Sitting at the heart of the European continent but outside of the European Union, sending a letter to Switzerland isn’t quite as straightforward as you might think.
Whether you’re sending business mail, marketing information or simply sending a letter to a friend or family member, you need to follow the right process in order to ensure successful delivery of your letter or parcel. Let’s take a look at what you need to do.
How much does it cost to send a letter to Switzerland?
The current cost to the public to send letters to Switzerland through Swiss Post (as of 5th August 2020), for a simple letter up to 2cm thick, should cost around 1.50 CHF (Swiss Francs).
This will increase depending on the increasing size and weight of your consignment:
- The cost of sending small consignments, where L+W+H is no more than 90cm, will start from around 9 CHF
- Parcels up to 100 x 60 x 60cm will start from around 34.00 CHF
- While bulkier goods will start from 49 CHF.
However, companies looking to send mail in bulk to Switzerland should contact Asendia to find out more about how we can optimise the process to deliver the best ROI.
Complete a customs declaration form
When sending letters or parcels (up to the value of £270) to Switzerland you need to complete a CN22 customs declaration form. This document declares the contents and nature of your consignment to the Swiss customs authorities.
Below is an example of a completed CN22 form:
For consignments over £270, a customs declaration CN23 form must be completed instead.
Regardless of the further developments with Brexit, the requirements for CN22/23 forms when sending letters and goods to Switzerland is likely to remain.
Use the correct address format
One of the most common mistakes people make when sending letters to Switzerland is not correctly writing out the address. Taking the time to get this right is low effort, but will ensure the entire mailing process runs smoothly.
Before we look at some examples, there are six important points to remember for writing out Swiss addresses:
- Write the address across at least three lines, but no more than six.
- Write the address lengthways across the letter.
- Ensure you write the official street name in full, with the correct house number.
- Put the P.O. box details on the penultimate line.
- Use the correct post code and the full name of the town.
- Do not underline the postcode or town.
Here are some address format examples, depending on where you’re sending the letter:
Private address
Mr
Peter Meier
Oetenbachgasse 10
8001 Zurich
Business address
Swiss Electronics Ltd.
Mr Hans Keller
Wildbachstrasse 101
8008 Zurich
P.O. Box address
Muller Logistics Ltd.
P.O. Box
3000 Berne 6
To find out more about sending letters or parcels to Switzerland, and how much you can expect to pay, why not get in touch with our team below? We have many years of experience in sending consignments to Switzerland and throughout Europe.
