If you are a non-EU/EFTA national and stay in the Schengen area beyond 90 days in any 180-day period without a permit, you are staying unlawfully. In Switzerland that is a criminal offence (Art. 115 FNIA) punishable by up to one year in prison or a monetary penalty, and the SEM can also ban you from entering. There is no official self-reporting procedure that guarantees a lenient outcome, so if this affects you, speak to a migration lawyer before you contact any authority.

In short

  • The rule: at most 90 days in any 180-day period across all Schengen states together.
  • The penalty: up to one year in prison or a monetary penalty; a fine if you acted through negligence (Art. 115 FNIA). Simple cases are usually decided by a summary penalty order.
  • Entry bans: the SEM can ban you from entering, usually for up to five years (Art. 67 FNIA), often with a Schengen-wide alert in SIS II.
  • No safe route: there is no self-disclosure procedure in migration law. Any contact with the authorities has an open outcome.
  • EU/EFTA nationals are not subject to the 90/180 rule in the same way; they fall under free movement rules.

What counts as an overstay

Switzerland has applied the Schengen rules since 12 December 2008. Entry from outside Schengen follows the Schengen Borders Code and the Visa Code.

The 90/180 rule

As a third-country national, you may spend at most 90 days in any rolling 180-day period in the whole Schengen area. This applies whether you need a visa (and hold a Schengen type C short-stay visa) or are visa-exempt (for example nationals of Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the USA, Australia, Japan or South Korea) on a tourist or business trip.

The days add up across all Schengen states. If you spend 40 days in France and then 35 in Switzerland within 180 days, you have used 75 of your 90.

You overstay when you remain after the 90 days (or after a shorter visa expires) without:

  • a Swiss or other national residence permit, such as an L or B;
  • another legal status covering your stay.

How overstays are found

  • at departure through an external Schengen border, such as Zurich, Geneva or Basel airports, by comparing your entry stamp with the date;
  • during police or migration checks inside the country;
  • at your next entry into a Schengen state, through an entry in the Schengen Information System (SIS II);
  • when you apply for a visa, permit or family reunification and your file is checked.

The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) replaces passport stamps with electronic records of third-country nationals' entries and exits, making overstays systematically detectable across borders. ETIAS will also require visa-exempt travellers to get an electronic travel authorisation in advance. The start dates for Switzerland keep changing; check the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).

The criminal offence (Art. 115 FNIA)

Art. 115 of the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20) punishes anyone who:

  • breaches the entry rules of Art. 5 FNIA (valid travel document, visa where required, assured departure, enough money, no entry ban);
  • stays unlawfully in Switzerland, in particular after a permit-free or authorised stay has ended (para. 1 let. b, the classic overstay);
  • works without a permit; or
  • enters or leaves other than through an authorised border crossing (Art. 7 FNIA).

Simple overstays are often decided by a summary penalty order from the cantonal public prosecutor, without a hearing. You can object within the legal deadline. If you do not, the order becomes final and counts as a conviction.

How overstays are typically sanctioned

Published cantonal practice suggests three rough levels. This is an observation, not a rule, and your case may be treated differently.

Short overstay (1 to about 3 days). Often caused by a cancelled flight, illness, a missed connection or a miscounted day.

  • Typically a fine or monetary penalty by summary penalty order (Art. 115 FNIA); unlawful stay is not a fixed-penalty offence.
  • As a rule no SIS II alert and no long entry ban.
  • Future visas are mostly not blocked, but you must declare the incident.

Moderate overstay (several days to weeks).

  • Typically a summary penalty order with a monetary penalty (for example 10-30 daily units of CHF 30-100, suspended or not).
  • An SEM entry ban for Switzerland under Art. 67 FNIA, usually 1 to 5 years.
  • A SIS II alert is possible, especially after repeat violations, suspected undeclared work or earlier incidents.

Long overstay (months or years).

  • Ordinary criminal proceedings, with a possible prison sentence of up to one year, often suspended.
  • Court costs, fees and possibly the cost of your removal.
  • A SIS II alert and an entry ban, typically 5 years or more.
  • An overstay under Art. 115 FNIA is not on the list of offences for mandatory expulsion under Art. 66a of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC, SR 311.0). Expulsion requires a more serious offence; a court can still order non-mandatory expulsion under Art. 66abis SCC.
  • Much harder future visas and permits, across all Schengen states.

Across all cantons, sentencing (Art. 47 SCC), the entry ban and the length of any alert depend on fault and proportionality. A short overstay that was not your fault and is well documented, such as a cancelled flight or a medical certificate showing you could not travel, is weighed differently from a long, deliberate stay with work. But this is decided case by case and cannot be guaranteed.

SIS II alerts

SIS II is a database shared by all Schengen states that records, among other things, entry bans. An alert under Art. 24 of the SIS Regulation (originally (EC) No 1987/2006, now (EU) 2018/1861) means you can be refused entry at any external Schengen border, not just Switzerland's.

  • It bars entry to all 29 Schengen states for as long as it lasts, typically 3-5 years and in serious cases up to 10 years or more.
  • You must disclose it when applying for visas.
  • There may also be entries in Swiss databases (ZEMIS/SYMIC).

The Federal Administrative Court has held that not every overstay justifies a SIS alert. If the conduct is only punished with a fine, the threat to public order or security that an alert requires (Art. 24 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1861) is usually missing. The court checks proportionality and requires a threat assessment beyond the overstay itself. Its decisions are in its official database (Division VI, migration law).

How cantons differ

These are tendencies from published practice and literature, not guarantees.

  • Geneva: tends to look at the individual case, especially for medical emergencies, cancelled flights or documented delays that were not your fault. With a plausible reason it often stops at a small fine without an entry ban.
  • Zurich: tends to apply sanctions strictly. Short overstays usually get a fine by summary penalty order, moderate ones a summary penalty order.
  • Bern, Basel, Vaud: practice varies by office and prosecutor. Basel-Stadt has a relatively broad return counselling service; Vaud is consistent but strict.
  • Other cantons, such as Ticino, Valais, Aargau and St. Gallen: no documented practice that can be generalised. Ask a migration lawyer who practises there.

Entry bans (Art. 67 FNIA)

Separately from the criminal penalty, the SEM can impose an administrative entry ban under Art. 67 FNIA:

  • Who decides: the SEM, not the prosecutor.
  • Appeal: to the Federal Administrative Court, within the legal deadline, under the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure (APA, SR 172.021).
  • Length: as a rule up to five years (Art. 67 para. 3 FNIA), longer for a serious threat to public security and order.
  • Where it applies: with a SIS alert, the whole Schengen area.

The SEM often combines the ban with a SIS alert. These procedures can be legally complex, so a lawyer is strongly advised. You can apply for a ban to be lifted early after a certain time or if circumstances change (Art. 67 para. 5 FNIA).

There is no "safe" self-disclosure route

Swiss tax law has a one-time voluntary disclosure that can avoid penalties for tax evasion under strict conditions (Art. 175 para. 3 of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation, SR 642.11). Migration law has nothing like it.

  • There is no legal self-disclosure procedure at the SEM or cantonal migration offices that guarantees no penalty or a lenient outcome.
  • Contacting the authorities can lead to a small fine, a multi-year entry ban or criminal proceedings, depending on the canton, the length of the overstay, the circumstances, why you stayed and how that office works.

If you are affected, whether you are still here, have left or are about to re-enter:

  1. Speak to a migration lawyer before you contact the SEM, the migration office, the police or any other authority.
  2. In an emergency, see Schengen overstay emergency notices.
  3. Keep all relevant documents: passport, entry stamp, tickets, and medical certificates if illness delayed you.

What can happen next

These are the options seen in practice, in no order of preference. Which, if any, suits your case is a question for a lawyer.

  • Leaving before you are discovered. The overstay may be recorded at the border, with the sanctions above. A quiet departure is not guaranteed to have no consequences, and stored data may matter at a later entry or application.
  • Contacting the SEM or migration office. The outcome is open and it does not bring immunity. Do not do it without a lawyer.
  • A hardship application (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA). Only in rare cases: a long stay, deep roots in Switzerland and exceptional personal or humanitarian reasons. The canton decides, the SEM must approve, and there is no right to it. It is not a fallback for tourist overstays; the bar is very high and few are granted. See hardship cases under Art. 30 FNIA.
  • Asylum. If you have a real fear of persecution in your home country under Art. 3 of the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31), you can apply. An overstay is not a ground for asylum, and a clearly unfounded application has its own consequences.
  • Return assistance. Swiss return assistance is not meant for tourist overstayers (see below).
  • Lifting an entry ban once issued (Art. 67 para. 5 FNIA), a separate procedure for which you need a lawyer.

Return assistance

Swiss return assistance (SEM; Art. 60 FNIA, Art. 93 AsylA) is funded by the Confederation and delivered through cantonal return counselling and the International Organization for Migration (IOM Switzerland). REAG/GARP is the German programme, not a Swiss one.

Not eligible: tourist overstayers from third countries with no asylum procedure, EU/EFTA nationals, and people with a valid B or C permit. See the Asylum Act glossary.

Contact IOM Switzerland in Bern via switzerland.iom.int, or a cantonal return counselling service, which is usually the first step into the programme. Return assistance helps with the practical and financial side of leaving and reintegrating. It does not replace legal advice on the consequences of your overstay.

Cantonal return counselling

  • Zurich serves only people from the asylum system (asylum seekers, provisionally admitted persons, refugees returning voluntarily), not tourist overstayers.
  • Basel-Stadt is in principle open to foreign nationals who want to return voluntarily, including people with no asylum background, and offers information in several languages. Check the canton's website.
  • Other cantons (including Bern, Geneva, Vaud, Ticino, St. Gallen, Aargau, Lucerne, Fribourg and Valais) have services with different target groups. Ask them directly; the SEM has an overview.

Effects on future visas and permits

A recorded overstay, even a short one, can matter for future visa and permit applications. You must declare earlier violations truthfully; false statements are a separate offence and can lead to heavier sanctions.

  • After a short overstay with only a fine, future visas are usually not permanently blocked if you declare it and the reason (such as a cancelled flight) is plausible.
  • After an entry ban, you cannot enter Switzerland, or with a SIS alert the Schengen area, while it lasts. Afterwards you can apply again but must disclose the history.
  • After criminal proceedings, future permits and visas are much harder even once the ban ends. A criminal record can also affect entry to other countries, such as the US (ESTA), the United Kingdom or Canada, under their own rules.

SEM directives and handbooks, especially on visas, set out the practice; see the SEM website.

EU/EFTA nationals

The Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) gives EU/EFTA nationals a right to live in Switzerland if they meet its conditions, so the 90/180 rule does not apply in the same way. You can stay up to three months without a permit, and longer to look for work under certain conditions (Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons, SR 142.203). See the AFMP glossary.

If you stay longer than three months, you must register with your municipality and apply for an L, B, C or G permit. Failing to do so can have administrative consequences, but does not fall under Art. 115 FNIA, because the FNIA applies to you only in part (Art. 2 para. 2 FNIA with the AFMP). See the B residence permit.

People without papers (sans-papiers)

Sans-papiers are people living in Switzerland without a valid residence permit. There are no reliable figures; estimates are in the low six figures. Some became irregular through an expired visa or a permit-free stay that ran out.

In narrow cases, a hardship regularisation is possible under Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA with Art. 31 of the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201). It is discretionary and the bar is high:

  • several years in Switzerland;
  • proven integration (language, financial independence, social ties);
  • no serious offences;
  • exceptional personal circumstances that make a return unreasonable.

If you are living here without papers and are thinking about coming forward, get legal advice before any contact with the authorities. A failed application can lead to removal and an entry ban.

Where to get help

  • Authorities: the SEM (https://www.sem.admin.ch/), your cantonal migration office, and the Federal Administrative Court for appeals against the SEM.
  • Lawyers: search the public cantonal bar registers (under the Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers, LLCA, SR 935.61) or migration law associations.
  • Free or low-cost advice: AsyLex (online legal advice focused on asylum and migration; ask whether it covers overstays outside asylum), SOS Asile (Geneva), Caritas, HEKS/EPER, Solidarité sans frontières, and the sans-papiers contact points in cantons such as Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern and Lausanne.
  • Emergency: Schengen overstay emergency notices.

See also the FNIA and OASA glossary. The main legal texts are the FNIA (https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2007/758/de), the AFMP (https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2002/243/de), the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399), the EU Visa Code (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009), and Federal Administrative Court migration case law at https://migrationsrecht.iusnet.ch/.