How to: Study in Switzerland
So, you want to study in Switzerland…
… but you don’t know where to start, or you’re just curious what the process looks like, or you’re a friend / family member and you’ve listened to me complain about this process for the past year. Either way, after a few weeks of putting all of this information together in my head, I realized it could maybe help some lone internet traveller if they ever go down the same path. Once I started writing, I realized the process is even more complex that it appears, and this post really could be useful.
Likewise, there are numerous links which describe studying in Switzerland, but they’re either out of date, incomplete, or don’t specify the gotcha’s and difficulties of the process. I tried to consolidate everything and put things in layman’s terms as best as possible, as well as include sources and official Swiss links.
I hope it helps!
Preface: This is geared towards 3rd country nationals (non-Swiss, non-EU). EU residents can gain some knowledge from this, but many points might not apply or could be abbreviated.
Abbreviations
CH = Switzerland
uni = University or Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences)
Topics, In a nutshell:
Self Diligence
Define a Region and Research Visas
Lay Out Your Timeline
Build a List of Schools
Attack Your Shortlist
Ask Questions, Attend Info Events
Breathe (1)
Apply to the School
Breathe (2)
Approval Period / After Approval
Working while Studying
Self Diligence
Your biggest decision is if you’re doing this for the right reasons. Lock yourself in your room, sit on the floor, turn your phone off, and think: “why do I really want to do this?”. Multiple reasons are OK. There isn’t some golden idea here to be sought after. Just be honest with yourself. Are you rushing into this? Are you running away from something? If the world changes for the better or for the worse, are you still going to be confident in your decision? If so, then continue. If you have hesitation, you need to dive deeper!
For reference, here were the questions I asked myself
Some questions and comments I kept regarding MBA / MSc / MAS
Define a Region and Research Visas
At the beginning, I knew I wanted to study in the DACH region, but not exactly where. While building this spreadsheet, it became more and more apparent to me I was aiming at Switzerland. This was purely a personal decision and had many components, so if you’re interested, you’ll have to reach out to me personally.
If you’re looking within CH, you’ll still need to do this step, because remember, Switzerland speaks 4 languages! While everyone is undoubtably Swiss, there are still cultural differences that come with languages and regions, so you’ll need to do some research (or travel) to figure out where you fit. The basic rule is: The southwest speaks French, the mideast speaks German, the southeast speaks Italian, dotted regions in the eastern mountains speak Romansch, and Fribourg is this weird no-mans-land where the fight between French and German never really ended. 😜
Again for me, I’ve already been living in München and learning German, so I wanted to continue learning the culture and language (although another warning: Swiss German is nothing at all like German-German (“High German”) and even it has massive dialect differences. The best way to describe this is if High German was a Californian dialect and Swiss German was rural Welsh. The Welsh could probably understand the Californian, but the Californian is often left staring open-jawed and wondering if there was any English said at all. Here’s a nice post about learning Schwizerdütch
Factoids about different visas for the DACH region
Addendum: I also created another sheet and did research into the job market in my chosen region(s). I think this is pretty important if you plan to stick around and work. Remember that a large part of attending a uni is the networking and connections. Do you really want to attend a uni with no surrounding job market, or one that doesn’t match your studies?
Unfortunately, I won’t provide my sheet (privacy purposes), but here were the sheet columns:
Name
City
Industry
Positions Offered
Number of Employees
Notes
Links
!!! Potential Gotchas !!!
Visa applications from students older than 30 years are usually refused. This one came as a big surprise to me. With luck, I was 29 1/2 when I found this rule hidden deep in a few documents only after I applied. The legal document (in German) is linked within the above link and I can’t provide more information, but even if you’re 30-31 and have a good reason for studying, I’d still go for it.
Visa applications from students who already have a degree at the desired level may also be rejected. Similar to the above, you need a valid reason for why you want to study in Switzerland. The existence of both of these rules probably stems from trying to curb backdoor immigration.
Lay Out your Timeline
If you’ve gotten to this point, you’ve convinced yourself you’re heading in the right direction, and you’ve made sure you meet the requirements for your visa. Now you need to set your timeline. This won’t take long, but it will hold you accountable and keep you on track. The least you can do for yourself right now is set a proper roadmap!
Here was my timeline
Build a List of Schools
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.” - Albert Einstein
You need to put the effort into developing a list of potential schools that you want to attend. Please do not start by finding a single uni, going to the application page, and submitting all in one day. That’s not fair to you or the admissions office. Do due diligence! This is the time to prove yourself to yourself! Put your heart and soul into this list. It won’t be done in one day, or one week, or maybe not even one month. The first question I was asked during my interview at my chosen Uni was “Why in the world did you choose us!?”. After having built my candidate list, answering this was a walk in the park.
However, I was stupid and did this step before studying visas, so only after combing through many schools did I learn about the rule in Switzerland that the 6 month post-graduation job-seeker’s visa only applies to accredited public and private schools. From there, it was easy to find the official list of accredited universities (also here), which would have saved me hours in diligence. Instead, I literally started with googling “universities in Switzerland” and from there, finding lists, and lists of lists, etc. 🤦♂️
So, be warned! You can only stay in Switzerland for 6 months to find a job if you graduate from one of the accredited universities.
This step will really force you to hone down on what you want. You’ll soon find yourself becoming biased while editing this list. That’s a good thing! Question that bias. Ask yourself why you have that bias. It will probably reveal a lot more than you think!
Use the filter functionality to include rejection reasons and force yourself to limit the list to 10-15. Remember to pay attention to the language of the program! Once this is done, do more research into each of the candidates. You’ll probably find pieces of information that immediately exclude candidates. Once you’ve hit a wall, drink more black tea! You’re not done. Create a column called “shortlist”. Select 3-5 candidates to be in this filter. Now you have your shortlist and you can focus on the real due diligence.
My golden goose
Attack Your Shortlist
Now you’ve got your short list of schools that you want to attend. Make them your enemies! Throw every doubt, concern, and question at them and make them prove their worth!
This will do two things:
1. Help you differentiate and determine favorites
2. Help reveal disqualifications, therefore further improving point #1
At the end, you’ll need a prioritized list of 1-5 schools that you’re going to send your application to. You’ll know the deadlines for everything, including expectations for responses and how that plays into your timeline. Keep in mind this is a working document, so feel free to keep a Status column and modify the sheet frequently.
My linked sheet is more of a workspace than a reference
Now you’re ready to do the real work!
Ask Questions, Attend Info Events
This goes into the last point so I’ll keep it short, but it’s important! If there are info events or webinars regarding the program or school, you better damn attend them! You’re going to spend the next ~2 years of your life under this curriculum, so it’s important to get the full picture. From personal experience, after attending the info event for my program, I felt I removed the “unknown unknowns”. Are you still unsure about some things? Reach out to the program coordinator. They (should) be happy to help and assist you through the remaining process.
Breathe (1)
This is your first pause. You’ve done quite a bit! You’ve started with determining what you want, refining that want into a direction, surveying the landscape at that location, and narrowing down your focus to a few key players. Now you’re ready to go for it. But it’s important to maintain your mental health. If possible, take a weekend and go hiking.
Apply to the School
The application process will largely depend on the program you choose. Below I’ve laid out some requirements regarding the program I applied for:
Typical documents required for Master’s application:
Bachelor’s degree must correspond to the master’s. This is more strict than what I’ve observed in the US. In the DACH region, you typically can only get a masters when you’ve done your bachelors in the same vertical.
Proof of language competency (or mother tongue). You have to speak the language the program is taught in. If it’s not your mother tongue, you’ll have to provide a language certificate.
Good or very good grades. This drove me crazy because CH, DE, and the US all have different grading systems and the conversion is more of an art than a science. The prestige of where you obtained your bachelor’s has influence here. But basically for the US, I’ve observed something like:
2.8 USA == 4.0 CH (6.0 is highest) == 2.0 DE (1.0 is highest)
Do not take this as law.Job Experience. If you’re attending a Fachhochschule (university of applied sciences), they’re more focused on practical knowledge and job training, so typically they’ll require at least a year of job experience
Part time / Full time. From my reading, I believe it’s a requirement that foreign students maintain full-time study status, but I’m having trouble finding an official source on that right now.
Start date. You should have this figured out by now. If you don’t, go back to step 1. Keep in mind the school + visa application process can take up to 6 months, so I recommend applying to the school at the earliest possible date.
CV including recommendation letters. This is important! As a manager who has sifted through thousands of resumés / CVs, it’s really important you put in the work here. Do not submit one white page with some centered text.
Letter of motivation. Again, stand out! Put in the work! Explain how you navigated the steps above and why you decided on this university. What courses interest you? Have you looked at the professors on LinkedIn? What about their backgrounds interests you?
(Maybe don’t mention you creeped them on LinkedIn, but you should do some research into the top professors of the program)
After the application, you might have an interview. Mine was online and lasted around an hour. I felt well prepared given the effort I had already put in. But, not all universities will have interviews and the process is largely dependent on the school you choose.
This will be a stressful time! This is a big hurdle to leap, so go easy on yourself and expect a little stress to be present. If you clear this, you’ve got a good shot at achieving your goal.
Also be prepared for the amount of time this will take. Getting your papers in order, submitting them, waiting for the uni to respond, attending an interview, and hearing back can take quite a while! For me it took two months. But remember, this is what you want!
Breathe (2)
You did it! You applied to the school and were accepted! If you were not accepted, I’m really sorry, maybe try a different school? 😬
Once you have confirmation, take a weekend break. You did a lot. Stare at your acceptance letter and drink some champagne.
Apply for the Visa
Now comes the fun part. You’re about to become the world’s greatest paper-filer.
The biggest difficulty here is that every canton (state) of Switzerland has their own visa rules, and every school does too. Somehow the cantons and the schools work together to compose a very vaguely defined set of requirements for your application. There are a few official resources online, but they don’t always seem accurate or up-to-date.
The other really terrific thing is the set of catch-22’s (Teufelskreis in German) in this process. I’ll highlight them in the list below.
What I did was visit pretty much every university’s website and check if they provide information for this process. Most of them do, and most of the information is different, or explained in different ways. Wunderbar! So, I’ve compiled my own list, followed by the online resources that you can visit. This is the bread and butter of this post. I hope it helps!
Typical documents needed for visa application
Before we get started, here is the official resource for all of this. Everything below is just my notes / guidance, which is not officially endorsed or supported!
2x Cover Letter, Table of Contents
I’m not sure if this is completely necessary, but I read somewhere that it’s nice, and I’ve got some experience building presentation decks, and when you’re doing that, you damn well better have a cover letter!
The table of contents was my idea. No idea if it helps, but I’m just thinking how crazy it must be to read through these applications and wanted to put a little salt on top to make mine stand out.
2x Motivation Letter
I’ve read to keep this short. Mine was a little long, but I really wanted to convey that I had put a lot of thought into this, and since I’m turning 30 soon, I felt a little threatened by the 30-year-old-rule (see GOTCHAs further up).
Do not go over 1 page.
I submitted mine in German and in English. Just thinking of the visa processor!
deepl.com is a great translator.
3x Application Form
https://www.sem.admin.ch/dam/data/sem/einreise/visumantragsformulare/visumantrag-visumd-en-de.pdf
❗️ Yes, you need 3 copies. I read this somewhere and didn’t believe it, but sure enough at the consulate, I was asked for 3 copies.
❗️ Visas are normally only issued starting a few weeks before your studies. If you need more time, you can explain this in your motivation letter, but consider this when filling out the “Intended date of arrival” field.
4x Passport Photos (1x printout)
These are standardized in Europe. There are booths in the metro stations and it’s a straightforward process. A single printout contains four pictures. Since I applied from within Europe, I don’t have more information. Call your local Swiss Consulate, they probably have a photo booth at the location. Remember to look good. You don’t want a sloppy visa picture for the next X years.
2x School Confirmation
Once accepted, the school should provide you a confirmation of acceptance.
❗️ This should / needs to include the language that the program is taught in. If it does not, you can ask your program secretary to include it.
2x Tuition Payment Confirmation
You need to provide evidence you have paid your tuition. However, most schools do not issue tuition bills until classes begin. It seems quite normal for the schools to either issue you a separate document indicating that tuition will not be billed until semester start, or to include this in the above document (School Confirmation).
2x Accommodation Plan
Of course, the immigration office needs to know where you’ll be staying! This is not only for domestic security, but for tax purposes as well.
The decision of where to live will most likely be in the canton of your school. If you’re like me and your school is centrally located to serve multiple cities and/or you have a reason for choosing a specific city to live in which is in a different canton, you’ll need to explain this in your Motivation Letter.
❗️ Choosing where you live is a big deal! If you plan to live in Switzerland and eventually apply for citizenship, keep in mind that each canton has different legislation on how long you must reside in that canton before you can apply for naturalization.
Here is the official online resource for that. Note on the german version:
“Die kantonale Gesetzgebung sieht eine zusätzliche Mindestaufenthaltsdauer zwischen zwei und fünf Jahren in der Gemeinde und im Kanton vor”
This translates to:
”Cantonal legislation provides for an additional minimum stay of between two and five years in the commune and canton”
Additionally, even if you’re simply applying for a permanent residence, you’ll need to show proof of language competency, so if you move cantons and change languages, this could bite you!
🚨 Warning: Catch-22 / Teufelskreis
This document (Proof of Accommodation) is not listed in the official requirements, but it referenced in many other places, including this one. It was definitely required when I filed my papers at the consulate.
I read somewhere that a Hotel / Hostel confirmation for the first weeks of residence count, and that makes sense, but I can no longer find that resource. 😕
Aside from Hotels / Hostels, you can see how this becomes difficult: a landlord will probably want to see a visa to write you a contract, but your visa application needs confirmation of where you’re going to stay! I got lucky and know someone who will put me up for the first few weeks (thank you!), but if this is not the case for you, you’ll still be fine. Go onto http://wgzimmer.ch/ or https://www.ronorp.net/ and search for WGs (Wohngemeinschaft - shared flats). You’ll need to explain your situation very politely and put in work to find a flat - I could write an entire blog about this - good luck!
2x Proof of Financial Stability
This one’s fun. You have to prove that you have enough money to sustain yourself for one year by submitting an official bank account balance, or have a financial sponsor within Switzerland.
I submitted an account balance, so unfortunately I can’t help much with the sponsor part.
The balance you need to show differs by canton, so do your research. I would suggest 30k CHF to be safe.
This probably sounds like a lot, but keep in mind Swiss universities are relatively affordable on a European basis, and very affordable when compared to US academia. When you consider rent, groceries, train tickets, health insurance, etc., this is a relatively straightforward amount.
The amount can be in Dollars, Euros, or Swiss Francs.
❗️ The balance must be held in a FINMA approved bank. No exceptions. Even though I bank with N26, I had to open a Deutsche Bank account, transfer money there, and get the official balance printout from them. Deutsche Bank is great because they’re stuck in the 1980’s and everything has to be done in steps and in the brick and mortar location. At least I got plenty of exercise with my bike!
This page on the ETH website has a nice FAQ about this document.
2x Health Insurance Policy
A visa applicant must show proof that they have health insurance while living in Switzerland. These insurers must be of Swiss standards. There are certain cases where you can use external insurers, such as American, German, etc, but you then must apply for an exemption.
🚨 Warning: Catch-22 / Teufelskreis
You’ll most likely need a Swiss address and/or visa in order to apply for health insurance, but you need health insurance to apply for a visa!
See my point about Swisscare below. They understand this and you can bypass this problem entirely.
Many resources will point you to https://www.comparis.ch
However, I would recommend https://swisscare.com
Much cheaper
Specifically designed for foreign students in Switzerland
Very easy to register
In English!
Once registered, you’ll receive an email containing a PDF for registration of healthcare exemption. This is because Swisscare functions as a private (external) insurer (like mentioned above). Once you receive your visa, you’ll need to fill out and submit this form.
2x Intention to Leave After Studying
You’ll need to write a letter stating that your intention is to leave Switzerland after you study. I guess this is to make it clear that the student visa is not a one-way ticket to citizenship.
After graduation and if you’re interested, you should be allowed to apply for a 6 month job seeker’s visa. This seems counter-intuitive to the previous point, but from my reading, this is the way the government prefers.
2x Passport Info
Research says: Signature page, photo page, data page
Ryan says: for most passports, the data and photo page will probably be combined. If you have any other valid visas, you’ll need copies of those too. For example, I had one sheet which was a both-page scan of my US passport, and another sheet which was a both-page scan of my EU Blue Card. Since I needed two copies of each, I submitted a total of four pages.
2x Curriculum Vitae
Full CV, not a résumé! Europe likes to know every detail about your past.
Append recommendation letters. Standard procedure here. Letters from your best friend’s cousin’s dog do not count.
2x Bachelor’s diploma
Yes, your diploma, not a certification.
I was asked if I had my original, but I did not. The secretary said “OK” and everything was groovy. 🤷♂️
Diploma needs to be in German, English, French, or Italian. I previously had mine translated to German for my EU Blue card, so I also included the translated copy.
Remember to note the quantities above! Basically, you’ll need 3x the application form, and 2x of everything else. Don’t know why. Don’t ask questions. Do not ask the consulate processor if this means you need 6x of the application form. She will laugh at you.
You’ll need to apply from the consulate of your current residence! Example, I’m American living in München, so I applied from München. Call the consulate if you have questions about this.
Approval Period / After Approval
The visa will be sent from the consulate to the canton office of your school, and from there to the city migration office where you’ll live. For me, this meant München -> Olten (Canton) -> Bern (City). This is bureaucracy, which means there’s no official timeline, and everything you read on the internet will be different. Most of what I’ve read says the review process takes 2-8 weeks. I was super lucky and applied the day before Switzerland shut down for COVID-19, which means I waited 4 months to get a response.
🚨 Important: It’s not unheard of for the immigration offices in Switzerland to find a problem with your application and simply put it aside without notifying you. I advise to track down the exact office your application is in and call them to check on the status. When I did this, they said they needed “proof that the person who wrote your apartment contract actually owns the apartment”. I have no idea how the process would have diverged if I didn’t call.
The consulate told me they’d email me when they received a response, but I ended up getting an email from my school telling me they received a response from the city. Weird, but, after everything above, not the weirdest. I’ll take it.
Now you’ll need to call the consulate and probably make an appointment to come get your passport stamped with your entry visa. This could be a pain, I have a friend studying in Switzerland who was living in Texas, and the closest Swiss consulate was in Georgia (the state, not the country), so he had to fly to Georgia to file his papers, and again to get his passport stamped!
If all goes well, you’ll have a passport with a stamped entry visa!
Wait… entry visa?? 😧
Yep, you don’t yet actually have your student “B” visa, you just have a national “D” visa to get you into the country, which is valid for 14 days after you’ve entered the country. In this 14 days, you’ll need to immediately head to the local registration office and apply for the actual “B” residence permit. I haven’t done this yet, but I think it’s pretty straightforward. ETH says to “Remember to bring your ETH confirmation of matriculation, your rental contract and your passport”.
Working While Studying
If you’re an EU citizen, you should be able to begin a part-time job immediately, but if you’re a non-EU citizen, you’ll probably have to wait 6 months. Here’s what Canton Zürich has to say, but I suppose this could change per canton. To be safe, you should plan on supporting yourself for the first 6-12 months without a job!
Conclusion
Woah. This was a lot eh? I hate to use (and spell) the word “bureaucracy” again, but jeez, that was pretty challenging to write, as well as experience.
If you’re going down the same path, I wish you luck, but working through this process will prove devotion to your cause, so hopefully you’ll be extra motivated when starting classes.
If you’ve been accepted, Herzlicha Glückwunsch! Grab a Stange and celebrate, you earned it!
If on the other hand, you decided it was too much, or got rejected 😬, or just want to avoid your office job and keep surfing the internet, you could always try moving to Germany…