In 2025, Swiss embassies have issued over half a million so-called Schengen visas to people from outside the EU, a new study reveals. Who gets most of them?
But first: What is a Schengen visa anyway?
While visitors from some third countries don’t need a visa if they stay in Switzerland for up to 90 days, a number of others do.
Nationals of over 60 countries are exempt from the visa requirement, including the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, and Japan, along with a number of Latin American nations,
Many others, however, need a visa to enter Switzerland and the Schengen area in general.
This visa can be obtained not only from a Swiss embassy, but also from embassies of 28 other countries that are members of the Schengen zone, which is composed of the European Union nations as well as EFTA states – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
The clear advantage of this system is that one Schengen visa grants access to 29 nations (cumulatively, not per-country) for 90 days.
However, neither in Switzerland nor in other Schengen states are tourists allowed to stay beyond that three-month period.
READ MORE: What happens if you overstay your 90-day limit in Switzerland?
What is the new study and what does it tell us?
It was carried out by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and covers figures from 2025.
This is what it reveals:
Over half a million visas were granted
In 2025, Switzerland issued.542,968 Schengen visas.
Most were doled out in spring and summer– that is, between April and July – and fewer during the winter months.
The highest number– 69,179 – was issued in May.
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The main reasons for visa requests
Tourism. business, and visiting friends and family were cited as primary reasons for visa requests.
Which nationalities received most visas?
By far the most visas – 221,629 – were issued to citizens from India.
Next in the list, albeit well below India, was China.
And other countries who featured in the report, were Thailand, Turkey, the Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, Egypt and South Africa.
SEM figures on which nationalities get the most Schengen visas issued by Switzerland.
Why do so many Indians visit Switzerland?
SEM does not provide this answer.
However, according to House of Switzerland, a website managed by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, “Switzerland and its mountain scenery are hugely popular in India, mainly because of the Bollywood blockbusters filmed there. Indian filmmakers’ passion for Switzerland has helped make it one of the most popular destinations for Indian tourists.”
