Hello everyone, first time poster here - this forum is an invaluable resource!
I, a US citizen, am in the process of marrying a non-EU citizen living in Switzerland with a C Permit. We have received permission to marry from the OCPM and my type D visa has just been approved. I am currently in Geneva as a visitor on the Schengen visa. I have found by searching here, that it is possible to have the visa stamped into my passport in neighboring countries, rather than returning to my home country to have it done. I have two questions about this that hopefully someone may have some insight on.
1. Can the process be done in person? In NY, they are asking you to send it through the mail with a return mailer included. I'm not sure if this a result of Covid, or just normal protocol. If I go to Lyon, would I expect the same procedure? That would certainly complicate things...
2. Once I have the visa, do I have to do anything upon arrival to activate it? Do I have to report to a border office? Or contact OCPM?
Thank you in advance for all advice. The responses I receive from the consulate are often brief and leave me with more questions than answers. So in hopes of not wearing out my welcome with them, I've turned to here
I think it’s normal procedure, but I could be wrong.
You’d have to ask the consulate in Lyon if it’s possible to go in person to get the visa stamped in your passport. You’d also have to get the consulate in NY to send it on to Lyon; they won’t just take your word for it that it’s been granted.
The Type D visa is only to allow you to enter Switzerland for more than the 90 days tourist limit; there’s no activation required. You just need to enter Switzerland within the timeframe that the visa is valid for.
Would they not need to go through a Schengen entry point to get the visa registered in the system? If they are already in Schengen as a tourist and pick up the visa within the Schengen zone, will they not still be on the immigration system as a tourist and register as overstay??
Possibly better to pick it up in London and then renter Schengen?
Great thank you for your responses! So I'll contact the consulate in France and ask them if I can get the stamp in person.
I guess this is what I'm curious about. I have no idea what their system is or if they even keep track of it Schengen entries electronically, but I'd be worried about making a mistake along these lines. Does anyone have any insight on that?