UPCOMING EVENTS
Swiss Community Events Calendar
Available for the first time, a comprehensive calendar to download with all Swiss events in the UK - from music concerts to art exhibitions to talks to just having a cuppa.
If you know of an event that is not listed on the calendar below of the PDF download, please do let us know so that we can keep it as up to date as possible:
Send us your eventFor the first time in the history of UK CSA Elections, you are able to vote online. You can vote for up to 5 candidates.
View the full candidate profiles or summary profiles in Issue 2 of the Regional Pages of the Swiss Review.
Postal votes can of course still be submitted by filling out and sending the voting slip published in Issue 2 of the Swiss Review.
Voting closes at midnight 20 May 2021.
Your vote is completely anonymous. Your personal information is only used by the Swiss Embassy London to verify eligibility to vote. Eligible votes are counted securely and independently. Elected candidates will be ratified at the FOSSUK AGM on 19 June.
Join us for an intimate conversation about Music, Diplomacy and Switzerland with Desmond Cecil CMG and Ambassador Alexandre Fasel.
23 April23 April 2021, 4:30pm
Join on ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85875619049
Desmond Cecil’s memoir ‘The Wandering Civil Servant of Stradivarius’ tells the remarkable journey of its author, from following his passion to perform music as a young professional violinist in Switzerland, to a long, successful career in diplomacy since joining HM Diplomatic Service in 1970.
Wednesday 3rd March 2021
Wednesday 17th March 2021
Wednesday 31st March 2021
Wednesday 14th April 2021
Wednesday 28th April 2021
Wednesday 12th May 2021
Wednesday 26th May 2021
Wednesday 9th June 2021
Wednesday 23rd June 2021
Please get in touch with us if you wish to participate on:
0207 836 9119
Once you have contacted us, please download the Zoom app onto your laptop or tablet, and we’ll send you an invitation by email with a link with details on how to join the meeting!
It's an opportunity for Swiss Nationals to meet and get together over tea or coffee.
Please contact Petra on 0207 836 9119 or email: info@swissbenevolent.org.uk for more information.
Visit www.swissbenevolent.org.uk for find out more.
The Swiss Benevolent Society UK enhances the quality of life of fellow Swiss, old and young, from all walks of life, who are experiencing difficulties.
Living Well – We aim to make a difference through empowerment, confidence building, active and healthier lifestyle management, independence and financial aid.
Wednesday 20th January 2021
Wednesday 3rd February 2021
Wednesday 17th February 2021
Wednesday 3rd March 2021
Wednesday 17th March 2021
Wednesday 31st March 2021
Wednesday 14th April 2021
Wednesday 28th April 2021
Wednesday 12th May 2021
Wednesday 26th May 2021
Wednesday 9th June 2021
Wednesday 23rd June 2021
More dates to be confirmed…
Please get in touch with us if you wish to participate on:
0207 836 9119
Once you have contacted us, please download the Zoom app onto your laptop or tablet, and we’ll send you an invitation by email with a link with details on how to join the meeting!
It's an opportunity for Swiss Nationals to meet and get together over tea or coffee.
Please contact Petra on 0207 836 9119 or email: info@swissbenevolent.org.uk for more information.
Visit www.swissbenevolent.org.uk for find out more.
The Swiss Benevolent Society UK enhances the quality of life of fellow Swiss, old and young, from all walks of life, who are experiencing difficulties.
Living Well – We aim to make a difference through empowerment, confidence building, active and healthier lifestyle management, independence and financial aid.
Upcoming voting. Voters will give their verdict on five more proposals – two initiatives and three referendums. Remember to send your postal vote in on time.
Find out more about popular initiatives and referenda on our dedicated page >
Save the date!
Federation of Swiss Societies UK (FOSSUK) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and CSA UK Delegates Ratification taking place at the Swiss Embassy London (provisionally depending on Covid restrictions) on the Saturday afternoon on 19 June 2021.
Highlight: Announcement of the new UK Delegates to the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA)
Learn about who is standing and why by taking a look at the full candidate profiles >
For the first time in the UK's CSA Elections history, you are able to vote online for the 2021 - 2025 term UK Delegates - securely and anonymously. The voting deadline is midnight, 20 May 2021. E-vote for your UK CSA Delegate >
Special Guests from Berne:
- Mr Laurent Perriard, Deputy General Consular Affairs (FDFA)
- Mr Remo Gysin, President Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA)
More information regarding the AGM will be publishing in the Swiss Review UK Pages and on the website in the dedicated AGM section in due course.
Swiss citizens (and their family members) wishing to remain in the UK beyond December 2020 have to apply for a new residence status under the EU Settlement Scheme, called settled or pre-settled status (see Question 6).
Acquiring settled or pre-settled status will allow Swiss citizens to continue to live, study and work in the UK, to have access to public funds and services and to go on to apply for British citizenship if they wish to do so.
Applications are free of charge.
Swiss citizens married to a British citizen also need to apply. However, Swiss-UK dual nationals must not (and cannot) apply. They already have full rights of residence in the UK.
The Settlement Scheme opened fully at the end of March 2019.
Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)
Visit the Swiss Embassy webpage for comprehensive FAQs.
The Swiss Benevolent Society are Home Office registered to assist with applications for those in need.
An exhibition of over 200 original watercolour paintings never before publicly displayed in the UK, by little-known Swiss artist, Maurice André Kaspar, brought together from around the world by his grandson, René Dee, from the 3rd - 8th August 2021 at London's Bankside Gallery.
Over a 30-year period from 1914 Maurice painted iconic scenes from Geneva Old Town, where he was born, raised, schooled and worked; from the Italianate town of Carouge in the Canton of Geneva where he later lived and raised his own family, and many other small villages and towns in Switzerland, France and Italy.
Maurice André Kaspar was an architect by profession who worked for Geneva State Council and particularly interested in the complex and often beautiful architectural features of the many traditional farmhouse, manor houses, chateaux and churches throughout rural Switzerland and France at that time.
Many of his paintings are important historical records – none more so than those he painted in the 1920’s recording the Geneva district of St. Gervais alongside the River Rhone - demolished in its entirety in the early 1930’s. In 1937, Maurice became a founder member (one of 13) of what would become an important Society of multi-disciplinary artists called, La Palette Carougeoise, still in existence and a major force for the arts in Carouge.
Find our more and view the catalogue on the Bankside Gallery website >
Session of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (August)
Date: August 20, 2021 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CEST
Location: Piazza Indipendenza 4, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
More information and booking on SwissCommunity.org
The session of the Council of the Swiss Abroad takes place on 20 August 2021 as part of the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Lugano.
The recognized mouthpiece of the Swiss living abroad
The Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) represents the interests of Swiss expatriates before the authorities and public opinion in Switzerland. This is why the media call it the 'Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland'. It has numerous major achievements for the Swiss Abroad to its credit.
The CSA gathers in Switzerland twice a year for a day-long meeting to discuss important matters concerning the Swiss abroad and to voice an opinion on current affairs on behalf of the Fifth Switzerland. The Council meets regularly in the spring as well as in late summer within the framework of the Swiss Abroad Congress. Between sessions, routine business is dealt with by the Executive Board and the administration team.
Theme: What are the challenges for our democracy?
The 98th Congress of the Swiss Abroad is scheduled to take place from 20–22 August 2021 in Lugano after the 2020 event had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For detail on attendance and agendas, please visit the OSA website >
Once a year in August, the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) organises a congress for Swiss citizen living all around the world. The event has become a popular opportunity to meet and network for all those, who are interested in the international mobility of the "Fifth Switzerland". The varying themes are picked to match the interests and expectations of this audience.
Remember to get in touch with your UK Delegates to raise pressing issues affecting you, from bank accounts to eVoting.
Every year a different region of Switzerland hosts the congress. During the event up to 400 participants meet compatriots from around the world, listen to exciting speeches, inform themselves about the current news in Switzerland, talk about their own experiences and get to know interesting personalities from Swiss economy and politics.
Thanks to a varied social program including sightseeing and excursions across the host region, the participation in this event promises a unique experience.
During the Congress, all speeches and sessions are held in German or French.
Join us at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad: 20–22 August 2021.
