Immigration with a visa
Important
Please do not enter Switzerland under any circumstances on a tourist visa! A tourist visa may NOT be converted into a residence permit once you have entered Switzerland!
Be aware
The information refer to the procedures for a student visa in the Canton of Zurich. Other cantons have different requirements and procedures - for these, the information may not be correct!
Time
Please submit your visa application in person at the external pageSwiss diplomatic mission (embassy or consulate general not consulate) at your place of residence at least 3 months before you plan to enter Switzerland.
Documents
The application must be supported by all of the documents listed below. These information have been prepared by ETH in cooperation with the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich and satisfy the official requirements.
Please note that should any one of the documents mentioned on this list be missing from your application, this can lead to delays of several weeks.
Should the Swiss representation at your place of residence request further documents, please enclose these as well.
- Visa application form
The external pagevisa application form for a national type D visa is provided free of charge by the local Swiss representation where you live, or can be downloaded from the internet as a PDF. Normally it must be submitted in triplicate.
Most representations require you to appear in person; please find out about this in advance.
Please note that a student visa is normally valid from 2-3 weeks before the start of the semester. If you wish to enter Switzerland earlier you must mention this in your visa application and provide detailed reasons. - Passport
Copy of the first few (relevant) pages of your passport. Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned duration of your stay. This is very important – your visa will not be approved if your passport expires earlier! - Passport photographs
3 current passport photographs. - Confirmation of admission to ETH Zurich / Confirmation of passed entrance examination
The exact name of the document to be submitted depends on whether you have to take an entrance examination or whether you will be admitted without an examination.
Candidates admitted without an examination:
The Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich requires the “Anmeldebestätigung Zulassung zum Bachelorstudium an der ETH Zürich” (confirmation of admission to a Bachelor programme at ETH Zurich). The visa will only be granted if, according to this document, all admission requirements (incl. language certificate) are met. If you have not yet received this document at the time of the visa application, you may instead submit the “Verfügung betreffend Zulassung zum Bachelorstudium an der ETH Zürich”. This will allow your visa application to be checked, but the Migration Office will keep the application pending until you have submitted the missing “Anmeldebestätigung”.
Entrance examination candidates:
After passing the entrance examination, on Friday in calendar week 4, the Admissions Office will provide you with the document "Bestätigung zuhanden der zuständigen Behörde". You must enclose this confirmation that you have passed the entrance examination with your visa application. - Reasons for studying at ETH
Written statement declaring why you plan to study at ETH (necessity must be verified).
- Duration of studies at ETH
In a separate point, state the planned duration of your studies.
- Curriculum vitae / language skills
Curriculum vitae in table form in German or English; list language skills in detail. See the Downloadexample (PDF, 184 KB). - Diplomas / transcripts of school records
Copies and certified translations into German or English. Be aware: Some Swiss representation require inspection of the original certificates! Please clarify this with the responsible embassy BEFORE sending your original certificates to the ETH Admissions Office!
If you have not yet received your diplomas, you can submit a final transcript of school records and/or confirmation from your school. Depending on the case, you may need to submit the final diploma before the visa is approved.
- Future plans
Outline your plans after completing your studies (keep it short!). - Evidence of sufficient financial means
You must produce evidence that you can finance your stay in Switzerland by handing in a bank statement or proof of a scholarship decision. The Canton of Zurich Migration Office does only accept bank statements from external pagebanks domiciled in Switzerland (a Swiss bank or a foreign bank with a branch in Switzerland). You must show that you have CHF 21,000.00 available. The account balance must be stated in Swiss Francs, Euros or US Dollars either on the bank statement or in an additional letter from the bank. Even large, internationally active banks are not acceptable if they have no branches in Switzerland! Examples of acceptable banks are Citibank, China Construction Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank (etc.). Please do NOT choose Raiffeisen Bank. Although it is on the list it has never been accepted.
The account must be your own (not your parents’)!
Letters from parents declaring financial support are NOT accepted.
For those who know a Swiss citizen or someone with a B or C residence permit in Switzerland:
Instead of the bank statement, you can also submit a "declaration of commitment" (Verpflichtungserklärung). This will be sent to you by the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich if you have enclosed unaccepted financial proof with your visa application.
With the declaration of commitment, a solvent person resident in Switzerland (Swiss citizen or person with a B or C residence permit) must guarantee that they will cover the uncovered costs (incl. accident, illness, return journey) that the community may incur as a result of your stay in Switzerland up to an amount of CHF 21,000. The following documents must be submitted by the person:
- Completed "Commitment" (Verpflichtung) form
- A bank statement or the last 3 salary statements or the last tax return and tax bill
- An extract from the debt collection register (Betreibungsregisterauszug).
The Zurich Migration Office is extremely strict about the financial requirement and this is where students make most mistakes. It is crucial that you follow the instructions above very carefully (most embassies do not know the detailed requirements of each of the 26 cantons in Switzerland and may not be able to tell you the correct requirements!)
- Confirmation of tuition fee payment (if required by the embassy)
Many embassies require a confirmation of tuition fee payment. However, at ETH it is not possible to pay fees in advance. If required, please print this Downloadletter regarding the tuition fee (PDF, 150 KB) and enclose it with your visa application.
- Cover sheet for visa application (recommended)
Please include with your application the separate Downloadcover sheet (PDF, 120 KB), which must be completed in full and signed, so as to prevent delays in processing. It will help you to ensure that you have included all the documents requested and enable the Swiss authorities to locate relevant information more quickly.
- Visa application form
The external pagevisa application form for a national type D visa is provided free of charge by the local Swiss representation where you live, or can be downloaded from the internet as a PDF. Normally it must be submitted in triplicate.
Most representations require you to appear in person; please find out about this in advance.
Please note that a student visa is normally valid from 2-3 weeks before the start of the semester. If you wish to enter Switzerland earlier you must mention this in your visa application and provide detailed reasons. - Passport
Copy of the first few (relevant) pages of your passport. Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned duration of your stay. This is very important – your visa will not be approved if your passport expires earlier! - Passport photographs
3 current passport photographs. - ETH Zurich confirmation of registration
Enclose the official ETH “Confirmation of Registration” and “Matriculation Confirmation” (“Bescheinigung zu Händen der zuständigen Behörden“) documents which you will receive from the ETH Admissions Office once you have returned the registration form. Please note that the letter entitled “Admission to Master’s Programme” is not sufficient to obtain a visa. - Curriculum vitae / language skills
Curriculum vitae in table form in German or English; list language skills in detail. See the Downloadexample (PDF, 184 KB). - Copy of your Bachelor’s diploma
Copy and certified translation into German or English. Please be aware: Some embassies require to see the original diplomas. Please check with the embassy BEFORE you send along your originals to the ETH Admissions Office!
If you have not yet received your Bachelor's diploma, you can submit a final transcript of records and/or confirmation from your university. Depending on the case, you may need to submit the final Bachelor diploma before the visa is approved.
- Letter of motivation / Reasons why you want to study in Switzerland
Please provide a written personal statement in which you declare the reasons why you wish to study in the Canton of Zurich / Basel (keep it short! A few sentences are sufficient!).
- Future plans
Outline your plans after completing your studies (keep it short!). - Evidence of sufficient financial means
You must produce evidence that you can finance your stay in Switzerland by handing in a bank statement or proof of a scholarship decision. The Canton of Zurich / Basel Migration Office does only accept bank statements from banks domiciled in Switzerland (a Swiss bank or a foreign bank with a branch in Switzerland).
You must show that you have
Zurich: CHF 21,000.00
Basel: CHF 24,000.00 available.
The account balance must be stated in Swiss Francs, Euros or US Dollars either on the bank statement or in an additional letter from the bank. Even large, internationally active banks are not acceptable if they have no branches in Switzerland! Examples of acceptable banks are Citibank, China Construction Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank (etc.). Please do NOT choose Raiffeisen Bank. Although it is on the list it has never been accepted.
The account must be your own (not your parents’)!
Letters from parents declaring financial support are NOT accepted.
For those who know a Swiss citizen or someone with a B or C residence permit in Switzerland:
Instead of the bank statement, you can also submit a "declaration of commitment" (Verpflichtungserklärung). This will be sent to you by the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich / Basel if you have enclosed unaccepted financial proof with your visa application.
With the declaration of commitment, a solvent person resident in Switzerland (Swiss citizen or person with a B or C residence permit) must guarantee that they will cover the uncovered costs (incl. accident, illness, return journey) that the community may incur as a result of your stay in Switzerland up to an amount of CHF 21,000 (Zurich) 24'000 (Basel). The following documents must be submitted by the person:
- Completed "Commitment" (Verpflichtung) form
- A bank statement or the last 3 salary statements or the last tax return and tax bill
- An extract from the debt collection register (Betreibungsregisterauszug).
Joint Master students, who only spend a semester at ETH Zurich, need to proof enough financial means for the time of their stay (7 months a CHF 1750 per month = CHF 12.250).
The Zurich / Basel Migration Office is extremely strict about the financial requirement and this is where students make most mistakes. It is crucial that you follow the instructions above very carefully (most embassies do not know the detailed requirements of each of the 26 cantons in Switzerland and may not be able to tell you the correct requirements!) - Confirmation of tuition fee payment (if required by the embassy)
Many embassies require a confirmation of tuition fee payment. However, at ETH it is not possible to pay fees in advance. If required, please print this Downloadletter regarding the tuition fee (PDF, 150 KB) and enclose it with your visa application.. - Rental contract for accommodation in Switzerland ONLY for students from certain few countries!
The Zurich / Basel Migration Office can require a rental contract for an accommodation in Switzerland from students from certain (few!) countries. If you are a national of one of these countries, the Migration Office will let you know once they have checked your visa application. It is not required to hand in a rental contract at the time of the visa application.
Costs
You will pay three different fees during the visa procedure:
- When you submit your application for a visa, a fee of approx. CHF 50 - 100 has to be paid to the consulate/embassy. This fee will not be refunded if your application for a visa is rejected.
- A fee to the Swiss canton accrediting visa authorization (Canton of Zurich CHF 95.00). An invoice and the details how to pay the fee will be received together with the "Visa Authorization" (Visaermächtigung).
- When you register at the District Office ("Kreisbüro") in Zurich, a fee of CHF 182.00 is due after immigration (CHF 40 registration fee and CHF 142 document fee for the residence permit).
Decision
A decision on your application for a student visa is taken once the application has been forwarded by the embassy or the consulate general to the relevant cantonal Migration Office in Switzerland.
The Migration Office reserves the right to request additional documents and information.
Please note that the decision taken by the Migration Office is irrespective of your admission to ETH Zurich. ETH Zurich is unable to influence this decision in any way.
If you have already submitted your visa application more than 6 weeks ago and have questions regarding your visa, please contact the external pageZurich Migration Office via the contact form (only in German) directly.
ETH Zurich does not know about your visa and cannot speed up the process.
The student visa is usually valid for entry into Switzerland 2-3 weeks before the start of the semester and within 3 months of the issue date.
Visa refusal reasons
Please note that there is no guarantee for a visa. The decision is the sole responsibility of the responsible migration office. As a rule, visas are rejected:
- if the student already has a degree at the desired level.
- if the visa application is incomplete. Please check the financial requirements especially.
Please note: The information on this page is meant for information purposes only. No responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information. The rules and regulations may have changed in the meantime. For legally binding information please contact
the website of the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration or ask at the Swiss diplomatic mission (embassy or consulate general) at your place of residence..