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Dear Friends,
We have had a final flurry of activity at the Embassy and in Berne before we wind down for the Christmas break; the Federal Council has just signed off on a Swiss-UK agreement on citizens’ rights.
This agreement, outlined in more detail in the article below, is the culmination of nearly two years of work by colleagues and I hope it gives the reassurance that you will continue to enjoy the same rights as you do now, regardless of what happens in the coming weeks and months with Brexit.
In the New Year we will organise a live Q&A on Facebook so that you can ask me and my team any questions you have on the agreement or your rights in the UK. Please follow us on our Twitter and Facebook channels for updates.
In addition to the deal on citizens’ rights, the UK and Switzerland have struck agreements covering trade, insurance, aviation and road transport to complete our ‘mind the gap’ measures and prepare for the UK’s departure from the European Union.
Away from Brexit, we have had plenty to keep us busy. The Swiss Ambassador’s Award Concert tour took me to Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and for the first time Manchester, combining culture and music with political engagements in each city.
There’s been a lot of traffic between London and Berne in the second half of this year; we have welcomed Federal Councillors Ueli Maurer, Doris Leuthard and President Alain Berset in recent months, as well as the Chair of the Swiss National Bank Thomas Jordan, plus State Secretaries and Ambassadors covering many topics of bilateral interest.
A personal highlight for me this year was a performance engineering mission in the motorsports sector organised by the Swiss Business Hub UK. We invited top Swiss innovators in highly specialised fields including carbon composites, electric-hydrogen propulsion and computer vision to Motorsport Valley in the Midlands. During visits to Williams, Roborace, ProDrive and Aston Martin, the companies explored opportunities for collaboration with some very promising projects in the pipeline.
You can find more about the work we do in this newsletter and you can also stay in touch with developments by following us on social media: in addition to Twitter and Facebook, our Culture Section has a dedicated Instagram account and you can follow the work of our Business Hub on LinkedIn.
As a very busy year draws to a close, my wife Nicole and I would like to wish you and your families all the best for the festive season and a wonderful year ahead.
Alexandre Fasel
Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Kingdom
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| OFFICE CLOSURE DURING CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR |
| The Embassy and the Regional Consular Centre will be closed from 24 to 26 December and from 31 December to 2 January 2019. All calls to the Embassy will be diverted to the FDFA Helpline in Switzerland, direct number +41 (0)800 24 7 365 or +41 (0)58 465 33 33. |
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In preparation for the UK’s exit from the EU, Switzerland and the UK have reached an agreement to secure the rights that Swiss nationals living in the UK currently enjoy. At present, the Free Movement of Persons Agreement between Switzerland and the European Union governs the rights of Swiss in the UK, and this will continue to apply during the anticipated transition period.
Every Swiss citizen and their family members looking to remain in the UK beyond December 2020 (the expected end of the transition period) will have to apply for a new permanent residence permit, known as settled status.
The settled status scheme will open fully at the end of March 2019 and the deadline for applying will be 30 June 2021 (subject to there being a transition period). In order to be eligible for settled status, you’ll need to have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020 and have lived here for a continuous five-year period. If you’ve lived in the UK for less than five years, you’ll generally be eligible for ‘pre-settled status’ instead. This means you can stay in the UK for a further five years from the date you get pre-settled status. Once you have five years’ continuous residence you can apply for settled status.
The fee to apply is £65 for an adult and £32.50 for children under 16, though it will be free if you already have a valid permanent residence document or indefinite leave to remain. You’ll be able to complete the application form online, with support over the phone or in person if needed. Trial phases have shown the process to be quick and straightforward in the majority of cases. When you apply, you’ll need proof of your identity (valid passport or national identity card) and of your residence in the UK.
We appreciate that there is still a great deal of political uncertainty around how the coming months will unfold and the eventual Brexit outcome. That is precisely why, in our discussions with the UK authorities, we ensured that the Swiss-UK agreement covers every possible scenario. In the unlikely event that there is a no-deal exit, the Swiss-UK agreement will apply from the date the UK ceases to be an EU Member State, 30 March 2019.
Switzerland and the UK are now working to conclude relevant processes to ensure that this agreement is ratified by 29 March 2019. More information is available in the FAQs on our website, which will be continuously updated as the remaining uncertainties are clarified. Your rights will be secured in any scenario.
The Embassy is pleased to be able to bring you this reassuring news after what has no doubt been a period of uncertainty with regard to your status. The Embassy remains committed to seeking the smoothest and strongest possible relationship between Switzerland and the UK after Brexit, and is, as ever, ready to answer any further questions that you may have. |
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| Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in Berne on 25 October 2018. © FDFA |
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The work undertaken by the Swiss government in ensuring that the existing mutual rights and obligations in its relationship with the UK will continue to apply as far as possible or be expanded after the UK leaves the EU ('Mind the gap' strategy) is reflected in the number of ministerial and high-level meetings in London and Switzerland in the past year. To highlight a few:
Swiss Energy and Transport Minister Doris Leuthard met with her counterparts, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, for bilateral talks in London.
The Swiss Parliament's EFTA/EU Delegation visited London and Dublin to follow up on the UK’s ongoing Brexit negotiations. A particular consideration was given to the Irish border issue.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt met for bilateral talks with the Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Berne. He also paid a courtesy visit to the Swiss President.
Swiss President Alain Berset gave a talk on "How can Swiss democracy deal with inequality" at the invitation of the Blavatnik School of Governance in Oxford.
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| The Swiss delegation at Williams Advanced Engineering on 26 November 2018. © SBH |
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The Swiss Business Hub UK and Ireland has had a particularly active year, working with over 50 Swiss companies in 2018. The highlights in the second half of the year have been three major projects: the Cyber-Defence Symposium (in cooperation with the Office of the Defence Attaché), Swiss Wood Innovations, and a visit by Swiss Performance Engineering companies to the UK Motorsport Valley in the Midlands.
Follow the Swiss Business Hub on LinkedIn. |
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Swiss creativity was on display throughout September, the ‘design month’ in London. At the London Design Biennale the installation Body of Us explored the relationships between humans and the environment, while another set of Swiss designers at designjunction presented the design of tomorrow, from ingenious ways to recycle to futurist drone shows.
The 21st Swiss Ambassador’s Award Concert tour celebrated Swiss musical excellence across the UK. The prize, which provides young musicians with a platform to develop their musical career, was awarded to the Switzerland-based Orion String Trio who enchanted audiences from Edinburgh, Cardiff and London to Manchester and Belfast.
And the largely-overlooked artist Heidi Bucher – known for her latex casts of room interiors – has been under the spotlight at Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art with a retrospective of her work. This show, taking place 25 years after her death, was the first of its kind in a UK public institution.
The Embassy publishes regular listings of Swiss cultural events in the UK. Click here to download the latest issue and to subscribe. |
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| RAF Voyager aircraft refuelling a Swiss F/A-18 in mid-air. © VBS |
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The strong and enduring relationship between the British and Swiss Armed Forces continued this year with the return of the Swiss Air Forceto RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland for a month-long night flight training exercise (Scotnight 2018) for F/A-18 pilots.
In their first appearance at the Scottish International Airshow the Swiss Air Force impressed spectators with a fast jet display. Click here to fly with a Swiss F/A-18 over Ayr during training.
Congratulations go to the Swiss Special Forces for winning a bronze medal at Cambrian Patrol, the annual patrolling event of the British Army.
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| De-risking Conference at RUSI in London on 29 October 2018. © FDFA |
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In conjunction with RUSI (The Royal United Services Institute), the Embassy organised a conference in October on the topic of de-risking - the practice of banks and other financial institutions restricting business with clients in certain countries to avoid, rather than manage, risks associated with anti-money laundering measures. De-risking has a detrimental impact on aid agencies and other non-profit organisations with a presence in conflict zones, reducing their ability to deliver assistance. Switzerland with its long-standing humanitarian tradition has an interest in ensuring that legitimate charities and NGOs are not cut off from the financial system, and the expertise that the UK and Switzerland both have on the topic made London a natural choice for such a dialogue. The Swiss expert on the matter, Deputy State Secretary for International Finance, Ambassador Alexander Karrer, joined experts from all angles of the debate to discuss possible solutions, including in the exciting area of fintech. |
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| Alumni networking event at the Embassy on 19 April 2018. © José Farinha Photography |
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The Embassy works with UK chapters of Swiss university alumni organisations to identify joint activities where alumni could play a part in raising Switzerland’s visibility in the UK. If you are an alumnus of a Swiss University and you are based in the UK, please visit the Alumni network page for more information.
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| TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION |
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| The Swiss stand at the Science Museum’s ‘Lates’ on 28 November 2018. © José Farinha Photography |
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The Embassy is a partner in the current 'The Sun - living with our star' exhibition at the Science Museum in London, showcasing Switzerland’s strength in cutting-edge technology and innovation in solar technology. The exhibition runs until May 2019.
The Embassy is building a Swiss-UK Innovation community with the aim to connect Swiss entrepreneurs or investors and corporates that are interested in Swiss innovation. Please contact Charlotte Chenu for more information.
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Your vote matters! Parliamentary elections will be held in Switzerland on 20 October 2019. As a Swiss national living abroad who is included in the Register of the Swiss Abroad, you are allowed to vote in elections as well as stand as a candidate for election to Parliament.
More information |
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| The former Swiss Ambassador in Dublin and her daughter at the mobile biometric station. © FDFA |
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This year around a hundred Swiss residents in Northern Ireland and Ireland took the opportunity to renew their passports and identity cards at the mobile biometric station in Dublin in April and November. In 2019 the mobile station will return to Dublin; the dates will be confirmed and communicated at the beginning of the New Year. |
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We offer academic internships in the Political, Legal and Press Section, and the Culture and Sport Section.
More information |
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| January 2019 |
| Facebook LIVE Q&A with Ambassador Fasel |
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The Embassy will host a live Q&A on Facebook with the Ambassador on the Swiss-UK citizens' rights agreement. Please follow the us on Facebook for further information. |
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| 12 March 2019 - London |
| Living Well: Bereavement, Grief, Care & Coping with Loss |
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Seminar organised by the Swiss Benevolent Society for members of the Swiss Community in the UK.
More information |
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| London |
| Swiss Church Events |
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A range of community and cultural events take place at the Swiss Church in the heart of London.
Events calendar |
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| UK |
| Swiss Club and Societies events |
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Events organised by the various Swiss clubs and societies across the UK are now consolidated in a dedicated calendar on the FOSSUK website.
Events calendar |
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