Australian Embassy in Berne is now operational

The Australian Diplomatic Mission in Bern has commenced operations on Tuesday, 16.8.2022, marking a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship Switzerland – Australia. The Diplomatic Mission will work to expand the trade and investment ties and deepen bilateral cooperation.

 However, at this stage, it is still the current Australian Ambassador in Berlin, H.E. Mr. Philip Green OAM, who is responsible until the accreditation of the new Ambassador for Switzerland and Liechtenstein later this year. Only at that moment will the Diplomatic Mission be called Embassy. For now the Diplomatic Mission is led by Mr. Dylan Walsh, chargé d’affaires ad interim. The Diplomatic Mission is temporarily located at the Weltpoststrasse 5, 3015 Bern. For details see

https://germany.embassy.gov.au/belngerman/australisch_schweizerische_Beziehungen.html

Please note, that the new mission in Berne will not include immigration or visa services so the current visa processing arrangements will remain. Processing of visas for Swiss nationals will continue to be managed from the Australian Embassy in Berlin. Saying that, visa applications are made online and if an interview is required this will be conducted via telephone. Applicants are not required to travel to Berlin.  For up-to-date advice on visas and immigration issues and entering Australia, Swiss citizens can be directed to the website of the Department of Home Affairs. For additional questions, they can contact the Department of Home Affairs Global Service Centre on +61 2 61 96 01 96 on weekdays between business hours.