I have been "living" in Switzerland since April on a tourist visa. I understand that a tourist visa entitles me to a 90 day stay. After the 90 days, I have to leave CH for 30 days, then I can return again for another 90 day stay.

My question is this:

How do they count the 90 days? I have been travelling back and forth between CH/USA since April. I will also be travelling throughout Europe until the end of the year. So I guess what I need to know is if the 90 days are counted cumulatively. With all the travelling that I will be doing, I technically won't use up my 90 days until October.

My assumption is that they only count the days that I am physically in CH. There will be some weeks in between now and October that I will not be in CH so therefore those days should not count.

The reason I ask is April to October is obviously more than 90 days but as I mentioned, I will NOT be in CH straight through the entire time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Everyone!
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I just found a post that was my exact question, however no-one had responded to it so I wanted to ask the person if they have found their answer so I decided to register and ask them directly.
Thank you, this is a great site.

The 90 day tourist visa starts the moment you land in CH and runs out 90 days later. Unfortunately, you cannot turn it on and off as you like. If you leave CH for 30 days or more then you can have a new 90 day visa on your return.

I found this on the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs website:

http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/...nf/visusa.html

Step 2: What type of visa must I apply for and what are the requirements?
Foreigners who do not wish to engage in a gainful activity (work) and do not intend to study in Switzerland may stay for a period of up to three months without a residence permit.
Visitors who travel to Switzerland on a regular basis, but stay for less than a 3-month period each time, must apply for a permit if their total stay exceeds 6 months within a 12-month period.

My interpretation of "total stay" is that it is 6 months cumulative. Am I wrong to assume that you can stay in CH off and on within a 12 month period as long as you do not exceed a total of 180 days within the 12 month period AND each stay does not exceed 90 days?

180 days is the maximum in one year
90 days is the maximum in one stay
they are mutually exclusive

Thanks...
This is helpful.

Sort of - and as a US citizen it's not likely you'll ever be asked anyway - but the actual situation is:

You land on day 1 as a tourist. You have 90 days - if you leave the country for less than 30 days then the original date still relates to your 90 days. If you leave for 30 days or more, then when you return, the 90 days starts from that date.

So it depends how long you stay out as well as how long you remain on each visit.

Technically this would be illegal:

Arrive day 1, leave day 70, return day 80, stay more than 10 days.

While this would be ok:

Arrive day 1, leave day 70, return day 101, stay 90 days.

You are not deemed to have left the country unless you leave for 30 days.

But I wouldn't worry about it - as long as you're not working no one will bother you.

So is swissbob incorrect then?

Thanks! My main concern is that I may be denied entry at one point or another. Regardless of whether or not I am working (which by the way, I am NOT working), I would hate to arrive at Zurich airport and be denied entry because I've exceeded my 90 days.

The pertinent point is what consitutes the end of a stay.

You cannot, for example, come to CH , pop to France every weekend, and clock up 180 days at 5 a week for 36 weeks.

You can, for example, come to CH , pop to France for a month every 2 months, and clock up 180 days 2 months at a time.

So every time I exit and re-enter CH, am I taking a chance at being denied entrance? It's not as if I can argue with the immigration officer at Zurich airport! Either way, I've over-extended my 90 days.

Am I better off just staying in CH through the end of the year?

I am in the same situation, my boyfriend lives here so I come and go continuously. The immigration at the airport does not even stamp my passport when I come in, so I am not sure how they figure the 180 days out? I don't work and I don't go to school.
Thanks.

Don't lose any sleep over it - the chances of being denied entry are exceedingly small if not non existent.

One of our people went to the local town residence office and asked for a permit application as her stay would go over 90 days. The guy asked to see her passport (US) and then said "lets just say you're still on vacation". Didn't want the paperwork I guess.

Pulling up this old thread to ask about a small technicality regarding the exact length of stay for a tourist: is it 90 days or 3 months? While the former is a definite period of time, the latter depends on the period of the year the tourist enters the country, considering a month may have 28 to 31 days.

The same question applies for 180 days vs. 6 months.

Perhaps this is a trifling issue over which the authorities do not nitpick in practice, but since this is Switzerland it is better to be sure than to be naively optimistic.