No visa needed

Do citizens of Switzerland need a visa for Sao Tome and Principe?

Citizens of Switzerland don’t need a visa for Sao Tome and Principe and can stay up to 15 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Switzerland: the passport opens 120 countries visa-free; Bern — São Tomé: ≈ 5,180 km, about 7 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 15 days

Can I travel to Sao Tome and Principe without a visa on a Switzerland passport?

Yes, citizens of Switzerland don’t need a visa for Sao Tome and Principe for up to 15 days. A valid passport is enough.

Sao Tome and Principe visa rules at a glance

With a Switzerland passport you can visit 120 countries visa-free, 29 with a visa on arrival and 35 with an e-visa; 14 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Switzerland passport ranks 17th of 199.
Switzerland passport: visa-free access to 120 countries; Sao Tome and Principe passport: 28.
Citizens of Switzerland and Sao Tome and Principe can travel together visa-free to 25 countries, for example: Kosovo, Palestine, Gambia, Rwanda, Angola, Dominica, Barbados, Zambia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Bahamas, Haiti, South Africa, Panama, and Honduras.
Citizens of Sao Tome and Principe, in turn, need an embassy visa to travel to Switzerland. Switzerland visa for citizens of Sao Tome and Principe

Travelling to Sao Tome and Principe: good to know

Bern — São Tomé: about 5,180 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 7 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: −2 hours.
Local time: Bern 12:00 — São Tomé 10:00.
Local currency: São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra.
Languages: Portuguese.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ STN 21.
Sao Tome and Principe is the 98th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Switzerland.