Swiss Covid Certificate

I understand from the media that an actual certificate is now mandatory. Check the Swiss site here https://travelcheck.admin.ch/home.

Foreign certificates (CDC card included) are temporarily valid until 24 October.
A new online form for obtaining the Swiss Covid certificate for tourists vaccinated abroad was just released and is available here
https://covidcertificate-form.admin.ch/foreign

It costs 30chf and they recommend applying 2 weeks before arrival. Instructions and further info here: https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/covid-zertifikat/covid-zertifikat-erhalt-gueltigkeit.html#-1428730671

Note that according the instructions, the tourist certificate will only be valid in Switzerland (not EU/EFTA countries) so have that in mind if you are visiting other countries during the same trip.

Wow, Hopper! I did not know that detail about validity only in CH! We have used our Swiss-issued certificate now in Italy and France as well. Very convenient. I hope this is all sorted by next summer. Hopefully we will not need them!

Thank you Hopper and Laurel for the very valid info and links. You have helped my friend...and also others who are planning on traveling to Switzerland.

Note that according the instructions, the tourist certificate will
only be valid in Switzerland (not EU/EFTA countries) so have that in
mind if you are visiting other countries during the same trip.

I'm not sure this is correct. The instructions on this page in Hopper's link above say this:

Important: Swiss COVID certificates that have been issued based on
vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell) (Sinopharm / BIBP) or
CoronaVac (Sinovac) [my emphasis] are only valid in Switzerland.

It's not that all Swiss vaccine certificates issued to tourists are valid only in Switzerland, only that Swiss vaccine certificates issued on the basis of Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines are valid only in Switzerland (presumably since the EMA has not approved these two vaccines).

Indeed, on the application link also provided above, it says:

In what countries is my Swiss COVID-19 certificate valid?

1. for Swiss citizens and residents of Switzerland who have been vaccinated abroad, depending on the vaccine used: a. Vaccination with
   a vaccine listed on the EMA list (including licensed products):
   Switzerland and EU/EFTA*. b. Vaccination with a vaccine listed on the
   WHO Emergency Use List only: Switzerland only

2. for persons without residence in Switzerland (e.g. tourists): in EU/EFTA states* according to the requirements of the member state
   *EU and EFTA countries as well as third countries connected to the EU gateway [again my emphasis]

Any traveler vaccinated in the US or Canada (I'd guess the large majority of people on this board) will have been vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca) so any Swiss vaccine certificate issued should be valid in any EU/EFTA country, as stated above.

Yes, the text has now been updated. When first released, the application said "Only valid in Switzerland" for all tourist purposes so that is why I put the caveat in my reply. I don't check for changes every day and since the roll-out of the certificate has gone through a lot of iterations, it is always best to check the links directly for the most current information.

Just navigated this process--October 22, 2021... here are the steps

Documents you will need to have and to upload:
Your covid certificate
Your passport
 The info about the hotel where you are staying
Travel plans- airline confirmation

Process
1.  First, download the  Swiss Covid  Certificate app  onto your phone - on the app store , it's this one.. Covid Certificate Switzerland - blue and white with the red-white cross emblem in the top left corner.

1. Then go here and fill out the form 
   Request a COVID-19 recovery certificate - Swiss Confederation (admin.ch)

2. You will need to take pix of your passport and your vax card.. (they only allow a max file size of 5 mb so you may need to resize them to fit. ) 

3. At one point while you are filling out the form, they will direct you to the app  to get a verification code.. this is good because it means they will link to your phone and load it on the app when it is approved. If it doesn't load automatically , you can just scan the QR code and it will load.

4. Then you go back to the form to finish and submit it... and pay the $30.

I recd my certif  less than 24 hrs later although they said 5 days.

They recommend printing the certificate out as well as having it on your phone.

Hi everyone,
My husband and I travel to Zurich on Wednesday, 10/27 (three days after the certificate is mandatory). We have been trying to apply for the Covid Certificate online, but it seems like the website has an error. (It gives us an error each time we enter our emails and try to receive the confirmation code to continue.)

Has anyone else had this issue or had any luck with another avenue of application?

Thank you!
Nicole

Hi Nicole, just did this yesterday at the link above. At first i tried through the IOS app and that did not work. It did when i went to the link above. Maybe try a different email? Good luck.

Welp, it seems it was just a momentary blip. I tried the link again and it went through! Fingers crossed that they will be processed by the time we arrive on Thursday morning. Very much looking forward to our trip!
Thanks :)

My personal experience earlier this month was that the US CDC card was typically sufficient in nearly all cases. However, we were able to use our French pass sanitaire QR code to enable the Swiss code in their app. So we had several bases covered just in case.

I am of the opinion that if you have some type of verified vax card that no business will actually turn you away.

I applied for the swiss pass and received it within a week. It's a very easy process.

We just spent 2 weeks in Europe on a river cruise with extensions prior and after. As we were starting in Switzerland, we chose to apply for the Swiss COVID Certificate. Maybe we were app'd out, but we had no luck with the app, and instead emailed a copy of our passports and COVID vaccination cards to the Canton of Lucerne, as we were staying there. A form to complete was emailed back, and we were set within 2 days, at no cost. We used the certificate in Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, with no issue. We were asked without fail to show it. No one was interested in our vaccination certificates. Perhaps if we didn't have one, and we pushed it, we may have been able to eat in an establishment, but, at that point, what was one more form?