Companies whose staff apply for Chinese visas in Zurich will need to update their contact directories: from Monday 14 September the telephone and e-mail enquiry functions of the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) in Zurich are handled by the centre’s Bern office. According to a notice on the CVASC website, all on-site services in Zurich—form submission, biometric collection and passport pick-up—continue unchanged; only the enquiry back-office has been centralised. The change is part of a wider consolidation of CVASC’s Swiss operations ahead of a forecast rebound in business travel to China following Beijing’s partial visa-fee waiver and expansion of fingerprint exemptions earlier this summer. By routing enquiries through Bern, the operator says it can pool staff expertise and reduce call-waiting times. Zurich applicants with questions about documentation or appointment slots must now phone +41 58 618 89 88 or e-mail berncenter@visaforchina.org. Practically, mobility teams should amend template invitation letters and employee briefings to reflect the new contact point. The Zurich counter’s opening hours remain 09:00-13:00 for submissions and 09:00-14:00 for collections, but urgent queries by phone will no longer be answered locally. Companies that courier passports between sites should also factor in the longer turnaround if additional clarifications are needed from Bern. CVASC notes that its two-way postal service continues to cover all Swiss cantons, allowing applicants outside Zurich and Bern to submit by mail; however, biometric capture still requires an in-person appointment. With China retaining a strict ‘no error’ approach to paperwork, experts advise allowing at least ten working days from submission to collection even after the reorganisation.
