In order to enter and live in the Schengen Area, all nationals of countries other than the Member States of the European Economic Area** and Switzerland must be in possession of a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen state or a valid Schengen visa.

For short stays (limited to 90 days in a 180-day period) in the Schengen Area, exemptions from the obligation to obtain a C visa are possible.

In the case of residence in France, members of the personnel of certain nationalities may be exempt from the requirement for a short-stay visa, provided that, for example, they have been issued with a Hosting Agreement.

However, the Swiss authorities have reminded the Organization that all members of the personnel who are not a national of a Member State of the European Economic Area or Switzerland who reside in Switzerland while employed by CERN are subject to the requirement for a C visa if their stay in Switzerland exceeds eight days per calendar year (a very small number of nationalities are not subject to this rule).

Before coming to CERN, members of the personnel who are not nationals of a Member State of the European Economic Area or Switzerland must therefore check the conditions that are applicable to them according to their personal situation, by contacting the consulate in their home country or, for Switzerland, on the website: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/ publiservice/weisungen-kreisschreiben/ visa/liste1_staatsangehoerigkeit.html and, for France, on the website: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/.

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*https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/schengen-area_en

**https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/ glossaire/R42218/; https://www.eesc.europa.eu/ en/tags/european-economic-area

See also:
Schengen area - Entry, stay and exit - Documents required - Reminder: https://home.cern/news/official-news/cern/schengen-area-entry-stay-and-exit-documents-required-reminder

Relations with the Host States service
relations.secretariat@cern.ch
www.cern.ch/relations