EU citizens do not need visas to enter Switzerland. However, after arriving, they must present themselves to the police department's services for foreigners in order to obtain a residency authorisation for students.
Student visas
These must be obtained for citizens of the following
countries:
Europe: Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, and all Eastern countries
Africa: all countries
Asia: all countries except Brunei, Japan, Malaysia,
Singapore
Oceania: all countries except New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati,
Tuvalu, Solomon Islands
The Americas: all countries except Antigua and Barbuda,
Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Do not begin your studies with a tourist visa or you will encounter serious difficulties for the remainder of your stay. All foreign students must present themselves within ten days of arrival to the appropriate authorities in the town where you will be living. After matriculating in the university, you must pay fees for the first semester. You will not be definitively registered until you have done this and received the receipt by post. With this receipt, you must visit the town authorities a second time to prove that you are officially registered in the university.
Residence Tax
All foreign students with B permits must pay a residence
tax, without exception. All other students must pay
around 7% of their monthly rent for residence tax, which
includes a community tax of 6% and a cantonal tax of
1%, approximately. This applies to students who share
an apartment with several others and to anyone else
not living in the same apartment as the landlord. This
amount is sometimes included in the rent.
Note: Student holders of Confederation scholarships, Conventions of European exchange and mobility (Socrates-Erasmus) are exempt from the residence tax upon presentation of an attestation from the Socio-cultural Affairs office.
