Federal Council adopts report on consular support for Swiss nationals abroad

Bern, 24.06.2015 - More and more Swiss nationals are travelling abroad or living outside of Switzerland. Demand for the consular services provided by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA is growing accordingly. In a report published today, the Federal Council for the first time provides a concise account of how assistance to Swiss nationals in difficulties abroad is organised, which services the Federal Government is able to provide in partnership with cantonal authorities, partner states, private organisations and further third parties, what challenges the individuals concerned face, and the limits to the help that is available.

The number of Swiss nationals living in or travelling through foreign countries is rising all the time. Demand for the consular services provided by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA is growing accordingly. In response, in recent years the FDFA has introduced a number of measures to constantly extend the range of consular services open to Swiss nationals who find themselves in difficulties or even emergency situations abroad. The report on consular structures supporting Swiss nationals abroad, adopted by the Federal Council at its meeting today in fulfilment of the Abate postulate 11.3572, examines how this support is organised, while closely referencing the new Federal Act on Swiss Nationals and Institutions Abroad (Swiss Abroad Act), which is scheduled to enter into force on 1 November 2015. The new act codifies the "guichet unique" ("single counter") approach to consular matters, thus ensuring even greater customer focus, while also creating further clarity about the scope of consular services and their appropriateness in given situations.

The report shows that the FDFA is currently able to call upon crisis management and consular protection capabilities which, thanks to efficient structures and instruments, permit it to provide a professional level of care, and intervention where necessary, to Swiss nationals experiencing difficulties abroad. With its round-the-clock FDFA Helpline, the Consular Directorate has an effective tool that helps significantly to improve prevention and raise awareness among those planning to travel, which then ultimately helps to reduce the number of consular emergencies. With its long-standing and well-proven travel advice service, the Crisis Management Centre continues systematically to draw travellers' attention to possible dangers and risks in 176 countries. In addition, with its itineris online platform, the FDFA offers a service with which Swiss nationals can register their foreign trips. Should the security situation deterioriate, the data on file enables these individuals to be sent information quickly via a text message, and also to be contacted directly in emergencies and crises. This service is rounded out by the itineris app for smartphones and tablets. In addition to the travel advice and contact information provided by the representations abroad, it offers event-driven alerts which can be received as push notifications. Ultimately, however, in most cases it is the human factor which determines whether or not an intervention has been successful or satisfactory. The report thus also documents how the FDFA has continually expanded education and training for those staff who must deal with crises and emergencies, and thus raised professional standards while also paying great attention to prevention work.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Helpline
Tel.: +41 (0)800 24-7-365
E-Mail: helpline@eda.admin.ch
Website: www.helpline-eda.ch
Skype: helpline-eda