Easier to travel on a Swiss passport than American?

Question

A guy told me today that his son has dual US/Swiss citizenship and that he always travels on his Swiss passport because it is much easier to travel on the Swiss passport. Why would this be?

Ideally, I am hoping for someone who actually has a Swiss passport and can speak authoritatively about how they are treated. Getting guesses from people who do not have Swiss passports is not useful. I can guess.

A partial answer is that even though the US and Switzerland have similar visa rights around the world, in those countries where both require a visa, US passport are possibly scrutinized/searched/hassled more than Switzerland.

(I don't consider the linked question to answer my question. That question/answer does absolutely nothing to answer why a Swiss passport would be more convenient than a US passport.)

Answer 1

If your question is why did that particular guys son think that one was better than the other, then that is a question you'll obviously need to ask him.

If your question is why is a Swiss passport better than a US passport, then the answer is "it's not"! Or at least, not always.

Which passport is "better" than another will depend on the exact situation, and thus will depend on things like what country you're attempting to enter, your purpose for entering that country, etc.

Based on the simple criteria of how many countries need a visa to enter, a USA passport is better than a Swiss passport, as per What is the best passport for traveling?. Of course, that means very little unless you're planning to travel to every country on the planet - what matters is the countries that you plan to visit.

If you're travelling to New Zealand, then a US passport is better as you can use the SmartGate passport control, where a Swiss passport holder can not. If you're travelling to an EU country - especially if you want to work there - then the Swiss passport will be better as you can use the faster EU lanes through passport control (although Switzerland is not a part of the EU, many of the rules related to EU movement also apply to Swiss citizens).

And of course, if travelling to the US, then the US passport is best - because entering the US using another passport is illegal for a US citizen.

Answer 2

It completely depends on where you are travelling to.

There is a small number of countries in the world that make life harder for US citizens, for various historic or current reasons, and as Switzerland was mostly neutral the last 500 years, there are not many countries that have a problem with them.

I would pick the passport of the country I arrive in, as it always is the easiest. I understand that it is legal to leave a country with one passport and use another one in the arrival country (assuming you own both passports legally)

Answer 3

Swiss passports have been better for longer. Other countries (Germany, Norway, Sweden, United States) are equally as good right now, but that only is because of the current economic and political power they possess, which has mostly been built up through the United States's military and economic might/assistance to build a strong Europe after WWII, a strong manufacturing sector, and timber/agriculture, especially in the Nordic countries. Ask a political scientist and they'll tell you two things: 1. No one country (ehm, United States) can stay at the top forever, and 2. Statistically speaking, manufacturing will not keep a developed country's economy afloat forever. Especially with the current US president, you'll probably see the value of the US passport weaken slightly over the next 3-4 years.

Switzerland's passport is rock solid. The thing is, Switzerland has three things going for it that will keep it afloat for a long long time: 1. They are everybody's friend that's also not afraid to defend themselves if need be (armed neutrality), 2. They serve as an important global economic and political hub because of this neutrality (think Geneva and the WEF in Davos), and 3. They have a very strong service sector, which for developed countries is the singe best future proof sustainment measure for a developed economy. Switzerland's banking industry doesn't hurt in securing its place in the world, either.

Because of all this, Switzerland's passport will be a reliably useable travel document for years to come that will not cause you to be scrutinized while traveling abroad. Remember trying to travel as an American during the Bush years? It wasn't fun. The jeering that came with someone finding out you were an American has never happened with someone finding out I'm Swiss. I've never heard someone go "You're Swiss?! Hey, you know that guy Blocher?! He's a f*ckig racist, you Swiss pig!" (Which he is, btw, and also kind of a cult figure within mainstream Swiss politics.) I have however gotten that with Trump while traveling over the past 12 months. The worst I've gotten about Switzerland is "You must like chocolate and cheese!" Which I do. But then again, who doesn't?

Especially with Trump in office now, I have a feeling we're about to revisit that, so I'm sure the Swiss passport is something dual Swiss-Americans will be increasingly grateful for.

Answer 4

On top of the other good answers, for those countries where visas are necessary, the fees may be reciprocal, and the United States charges visa applicants top dollar. In this case, it is possible that Switzerland charges Country X's nationals less, and X returns the favor. You can see, for example, that Brasil charges the USA by far its highest visa fee for this reason.

Answer 5

I would say that not just swiss, any european passport (german, swedish, danish etc) are also great passports, when it comes to traveling without any prior visas.

Check this article: http://corpocrat.com/2013/03/27/100-best-passports-in-the-world-for-travel/

I wouldnt worry much about how i am treated in a different country, regardless of what passport i carry. Yes there are little more hassles, more questions or scrutiny, i am happy to go through all the process as long as i do everything legal and nothing wrong.

Agreed, yes it is not a good idea to travel using US passport to high risk countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea etc