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Dear compatriots and friends,
As befits a summer which was for many dominated by the football World Cup, we can look back on a very exciting and active (and, yes, even sporty) first half of 2018. I am delighted to bring you an overview of some of our recent activities and future events for the second half of the year in this newsletter.
The Embassy continues to work tirelessly to ensure your rights as Swiss citizens in the UK are safeguarded as the UK withdraws from the EU. You will find below an update on the Swiss government’s progress in our ongoing dialogue with the British authorities.
A particularly active highlight was hosting the Swiss running shoe innovators, On, at the Embassy for a Swiss Alumni Network event. Over the weekend of the London marathon, we organised a 5K ‘Run to Switzerland,’ culminating at the Embassy. Further emphasising Switzerland’s strength in technological innovation in sports, we were proud to act as a partner for the annual Sports Technology Awards hosted in the UK, where no fewer than three sports tech companies from Switzerland emerged triumphant.
Exercising our cultural muscles, we organised the first edition of ‘Literally Swiss’ – an event showcasing the best in literature from and about Switzerland, featuring Alain de Botton, Peter Stamm, Pedro Lenz and other guests as speakers. In an effort to bring more Swiss culture to the various parts of the UK, I am especially delighted that this year’s Swiss Ambassador’s Award Concert Tour will be visiting not just Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London, but additionally Manchester to celebrate the event’s 21st anniversary.
You can find more about the work we do in the articles below, and you can also stay in touch with developments by following us on social media. Not only is the Embassy present via our Facebook and Twitter channels; our Culture Section has a dedicated Instagram account and you can follow the work of our Business Hub on LinkedIn.
My very best wishes to you and have a happy National Day!
Alexandre Fasel
Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Kingdom
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The UK’s exit from the European Union will undoubtedly have an impact on Switzerland and our Swiss community in the UK. We are closely following developments around Brexit, and by working continuously with the UK authorities, we aim to safeguard the existing mutual rights and obligations between Switzerland and the UK after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU across all common areas of interest.
The close relationship between Switzerland and the UK is rooted in Switzerland’s many bilateral agreements with the European Union and the UK’s membership of the EU. Once the UK leaves the EU, this framework disappears from our bilateral relations. It is the Embassy’s task, as part of the Swiss Government’s ‘Mind the Gap’ strategy, to help establish a replacement regime that will be effective on the day the UK leaves the EU. Since the Brexit referendum, we have been in constant contact with the UK government, and have helped the competent Swiss authorities to conduct and coordinate a dedicated dialogue to ensure continuity in all areas of our bilateral relationship.
Most importantly for you, these discussions also encompass the question of citizens’ rights: the Swiss government has engaged in a close dialogue with the British authorities to ensure continuity and the protection of acquired rights of Swiss nationals living in the UK (and vice versa) under the bilateral Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons.
On 19 March 2018, the UK government and the EU reached an agreement on EU citizens’ rights after Brexit. According to this agreement, people who, by 31 December 2020, have been continuously and lawfully living in the UK for five years will be able to apply to stay indefinitely by getting ‘settled status’. That means these citizens will be free to live in the UK, have access to public funds and services, and go on to apply for British citizenship, if they wish to do so. People who arrive by 31 December 2020, but won’t have been living in the UK lawfully for five years, will be able to apply to stay until they have reached the five-year threshold. They can then also apply for settled status.
The British and Swiss authorities are currently working out a similar arrangement between the UK and Switzerland, with a view to safeguarding the acquired rights of Swiss citizens living in the UK. Those talks are progressing well and pending final agreement being reached on the details of the arrangement, we fully expect that the settlement scheme will be open to Swiss citizens (and their family members) as well. Hence, every Swiss citizen looking to remain in the UK will also have to apply for this new ‘settled status’.
Please note that you do not need to do anything immediately: there will be no change to your current rights (based on the bilateral Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons) until the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. The settlement scheme itself will not be open fully before the end of March 2019.
We are confident that in this way, we can not only uphold our strong economic relations, but also safeguard the rights and obligations of the members of the Swiss community in the UK.
As we progress towards fully implementing the government’s ‘Mind the Gap’ strategy, please consult the Brexit FAQ page on the Embassy’s website from time to time, as it is updated regularly. |
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| Swiss Air Force marks RAF Centenary |
| Ambassador Fasel (back row, 2nd from left) and Colonel Lerch (back row, right) with pilots, staff and guests at the Air Tattoo. © VBS |
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The Swiss Air Force took to the skies at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) with the PC-7 aerobatic team and a F/A-18C Hornet solo display. The presence of two aerobatic teams from the Swiss Air Force at RIAT in the centenary year of the Royal Air Force underlines the friendship and good relations between both countries’ air forces. The Embassy was represented at the Air Tattoo by Defence Attaché Colonel Martin Lerch and Ambassador Alexandre Fasel. |
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| Switzerland leads EFTA visit to London |
| The EFTA parliamentarians with Catherine West of the International Trade Committee. © Thorfinnur Omarsson/EFTA |
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Swiss MP Karin Keller-Sutter led the visit of members of parliament from the EFTA countries to London. The focus of the talks with UK government representatives, members of both Houses of Parliament and with business and industry associations was on Brexit.
More information |
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| Official visit to Scotland |
| Ambassador Fasel with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. © OFMS |
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During his official visit to Scotland, Ambassador Fasel held talks with Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Ken Macintosh, and the Leaders of the Scottish Conservative and Labour Parties, Ruth Davidson and Richard Leonard. The visit also included a meeting with Swiss citizens about Brexit. |
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| Swiss and British MPs compete on the ski slopes |
The British-Swiss parliamentary ski delegation. © Marcel Giger/Snow-world.ch
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The annual British-Swiss parliamentary ski race took place for the 62nd time in Davos. The Swiss clinched the top spots ahead of the top British competitor in eighth place. Our own Ambassador finished in the fastest time, although not an official competitor.
More information |
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| BUSINESS, ECONOMY & FINANCE |
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| Cryptocurrencies, ICOs and Blockchain |
| Mark Branson, CEO of FINMA. © José Farinha Photography |
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Mark Branson, the CEO of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, provided a regulator’s perspective on cryptocurrencies in his keynote speech at an event organised by the Embassy and the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce BSCC.
More information
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| Swiss Business Hub UK & Ireland |
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The Embassy’s ‘CH+UK’ initiative promotes Swiss artists, creative industries and culture across all disciplines in the UK and hosts the listing of Swiss cultural events throughout the UK.
More information |
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| © European Literature Network |
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The first ‘Literally Swiss’ literary cabaret gave the audience a witty and philosophical take on writing from and about Switzerland by Alain de Botton, Monique Schwitter, Peter Stamm, Pedro Lenz, Nicolas Verdan, Deborah Levy and Xiaolu Guo. The videos of the evening are available on the website of the European Literature Network.
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| HIGHER EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION |
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| David Allemann, co-founder of On, speaking at the alumni networking event. © José Farinha Photography |
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The Embassy hosted the co-founder of On, David Allemann, as keynote speaker for its annual gathering of Swiss university alumni, students and the Swiss business community in the UK.
If you are an alumnus of a Swiss university and you are based in the UK, visit the Alumni network page for more information.
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| Runners outside the Ambassador's residence. © FDFA |
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To celebrate Swiss innovation, the Embassy co-hosted a fun run with Swiss company On, – a leader in advanced running shoe technology. Members from London running clubs set off in Camden, north London, for a 5K run to the Ambassador’s residence, where a traditional Swiss brunch awaited them.
More information |
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| Connect with other Swiss Entrepreneurs |
As part of its mission to help Swiss startups going global, the Embassy’s Science & Innovation office has started building a Swiss-UK Innovation Community. The aim of the initiative is to help Swiss entrepreneurs or investors and corporates that are interested in Swiss innovation to connect and find opportunities to work together. At last month’s get-together over 60 entrepreneurs and corporates had the opportunity to network after a presentation by Dominique Guinard, founder and CTO of Evrythng.
If you would like to find out more about the Swiss innovation scene in the UK, please get in touch with
Charlotte Chenu. For information on the programme that helps Swiss startups to grow internationally, click here. |
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| UK introduces new penalties to tackle offshore tax non-compliance |
HMRC requires those people who have failed to correctly report offshore interests to put this right by 30 September 2018. ‘Offshore interests’ means income, gains and assets from outside of the UK or UK income, gains and assets transferred abroad. For advice on how to do this visit: Make a disclosure using the Worldwide Disclosure Facility. After 30 September 2018, new sanctions under ‘Requirement to Correct’ will be introduced that reflect HMRC’s toughening approach.
More information |
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Hermann Aebischer, Consul General, has left for Paris and his successor, Manuela Ferrari, has arrived from Pristina. Tiziano Pedrioli, Head of the Regional Consular Centre UK & Ireland, has left for New Delhi, and his successor, Simona Regazzoni, has arrived from Bangkok. Marianne Wyss, Deputy Head of the Regional Consular Centre UK & Ireland, is leaving for Cape Town, and her successor, Andrea Hauri, is arriving from Paris in mid-August. Christoph Roithner, Head of the Visa Section, has left for Cairo, and his successor, Francine Zuchuat, has arrived from Belgrade. Rose Skirton, Head of Communications, is returning from maternity leave in mid-August, and her maternity cover, Tim Segessemann, is leaving at the end of July. Fatuma Osman has been appointed Project Manager Culture; she will start at the end of August. |
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We offer four academic internships per year; two
in the Political, Legal and Press Section, and two in the Culture and Sport
Section.
More Information |
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| Opportunities in international organisations |
| Ambassador Fasel welcomes the guests and the representatives from cinfo and EBRD. © FDFA |
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The Embassy hosted an information event, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to raise awareness among Swiss Abroad of job opportunities for mid and senior level professionals in international organisations. The Swiss government works with the Centre for Information, Counselling and Training for Professions relating to International Cooperation in Bienne (cinfo) to raise awareness of career opportunities for Swiss citizens in an international environment.
More information |
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| 30 August - Paisley (Renfrewshire) |
| Scotland v Switzerland |
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The
Swiss Women's National Football Team will play Scotland in the FIFA Women's
World Cup Qualifier.
More information |
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| 1 - 2 September - Ayr (Ayrshire) |
| Swiss Air Force at Scottish International Airshow |
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| 1 - 30 September - Mount Snowdon (Wales) |
| Swiss steam locomotive on Mount Snowdon |
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A steam locomotive from the Brienz Rothorn Railway will work alongside
its Welsh ‘sister' train on the Snowdon Mountain Railway.
More information |
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| 4 - 23 September - London |
| Swiss Presence at the London Design Biennale |
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| 11 September - Leicester |
| England v Switzerland |
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The Swiss Men's National Football Team will play England in an international friendly match
More information |
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| 15 – 19 October – Edinburgh, Cardiff, London, Belfast and Manchester |
| Swiss Ambassador's Award 2018 Concert Tour |
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The annual showcase of talented musicians with a classical and contemporary repertoire, organized by the Embassy in cooperation with the Swiss Cultural Fund UK, presents the Switzerland-based Orion String Trio.
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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