Swiss Authorities Refuse Entry to Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Due to Expired Schengen Visa
Chinese dissident artist and activist Ai Weiwei was denied entry to Switzerland earlier this week at Zurich Airport due to an expired Schengen visa. Speaking to Hyperallergic, Ai explained that he is a permanent resident of Portugal, but his visa renewal was delayed due to Portugal's backlog in processing applications.
To mitigate such delays, the Portuguese government extended the validity of residency documents and visas for immigrants by one year in June 2024. Despite this policy, Swiss border police refused to accept Ai’s expired visa and denied him entry.
Ai shared that his lawyer confirmed with Portuguese authorities that the extension was valid, but Swiss officials argued that their visa regulations were stricter. “This is Switzerland, not Portugal,” Ai said the border patrol told him before confiscating his passport.
He only got his passport back when boarding a flight back to the UK. Ai expressed his surprise, stating he had visited Switzerland over 20 times without any issues. The purpose of his trip was to meet a friend, and he emphasized that he was able to enter Germany with the same Portuguese residency documents without any problems. Swiss authorities have yet to comment on the incident.
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