Dear compatriots, dear friends of Switzerland,
Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Switzerland in Thailand.
Switzerland and Thailand maintain very close relations and share a long history full of emotions, great mutual respect and strong moments even though 9’000 km separate the two countries. The first documented contacts between Switzerland and Thailand date back to the 17th century. His Majesty Chulalongkorn was the first Thai King to visit Switzerland in 1897 and in 1907. His two visits marked the beginning of a long friendship, which was formalized through the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1931. In 2021, we celebrated the 90th anniversary of this relationship with numerous events and high-ranking visits.
The political, economic and social exchanges between our two countries have been growing ever since. Relations between our two countries are very rich, dynamic and well established. We are working closely with our Thai partners to keep intensifying them and to best promote our manifold interests. Thailand is today home to the largest Swiss community in Asia of around 10,000 people. Conversely, around 30,000 Thai citizens have settled in Switzerland. In addition, before the COVID-19 pandemic, around 200,000 Swiss and 160,000 Thai visitors traveled to each other’s country each year. Economic and trade relations in both directions are also significant. Thailand has become Switzerland's second most important trading partner in Southeast Asia and the approximately 200 Swiss companies that are currently active in Thailand employ around 55’000 staff. Bilateral trade is to be intensified even further in the future with a free trade agreement.
The activities of the Embassy of Switzerland are not limited to Thailand. Our Embassy is a regional hub for various domains: it covers all matters pertaining to bilateral relations not only with Thailand, but also with Cambodia and Lao PDR. Furthermore, the Embassy’s Regional Consular Center is responsible for consular matters for Swiss citizens in these three countries as well as in Malaysia and Myanmar. Our Embassy also operates the world’s second largest Swiss visa section. In addition, two disaster risk reduction and disaster management experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid operate out of Bangkok and are covering the whole Southeast Asia and Pacific. Lastly, a Swiss Police Attaché is responsible for police matters not only in Thailand but also in Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.
The Consular Centre offers services in the areas of registration, identity cards, civil status, certifications, etc.. The relevant information can be found in the section: Services of the Regional Consular Centre Bangkok. The Visa Section issues visas for visitors to Switzerland. For more information on the visa application procedure, please see the section: Visa - Entry and stay in Switzerland.
On this website you can find information about the various tasks and activities of the Embassy, but also about the relations between Switzerland and Thailand. In addition to the information contained on this website, the Embassy publishes a Newsletter twice a year.
If you would like to receive the Newsletter, you can subscribe here.
I also recommend you to visit our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SwissEmbassyBangkok) to keep up to date with our activities and current developments related to Switzerland and its foreign policy.
Finally, your comments and suggestions on the information provided on this website are welcome and I am grateful for any feedback you may wish to give us (bangkok@eda.admin.ch). Thank you for your interest in our activities.
With Swiss regards,
Pedro Zwahlen
Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
