High-level consultations between Switzerland and South Africa

Services and visa

All consular services for the South African provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West and Free State, as well as for the states of Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, have been provided by the Regional Consular Centre Southern Africa in Pretoria, which is attached to the local Embassy of Switzerland.

The Consulate General in Cape Town continues to be responsible for the South African provinces of the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

All Visa applications are handled by the Regional Consular Center Southern Africa in Pretoria.

Information can be found on the websites concerned:

Services – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius
Visa – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius

Angola
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

South Africa country dossier

Comprehensive information on living and working in South Africa

Services

Contact the responsible Swiss representation or consulate when you want to register or unregister as a resident, when you need a new passport, have moved or wish to apply for citizenship. The entire selection of services offered can be found in the dropdown menu to the right. The contact details of the responsible Swiss representation are shown on the corresponding page.

Swiss citizens who get into difficulties abroad, also can ask for advice and help from the Swiss representative.

The magazine for the Swiss Abroad appears six times a year and provides information about what is happening at home and the activities of Swiss associations abroad. It also answers administrative questions.

Online desk FDFA

Using the FDFA’s online consular services while abroad.

The relevant Swiss representation abroad can answer any questions concerning the FDFA’s online desk.

Over the last five years Switzerland has strengthened its economic ties and scientific cooperation with South Africa, its main strategic partner on the African continent.
During the 5th round of high-level consultations on 26th November 2013, the countries exchanged views on a broad range of shared issues concerning foreign policy, the economy, trade, financial matters, development cooperation, science and technology.

The Swiss State Secretary and his South African counterpart underlined the value of further cooperation in areas of mutual regional and global interest. A key issue was peace promotion, in which the two countries have longstanding experience (for example in Mali, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region). Both Switzerland and South Africa stressed the importance of civilian peace-building efforts aiming at accelerating the political transition process in post-conflictual contexts in African countries.

South Africa is the most important trading partner for Switzerland on the African continent and Swiss companies are among the biggest investors in South Africa. South Africa remains a partner country for Swiss economic development cooperation.

Switzerland reconfirmed its intention to commit up to CHF 80 million during the 2013-2016 period for investment in development projects and to support the development of a competitive economy, to support energy reduction as well as to promote South Africa as a centre of expertise for the region.

Beyond the existing strong bilateral relations in terms of economic, investment and development cooperation, Switzerland and South Africa work together closely in the field of science and technology. Both parties are very satisfied with the positive development of this bilateral cooperation and, in particular, the Swiss-South African Joint Research Programme (SSAJRP).

The 5th high-level consultations enhanced the relations between the two countries and established the areas of focus for future cooperation.