13 questions on immigration to Switzerland

The first step is to obtain a Swiss residence permit in order to stay in the country for more than 90 days.

A Swiss residence permit can be obtained for different purposes:

• living in Switzerland based on income earned in another country;

• working at the invitation of a Swiss company;

• starting a business in Switzerland;

• studying at a Swiss university;

• moving to live with your spouse in Switzerland.

A Swiss residence permit for financially independent persons can be obtained in six months. The main condition is to pay a fixed annual lump-sum tax of ₣450,000, which is approximately €415,000. The amount of tax depends on the region, i.e., the canton in which you plan to live. You can move to any canton in Switzerland, except for the canton of Zurich.

Switzerland does not issue residence permits in exchange for the purchase of real estate; however, a Swiss residence permit holder can buy or rent real estate there.

It is difficult for a foreigner to buy real estate in Switzerland without a residence permit, as permission is required to purchase property. Permits are issued for holiday properties, not for permanent residence, and not in all cantons.

Property buyers can obtain residency in Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary.

The lump-sum tax depends on the region: the amount of the tax is set by the government of the canton where the applicant plans to move. In large cities such as Basel or Montreux, the lump-sum tax will be higher than in small towns such as Albinen or Lance.

The canton of Zurich does not offer residence permits for financially independent persons.

A Swiss residence permit holder is required to live in the canton that issued the residence permit for at least 183 days a year. If this condition is violated, the residence permit may not be extended.

To get around the minimum residence time limit, investors can instead apply for a residence permit by investment in an EU country. Investors are usually not required to reside there permanently in order to maintain a residence permit. At the same time, an EU residence permit allows you to travel visa-free in the Schengen Area and spend up to 90 days in Switzerland in any six-month period.

Residence programs by investment without the obligation to live in the country are available in Greece and Malta. In Portugal and Spain, you need to live in the country for at least one week per annum in order to maintain your residence permit.

The investor’s spouse and children under 18 can be included in the same application. The rest of the family has to submit a separate application.

In some countries in the European Union, more lenient conditions apply. For example, programs for Maltese permanent residence, as well as residence permits in Portugal, Greece and Spain, allow you to include children under the age of 25—28 and the parents of the main applicant in the same application.

A residence permit in Switzerland does not give you the right to work in other countries. Even in Switzerland itself, it is difficult for a foreigner to obtain a work permit if they are not a citizen of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. EU and EFTA citizens are free to work in Switzerland and vice versa.

Citizens of countries outside the European Union and EFTA can only work in Switzerland at the invitation of a Swiss company. Moreover, invitations can be issued only for top managers or highly qualified specialists, as long as citizens of the European Union or EFTA who are qualified for the position have not applied.

A spouse of a Swiss citizen has the right to apply for any job without restrictions. Family members of employees of international organisations and representative offices located in Switzerland are also issued a residence permit with the right to work.

Foreign students cannot work more than 15 hours per week during the academic year. During the holidays, students can work full time but not more than 40 hours a week.

Holders of a Swiss residence permit for financially independent persons and their family members are not allowed to work or conduct business in Switzerland after immigration. They must receive income from outside Switzerland.

Zlata Erlach,

Head of the Austrian office

Children in families with a residence permit for financially independent persons cannot work in Switzerland. 

It is difficult to obtain a work permit under Swiss law. To find a job in the country, a foreigner must enrol at a university, get a student residence permit, get an internship in a Swiss company, get a job, and then apply for a new residence permit card.

To gain an opportunity to work in Switzerland or any EU country, one can obtain Malta citizenship by naturalisation for exceptional services by direct investment.

In order to obtain a Swiss residence permit, you need to visit Switzerland. You can get a short-term D visa to enter the country and travel to a pre-selected city, register with the police department responsible for overseeing foreigners and personally submit the documents required for the application.

At the first stage, the applicant undergoes Due Diligence. They must not have any outstanding criminal records, problems with the police in Europe or violations of the visa policy in the Schengen countries. In addition, they must confirm the legitimacy of the source of their income.

Immigrant Invest conducts a preliminary Due Diligence check before you submit your residence permit application. If during the check we find that there is a realistic risk of the application being rejected, we will show you how to reduce it, or advise you to consider applying for another program.

You can apply for Swiss citizenship after living for ten years in the country. In order to live permanently in Switzerland you need to spend at least 183 days a year there. Living in Switzerland for a year between the ages of 8 and 18 is counted as two years.

To obtain Swiss citizenship, the applicant must demonstrate their integration into Swiss society after immigration, knowledge of the country’s language, history and culture. Citizenship applicants are screened at three levels: federal, cantonal and municipal.

Yes, you can. Usually, to apply for Swiss citizenship, you need to have lived in the country for ten years and have a permanent residence permit. However, in the following two cases, it is possible to shorten the required period of residence in Switzerland to obtain citizenship:

1. In the case of marriage with a Swiss citizen, a citizenship application can be submitted five years after immigration.

2. For children between the ages of 8 and 18, a year of residence counts as two years. However, this condition applies only after the child has lived in Switzerland for at least six years. For example, if the family moved to Switzerland when the child was 12 years old, then, six years later, the child can apply for citizenship.

Citizens of the European Union obtain Swiss citizenship on a general basis: they also need to obtain a residence permit and live in Switzerland for ten years. However, it is easier to obtain a Swiss residence permit for EU citizens than for other foreigners: they receive a residence permit card upon application to the cantonal migration service.

One way of immigrating to Switzerland is by obtaining Maltese citizenship for exceptional services by direct investment, and then getting a Swiss residence permit. This way may be cheaper than getting a Swiss residence permit through the payment of a lump-sum tax.

To get Maltese citizenship for exceptional services, you need to invest at least €690,000 in the country’s economy. Citizenship can be obtained in 1—3 years, depending on the size of the investment, after becoming a Maltese resident.

Switzerland does not have an immigration program for investors. To obtain Swiss citizenship, the applicant must have lived in the country for ten years, have a permanent residence permit and prove that they have integrated into Swiss society in the following ways:

1. Respect public safety and the rule of law.

2. Respect the constitutional values ​​of Switzerland.

3. Fluently speak and write in one of the official languages ​​of Switzerland: German, French, Italian or Romansh.

4. Participate in economic life.

5. Promote the integration of family members: spouse and minor children.

Switzerland attracts wealthy people from all over the world due to its high quality of life. Switzerland was ranked fourth in the world in the UN’s 2020 Global Happiness Report. In order to estimate the level of happiness, the UN’s report uses the following six factors that characterise the economy, the quality of medical services and the quality of life:

1. GDP per person.

2. Social support.

3. Life expectancy.

4. The freedom to make your own life decisions.

5. Participation in charity.

6. Attitude towards corruption.

Switzerland has a strong and stable economy: it has the second-largest GDP per capita and family income after taxes in Europe.

Switzerland has the highest life expectancy of 83.7 years in Europe due to its excellent medical services and ecology, as well as its high-quality products and water.

The overwhelming majority of Swiss residents are satisfied with their lives. According to a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average life satisfaction score in Switzerland is 9.6 out of 10. According to this indicator, Switzerland is among the world’s leaders, together with Finland, Norway and Denmark.

Immigrant Invest is an official representative of the Swiss residence permit program for financially independent persons. We help wealthy people to obtain a residence permit to move to a country with a high standard of living and to travel around Europe visa-free.