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As a Bangladeshi passport holder in Ireland, I contacted the swiss embassy here in Dublin; they say I need to go to their embassy in London to apply for a visa, which is a bit weird for me because I need a visa to go to the even UK. If I apply for a Schengen visa to the Italian/German embassy here and visit Italy/Germany for a few days from Dublin, then with that same visa, can I travel to Zurich for a few days?

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If you make your other visit(s) longer or more important than your visit to Switzerland, yes you can combine several Schengen countries into one trip and get the visa from an Ireland based embassy.

But remember that embassies do not like visa shopping (getting a visa from an other embassy than the one you actually should go to.)

If you go this route your other stay really has to be the longer one, as more important is hard to prove.

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  • OR if they make their Schengen port of entry one in Italy/Germany
    – Ozzy
    Jul 24, 2022 at 11:01
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    @Ozzy the port of entry is not a factor in determining where the application should be filed unless there is no main destination.
    – phoog
    Jul 24, 2022 at 11:13
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Can I advise that before you do anything further you contact the Swiss Embassy in London and ask directly if there is a specific process you can follow as a resident in Ireland? Do not contact TLS first as they are hopeless with these requests (for anything that is not straight forwards you won't be able to trust the answer they give you, even if they seem confident). It is possible that there will be a specific process to follow as a non UK resident. You would normally need to leave your passport for the processing which would also prevent you from leaving the UK so this leads me to think they may have a solution.

I speak from personal experience that the Embassy has a different process for the application of long term D visas for Irish residents than the websites or TLS are aware of and so I suspect they may also have similar for Schengen visas. It may not completely stop you from attending for biometrics but you may find that you only need to travel the once, or perhaps even by post the application if your biometrics are stored already from previous applications.

This is definitely the next step you should be taking as they may surprise you. The embassy is very busy, and may take a while to reply to emails, but you can call them.

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Inform the Italian/German consulate, where you make the application, that you cannot make the application at the swiss consulate (your main destination), because they only offer such applications in an area (without an offer to a local alternative consulate) for applicants that require an extra, expensive visa, solely to apply for a Schengen Visa.

Your your travel plan should show that the consulate where you apply would be considered a 'second' best main destination.

As unfortunate as it is that 3rd country nationals, who are residents of the Common Travel Area (CTA), may not travel freely within this area may be - this should not lead into (effectualy) preventing an applicant to apply for an Schengen Visa without incuring undue costs (for a standard visa presently £100).

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    Do you have evidence that this strategy will actually work, rather than "should" work according to your beliefs?
    – ajd
    Jul 24, 2022 at 17:11
  • @ajd Article 8(3) Visa Code (REGULATION (EC) No 810/2009). Any further questions?
    – Mark Johnson
    Jul 24, 2022 at 17:59
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    The Swiss government is quite clear that Irish residents of most nationalities which require a visa are expected to apply at the Austrian Embassy in Dublin, but Bangladeshi (and some other) nationals are expected to apply at the Swiss Embassy in London, or at the TLScontact counter in London, Manchester, or Edinburgh. Ignoring this rule based on your view that you know the Schengen requirements better than the embassies is likely to result in denied applications.
    – mlc
    Jul 24, 2022 at 18:12
  • @ajd That doesn't change the fact that Article 8(3) Visa Code still applies. And kindly read read the visa code propery and you will find that another Embassy will only refuse to accept the application.
    – Mark Johnson
    Jul 24, 2022 at 20:15
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    You have once again completely misunderstood Schengen regulations. What does article 8(3) have to do with the question asked by @ajd? Article 8(5) is somewhat relevant but it is still entirely up to the member states. As a whole, article 8 does not create an enforceable right for applicants to ignore a requirement to apply in another country, no matter how onerous that requirement might be.
    – Relaxed
    Jul 24, 2022 at 22:59

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