerland?
By contrast, Ukrainian citizens have been able to come to Switzerland without a visa since 2017; the only requirement was a biometric passport.
From February 28th, however, that rule has been waved and Ukrainians can now enter with any kind of valid passport. Ukrainians are also entitled to free travel within Switzerland on public transport towards their final destination.
Banking problems
But not being able to fly home is not the only problem Russian tourists are facing right now: as their credit and debit cards issued by Russian banks no longer work in Switzerland or anywhere in the EU, they may have no access to money, unless they carry lots of cash.
As a result, Russian nationals in Switzerland are “desperately trying to free themselves from the ever-tightening vice of sanctions. They distance themselves as much as possible from their homeland”, according to a report in Tribune de Genève.
“Many wealthy Russians have multiple passports and have now requested to no longer be registered with the bank as Russian residents, but to be registered at another [EU] domicile”, the manager of one wealth management institution told the newspaper.
Banks, however, remain “very cautious”.
“Each of these residency transfers is reviewed by a compliance committee. People whose names are on the sanctions list have no chance of getting their money back. No bank wants to be censured for violating sanctions”, according to the report.
READ MORE: Swiss supermarkets begin boycott of Russian goods
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Russian citizens present in Switzerland will have to leave the country when their tourist visa expires. On Monday, the Federal Council suspended a 2009 rule which allowed Russians to obtain short-term visas to visit Switzerland.
This ruling extends only to Russian tourists and other visitors who need a visa to enter Switzerland; permanent residents with a B or C permit are not included in the sanctions and are thereby permitted to remain in Switzerland.
Leaving Switzerland, however, is not as simple as it sounds because Russian planes can no longer land on Swiss soil, and vice-versa.
So how are Russians supposed to get home?
“The organisation of the return journey is the responsibility of the persons concerned; Switzerland does not provide any support in this regard”, Roland E. Fluekiger, spokesperson for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) told The Local.
As the European Union has the same sanctions in place, these tourists cannot simply fly to a EU country and reach Russia from there.
Sanctions on Russia: Is Switzerland still a neutral nation?
“As far as we know, Russia can also be reached indirectly, for example via Istanbul. A return journey may also be possible by land”, Fluekiger said.
SWISS airlines announced a suspension of all Russia-bound flights until the end of March after the announcement was made.
Due to the current developments, we no longer operate flights to/from Russia with immediate effect until the end of March. Affected passengers will be informed. We will also no longer use Russian airspace until further notice and continue to monitor the situation closely. pic.twitter.com/hgwGfr5zLR
— Swiss Intl Air Lines (@FlySWISS) February 28, 2022
Prior to that, Swiss had flown from Zurich to Moscow five times per week, from Geneva to Moscow twice a week and from Geneva to St Petersburg once per week.
The ban applies to commercial and private jets and the only exception to the ban is for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic flights.
READ MORE: What do Russia flight bans mean for international travel from Switzerland?
By contrast, Ukrainian citizens have been able to come to Switzerland without a visa since 2017; the only requirement was a biometric passport.
From February 28th, however, that rule has been waved and Ukrainians can now enter with any kind of valid passport. Ukrainians are also entitled to free travel within Switzerland on public transport towards their final destination.
Banking problems
But not being able to fly home is not the only problem Russian tourists are facing right now: as their credit and debit cards issued by Russian banks no longer work in Switzerland or anywhere in the EU, they may have no access to money, unless they carry lots of cash.
As a result, Russian nationals in Switzerland are “desperately trying to free themselves from the ever-tightening vice of sanctions. They distance themselves as much as possible from their homeland”, according to a report in Tribune de Genève.
“Many wealthy Russians have multiple passports and have now requested to no longer be registered with the bank as Russian residents, but to be registered at another [EU] domicile”, the manager of one wealth management institution told the newspaper.
Banks, however, remain “very cautious”.
“Each of these residency transfers is reviewed by a compliance committee. People whose names are on the sanctions list have no chance of getting their money back. No bank wants to be censured for violating sanctions”, according to the report.
READ MORE: Swiss supermarkets begin boycott of Russian goods
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