Travel abroad

➡️If your asylum procedure is pending (N permit), you are not allowed to travel abroad in principle. However, you may, in very exceptional cases – such as illness or the death of a close family member – apply to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) for permission to travel to a country other than the country of origin.

➡️If you are a recognized refugee (B permit), you have the right to receive a travel document for travel abroad. However, you are not allowed to travel to your country of origin. The travel document ensures that you can return to Switzerland. You can ask for a travel document in person at the immigration office in your canton of residence.

➡️If you are a provisionally admitted person (F permit), you may be authorized to travel abroad only under specific circumstances. If you do not have a valid national passport, you need to request a travel document (see below). You will also need to apply for a return visa, which will grant you permission to return to Switzerland after your trip. This visa will only be granted under specific conditions:

  • If it has been less than two years since you were provisionally admitted to Switzerland, you will have to prove specific circumstances that allow you to travel (serious illness or death of family members for example). Otherwise, your request will not be accepted.
  • If it has been more than two years since you were provisionally admitted to Switzerland, you can request a return visa for other reasons.

➡️If you have an F permit but no passport, you must also apply for a travel document in order to travel abroad. However, you do not have a right to such a document and the practice regarding this is very strict. You can apply for both documents in person at the immigration office in your canton of residence.

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Regardless of whether you are still in the asylum procedure, have been recognized as a refugee, or have been provisionally admitted to Switzerland, you do not have the right to travel to your country of origin, except in very specific circumstances. If you do so, your asylum application may be rejected or your status revoked.

Your refugee travel document does not automatically guarantee entry to other countries. If you wish to visit a country in the Schengen area for tourism purposes, you can usually stay up to three months without a visa. For other countries, however, you will need a visa. Make sure you check with the relevant authorities of the countries you wish to visit.