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Travel: Switzerland proposes end to Covid entry rules

The Swiss government’s proposal to end Covid measures includes the scrapping of the entry form and testing rules. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 2 February 2022 16:42 CET

A Swiss airlines plane takes off while another can be seen on the tarmac in Switzerland

Arriving in Switzerland is set to be easier under new rules being proposed by the Swiss government. Image: Pixabay.

NOTE: Switzerland updated its travel rules on February 17th, removing all Covid-related restrictions. Click here for more information.

The Swiss government on Wednesday afternoon announced the relaxation of some Covid measures, along with a plan to end most remaining measures by the start of March.

The specific measures that have been relaxed – as well as the future plans – are laid out at the following link.

READ MORE: Switzerland announces plans to relax all Covid measures

The Swiss government has also proposed further changes to travel rules, which will also be decided on by the cantons as part of the consultation process.

This includes removing all Covid-related entry rules in place in the country.

The requirement for people who are unvaccinated or not recovered from the virus to be tested on arrival would be dropped.

The requirement to provide contact details in Switzerland’s entry form would also be dropped.

Tourists would no longer need to get and show Covid certificates, as these would not be in use in Switzerland. If they remain in use, i.e. for larger events as laid out in path two above, then tourists would still be required to show certificates at these events.

The Swiss government did however say that the overall Covid certificate would not be scrapped even if it was no longer required domestically as this may need to be shown abroad, i.e. for travel or entry to certain venues.

The consultation is set to end on February 9th, with the changes to be put in place from February 17th onwards.

Stay tuned to The Local for more information when it becomes available.

Click here for the official government press release.

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Why the 'strategic' Geneva to Lyon train line needs drastic improvement

The train services circulating several times a day between Switzerland’s second-largest city and Lyon in France are used by thousands of commuters on both sides of the border.

But these trains, operated by France’s national railway company SNCF, as well as the country’s regional rail network,TER, are subpar, according to Swiss Green Party MP Delphine Klopfenstein Broggini, who has brought this issue to Switzerland’s Federal Council.

She has sounded the alarm over the fact that many of the trains circulating between these two major cities are in poor condition, and she says the rail infrastructure on the French side of the border is dilapidated and in need of urgent upgrading.

Not only are these trains uncomfortable for passengers, Klopfenstein Broggini argues, but the outdated infrastructure also means that additional trains can’t be put into circulation.

“This link is strategic for Switzerland, as it is its gateway to southwest Europe,” Klopfenstein Broggini pointed out, so improvements on this 112-km-long line “must therefore become a priority” for the government.

What exactly is she pushing for?

“My primary goal is that there should be more, but less obsolete, direct trains running on this line,” the MP said.

“Today, there are around thirty trains which connect Zurich to Stuttgart every day. But on the Geneva to Lyon line, there are only around ten. There should be twice as many, which would alleviate the [overcrowding] situation a lot.”

But that’s not all: she also wants Swiss trains to be put into service on this line for more efficiency.

“I am also asking if it would be possible for Bern to invest in rolling stock on this line, so as to ensure its maintenance, or even its operation, in collaboration with France,” she added.

The SBB operates trains from Geneva to Milan, so Swiss trains could also run to Lyon, Klopfenstein Broggini said.

“This would be in Switzerland’s interest,” she added.

And there would also be another benefit in a more efficient train connecting Geneva with Lyon, according to the MP.

If the infrastructure were in better shape and the trains more modern, the two-hour journey between the two cities could be shortened.

That would make the commute more appealing to some of the 220,000 cross-border workers who commute to their jobs in Geneva from France by car.

“The goal is to transfer some of these motorists from road to rail,” the MP said.

The next step is for the Federal Council to discuss Klopfenstein Broggini’s proposal.

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