A Swiss travel document allows travel by

political refugee The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...

s and foreigners who do not have national

passports A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

and are living in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

with a permit designated B (Right to Stay) or C (

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

). The holder of a

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...

for

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s or passport for foreigners is allowed to return to Switzerland during the period of validity of the document (as long as the residence permit or provisional admission granted before the start of the journey has not expired in the meantime). The refugee travel document does not entitle the holder to visit his State of origin or provenance (art. 8 para. 3 ODV). The period of validity of a refugee travel document and passport for foreigners is five years (art. 9 ODV) for adults, and three years for children who had not reached three years of age when the document was issued.

References

Documents suisses de voyage pour étrangers
Refugee travel documents Law of Switzerland {{Switzerland-stub