Hello everybody,

I am not EU national, and require a visa to study in Switzerland.

Would anyone please help with this quick question, cannot find any answer on official websites. Shall I pay tuition costs in advance (thinking about learnin German at a private language school for 20 week time) before applying for a student (not tourist) visa? Or can happily do it upon visa issuance (to avoid delays with refunds, in case of denial)?

Also - shall I necessarily open a bank account in Switzerland prior to submitting my visa application, or bank statement from my home country will be sufficient (not really certain about whether my bank has any branch in Switzerland or not, but read in here, it matters).

Also - I will take 20 hrs / week, will it be sufficient for student visa? Honestly I would rather choose tourist visa (do not care about right to work), but think - not eligible, because duration of my course exceeds three months. So, I assume I have no other option but to apply for a student authorisation, is that correct??

Thanks in advance for any help. Cheers!

- You should apply for a student visa.
- For visa applications, you must show the tuition fee which you are already paid and you also need to show the bank statement which should be known by the Swiss government (the best will be statement from a bank in Swiss).

Good luck

Thank you, it's very helpful.

Cannot it be just a normal Russian bank (without any known branches in Switzerland)? In fact, we had quite a complicated banking regulation in the country and - to the best of my belief - there is no foreign bank allowed to operate on the internal market. That's the Law. I am also in a serious doubt that a foreigner can open a bank account in Switzerland without being physically present in the country... :-( Guys, please advise!!

shall i provide an original enrolment letter at the time of visa application or copy should be fine?