Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and look forward to learning more about Switzerland through everyone's posts!

I do have a question I was hoping for some guidance on:
I recently applied for a student visa in Switzerland (Fribourg). I would like to do research in the country for my graduate degree, and decided the student visa route was the most sensible one, considering that I am a student in the U.S.

I received a letter from the authorities which stated that, normally, student visas are not issued to applicants age 30 and above who already have advanced degrees, or education.

Any idea or advice as to what I should do in this situation? I was not aware that student visas are age-restricted in this way. I can continue with my application, and they are still requesting a letter of motivation.

Any thoughts, or experiences with student visas would be helpful, and greatly appreciated!

Hi bescherelle,

I'm also an American with a student visa living in Basel CH, however I'm under 30yr old. It was easy for me to get the visa(just a lot of paperwork and fees).

I have never heard of that problem before. I would talk to the university that you are getting the visa with. They should be able to write a letter that explains the situation.

Of course you can always stay for 3 month on a tourist visa(u most likely already know that.)

Sorry I can't be much more of a help.

Let me know if you want anymore info.

Thanks very much for the reply, sawgo12.

Yes, the process has been a lot of paperwork so far, and the authorities have quite a lot of info on me at the moment (including a formal invitation letter from the university I'd like to affiliate with).

I think that the issue is that I'm going there to do 'research' about Switzerland.... so this doesn't really fit into any of the visa categories comfortably, i guess.

Could I ask how much you paid in fees? The canton is asking for 95 CHF if I'm not mistaken... just for comparison..

Could I also ask what field you're in?

Thanks for your time.