April 27 – Travellers from the UAE who want a Swiss visa will now be able to get one from the Swiss consulate general in Dubai from May 1. Gerhard Bruegger, Consul General of Switzerland, said that the move is “part of an overall restructuring to avoid duplication and take advantage of economies of scale, and it is in line with a general initiative by our head office to cut expenses while still maintaining an acceptable level of service to our customers.”
Bruegger said that the Swiss consulate in Dubai will process all applications for long and short-term visas to Switzerland for UAE nationals. Of the about 11,000 visas processed in the UAE, 8,500 were processed in Dubai, with the rest being channelled through Abu Dhabi.
Bruegger added that currently there are no plans to open a visa processing centre for the residents of Abu Dhabi but that could change over time. More information is available at
www.switzerland.ae
