Switzerland
Essential information on Switzerland travel, visas, and entry requirements to navigate vessels in Swiss water
IMPORTANT
The information below is intended to provide answers to questions that come up regularly. It is not intended as a comprehensive guide and it has limited applicability. Please read theÌýcountries introduction to ensure that it is appropriate to you. The standard documentation a UK flagged  operating outside UK Territorial Waters should carry is detailed on the paperwork page.
UK Government travel advice
FCDO Advice for Switzerland
For information on permitted stay duration and visas: .
Evidence of competence
For information on the validity of RYA certificates abroadÌýsee Evidence of Competence Abroad.
Evidence of competence is required under Swiss law if the vessel has engine power exceeding 6kW or sail area greater than 15m².
A visitor to Switzerland (a person who is residing temporarily in Switzerland) wishing to navigate a foreign (non-Swiss) flagged boat must have an ICC or a national navigation permit which establishes authorisation to navigate that vessel in the vessel's flag state.
A visitor to Switzerland wishing to navigate a Swiss flagged vessel must have an ICC (issued in accordance with Resolution 40) or a national navigation permit.
A Swiss licence is required by anyone who has been living in Switzerland for more than 12 months.Ìý Further information can be obtained from the shipping office of the Kanton in which you are resident.
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Standard entry and exit formalities
Switzerland is not an EU Member State but it is part of the European Economic Area (EEA)
Part ofÌýtheÌýSchengen area.
Inland
Signatory to theÌýRegional Arrangement Concerning the Radiotelephone Service on Inland Waterways (RAINWAT). Where a VHF is required or is to be used on the inland waterways of RAINWAT signatory countries, the set must beÌýATIS enabled and vessels must comply with the requirements of theÌýRAINWAT.
We would be pleased to receive reports of your experiences byÌýemail.
