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Travel between Switzerland and the UK: What am I allowed in my suitcase?

This is the first Christmas since Brexit officially came into force. While Switzerland is not in the EU, it does make a difference to travellers heading to or from the UK. Here's what you need to know about the new rules and what you can - and cannot - pack.

Published: 19 November 2021 13:45 CET
Updated: 14 December 2021 09:05 CET
Airline staff in masks walk past an international arrivals sign at Heathrow Airport
Flying to the UK from Switzerland - or heading back in the other direction? Here's what you can bring. Photo TOLGA AKMEN / AFP

Although Switzerland is not in the European Union, the alpine nation is grouped with the EU by the UK when it comes to the rules for importing food and drink (along with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland). 

Meat, fish and animal products

The rules on bringing meat, dairy, fish and other animal products into the UK are relatively relaxed.

The key factor in considering what you can bring into the UK is ‘personal use’. There are no set limits on this, which means the allowance is relatively generous – but if you bring in a pallet with 400 kilos of rare blood tongue sausage, people might start asking questions. 

READ MORE: Three things to know about Switzerland’s protected ‘blood tongue sausage’

You can bring in meat, fish, dairy and other animal products as long as they’re from Switzerland, the EU or the other countries on the UK’s list (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland). 

What about booze? 

Whether you want to bring in some of Switzerland’s finest beers, wines and schnapps as a gift for your family or friends – or simply to help you get through Christmas dinner – you can, but there are some limits on how much booze you can bring to the UK from Switzerland. 

How much you can take depends on the type of alcohol, although the upper limits are pretty generous, as you can see below. 

Limits:

  • beer – 42 litres
  • still wine – 18 litres (or 24 standard size bottles)
  • spirits and other liquors over 22 percent alcohol – 4 litres (or 6 standard-sized bottles)
  • sparkling wine, fortified wine (port, sherry etc) and other alcoholic drinks up to 22 percent alcohol (not including beer or still wine) – 9 litres (or 12 standard sized bottles)

It’s worth knowing that you can split your allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits. 

Travel: What are Switzerland’s Covid test requirements?

The allowance is per person, so if you’re travelling in a car with two people over the age of 18, you can bring back double the amounts listed above.

What can I bring to Switzerland from the UK? 

As illustrated above, there are relatively few restrictions when heading to the UK – but it’s the trip back where Brexit really starts to bite. 

As the UK is now considered a ‘third’ country rather than a member of the EU, Switzerland puts in place relatively strict restrictions on what can be brought in. 

First things first, you can only import things for personal use. From there, you’ve got a limit of CHF300 (£240) – if it’s above that, you need to pay VAT. 

This does not include things that you use regularly, i.e. if you bring your iPhone in that you use regularly, you will not need to pay VAT on it. 

Ready to eat food and drink for the day of travel is also allowed. 

The importation of any form of meat is banned, while dairy products are heavily restricted. 

You are allowed to bring in baked goods like biscuits, while chocolate and sweets are an exception to the dairy rule. 

Egg or fish products are allowed, provided less than half of the food product itself consists of fish or egg. 

You can bring in baby milk powder up to 2 kilograms, along with meat extracts and concentrates (like soup stocks). 

READ MORE: What are the Covid rules for Switzerland’s Christmas markets?

Please check out the following link for rules related to the specific amount of imports. 

What about booze? 

As long as you don’t exceed CHF300 (£240), you can bring in whatever type of booze you like to Switzerland from the UK, although there are some limits on particular categories.

You are allowed a maximum of one litre of booze over 18 percent alcohol by volume. 

You can bring in five litres of alcohol under 18 percent. 

If you want to bring in some fine British tobacco, you are allowed 250 units of cigarettes, cigars or other tobacco products.  

More information about the specific types of alcohol products is available at the following link. 

A comprehensive list of what you can and cannot bring into Switzerland is available at the following link.

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

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