Summary

The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) conducted a follow-up audit of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on the implementation of key recommendations in a previous audit dating from 20224. This earlier audit contained eight recommendations relating to the digitalisation strategy, the organisation of the consular network, services for Swiss citizens abroad and staffing. The FDFA accepted all the recommendations. As part of this latest audit, all the recommendations were followed up. Seven have been implemented. The only recommendation that is still pending relates to the development and use of the online portal. At present, this tool is used for a limited number of operations (arrival, departure, change of address). Real progress will only be possible once the DigiHub project is put into effect. This new application is aimed at digitalising a wide range of processes linked to consular services. Access to services should be simplified and improved for Swiss citizens abroad. A modern, user-friendly and high-performance portal should be available from 2027.