Access from 14 – 18 July 2025 due to Renovations

The Regional Consular Centre Southern Africa remains closed to the public on Monday, 14 July 2025. It can be reached by e-mail and telephone (details under "Contact" on the right side of this page).

From 15 – 18 July 2025 the access will be limited as follows:

Consular Matters:

The Consular Section will be open by appointment only. An appointment request must be submitted by e-mail to southernafrica@eda.admin.ch. It remains reachable by e-mail and by telephone (details under "Contact" on the right side of this page).

Visa Matters:

The visa section will remain closed to the public. It can be reached by e-mail pretoria.visa@eda.admin.ch and by telephone (details under "Contact" on the right side of this page).

Swiss Nationals Living Abroad

In order for us to provide you with the latest information from Switzerland at all times, please always inform us of all address changes (including e-mail addresses) through the online desk or by sending an email to southernafrica@eda.admin.ch.

The "SWI plus" app is now also available for English-speaking Swiss abroad as well as to interested parties, free of charge for downloading from the app stores. The focus is on a daily briefing for the Swiss living abroad with the news of the day especially relevant to them. The focus is on a daily briefing for the Fifth Switzerland with the most relevant news of the day in a compact daily format.

For more information, please visit Swissinfo

SWI plus for Android

SWI plus for iOS

New SwissInTouch App

SwissInTouch is now available for the 780’000 Swiss Citizens living abroad. The application is designed to facilitate dialogue and exchange.

After a test phase, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) launched the SwissInTouch app.

President Ignazio Cassis announced the development of the application last year at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Lugano. "As the name SwissInTouch indicates, this new tool is intended to facilitate dialogue and exchange," Cassis cited in his statement.

Swiss citizens abroad will find all the important information from their official representation, the various federal offices or other institutional partners on one platform in SwissInTouch. The app complements existing communication platforms such as the consular services provided locally, the FDFA online desk or the Travel Admin app for Swiss travellers.

Related link and link to the app.

Services and Visa

All consular services for the South African provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West and Free State, as well as for the states of Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, have been provided by the Regional Consular Centre Southern Africa in Pretoria, which is attached to the local Embassy of Switzerland.

The Consulate General in Cape Town continues to be responsible for the South African provinces of the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

All Visa applications are handled by the Regional Consular Center Southern Africa in Pretoria.

National visa applications for a stay of more than 90 days have to be submitted at the Regional Consular Centre Southern Africa in Pretoria, South Africa.

Information can be found on the websites concerned:

Services – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia
Visa – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia

Angola
Malawi
Mozambique
Zambia
Zimbabwe