Bhutan and Swiss visa exemption agreement

Bhutan and Switzerland have agreed on a mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports. According to foreign ministry statement, the agreement to this effect has been recently signed by Foreign Secretary Yeshey Dorji and Linus von Castelmur, Ambassador of Switzerland to Bhutan.

“This arrangement will greatly facilitate official travel between the two countries and strengthen contacts and cooperation. Holders of official and diplomatic passports are permitted to stay for a period of up to 90 days without visa,” the statement reads.

The agreement does not extend to business travelers and tourists. Swiss tourists will continue to require a tourist visa and be subject to the royalty as before. In 2013, there were 1035 visitors from Switzerland to Bhutan, up from 781 only three years ago.

Switzerland is the fifth country with which Bhutan has concluded such an agreement.

The two countries formally established diplomatic relations in 1985 though development cooperation started since the 1960s, firstly through private initiatives, later through Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).