Switzerland offers no golden visa, yet for over a century it has welcomed wealthy foreigners through something more elegant: the forfait fiscal, a lump sum tax agreed with a canton in exchange for residence among the best run scenery on earth. The regime still operates in 21 of the 26 cantons, and the craft lies in the negotiation. Here is how it truly works.
The minimum deemed expenditure base for lump sum taxation nationwide.
Vaud, Valais, Ticino, the Grisons, Lucerne and Schwyz lead the list.
The classic multiplier that sets the taxable expenditure base.
Switzerland is what stability looks like when it compounds for seven centuries: the strongest currency in the world, cities that top every liveability index, healthcare and schooling without rival, and trains that apologise for thirty seconds. For families of means it adds discretion, safety and a location an hour from Milan, Munich and Lyon.
Ordinary Swiss taxation is moderate by European standards and famously canton by canton; the lump sum regime replaces it entirely for qualifying foreigners, taxing living expenditure rather than income. Life costs what Switzerland costs, which is a great deal, and returns what Switzerland returns, which is more. International schools cluster around Geneva, Lausanne, Zug and Zurich.
The forfait suits families with substantial foreign income who will not work inside Switzerland: principals living on dividends, gains and royalties, retirees of means, and those consolidating after a sale. EU nationals find the door wider; non EU applicants need a canton willing to sponsor the permit alongside the tax agreement, which is precisely where experienced counsel earns its keep.
Our specialists pair you with the Swiss tax counsel who negotiate lump sum rulings weekly, then manage the permit, the property and the move as one engagement.
Under the forfait fiscal you are taxed not on worldwide income but on your Swiss living expenditure, agreed in advance with the cantonal tax authority. The agreement supports a residence permit: B permit renewably at first, C settlement in time. The regime operates in 21 of the 26 cantons, with Vaud, Valais, Ticino, the Grisons, Lucerne and Schwyz the traditional homes of lump sum residents. You may not take Swiss employment; your life, not your labour, is the basis of the deal.
The regime is open to foreign nationals taking Swiss residence for the first time or returning after ten years away, who will not work in Switzerland. EU and EFTA citizens claim residence rights directly and add the tax agreement; non EU nationals apply at cantonal and federal discretion where the canton weighs fiscal interest, so the strength of the tax proposal effectively carries the permit. Good character and health insurance complete the picture.
The sequence runs: choose the canton and commune; model the expenditure base with Swiss tax counsel; negotiate and sign the ruling with the cantonal authority; secure the home; then file the permit application that the ruling underwrites. Months, not years, for well advised files. The negotiation is genuine: identical families can pay meaningfully different forfaits two valleys apart.
The taxable base is at least seven times your annual housing cost and no lower than the federal floor, 435,000 francs of deemed expenditure at current rates, with cantons free to set higher minimums. In practice actual tax is agreed with the canton and varies widely; budgets commonly run well into six figures around Lake Geneva. Zurich abolished the regime locally; its neighbours quietly welcome the refugees.
Canton selection is the whole game: the same life can be taxed twice as heavily on the wrong side of a lake. Rent first where possible, because the housing figure drives the base. Keep worldwide income structures clean, since treaty benefits vary for forfait holders. And negotiate once, properly: authorities remember. We pair clients with the Swiss tax counsel who negotiate these rulings weekly.
The canton decides the tax, and the address decides the canton. From Lake Geneva vineyards to Alpine villages, we match the life you want to the ruling you can strike.
The classic forfait country: lakeside towns, elite schools and the deepest community of international families, at the premium end of the tax range.
Assess MeZurich itself abolished the regime, but Schwyz, Lucerne and Zug sit minutes away and welcome its refugees warmly.
Am I Eligible?Valais and the Grisons pair Verbier and St Moritz living with some of the most accommodating forfait arithmetic in the country.
Contact UsIdentical families can pay meaningfully different forfaits a few kilometres apart. Canton selection and a properly negotiated ruling are worth more than any brochure will tell you.
Passports, birth and marriage certificates for the household, with certified translations into the language of the chosen canton where required.
A clear statement of worldwide assets and income sources, prepared for the tax negotiation rather than disclosure for its own sake: the canton prices the expenditure, not the portfolio.
The lease or purchase agreement whose annual value anchors the seven times calculation, chosen with the arithmetic in mind before signatures.
The negotiated agreement with the cantonal tax authority, signed before the permit application it underwrites.
Clean record certificates from recent countries of residence and Swiss compliant health insurance for every family member.
Prefer a conversation before anything formal? Our consultants answer Switzerland questions with complete candour, from realistic forfait ranges to the non EU quota path.
Nearly three decades guiding successful emigrations worldwide.
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No. Switzerland grants residence alongside a negotiated tax agreement, the forfait fiscal. There is no qualifying investment; the agreed annual tax is the substance.
The base is at least seven times your annual housing cost and no lower than the current federal floor of 435,000 francs of deemed expenditure. Actual tax is agreed with the canton and varies widely, commonly well into six figures a year in accommodating cantons to 400,000 francs and more around Lake Geneva.
No gainful employment inside Switzerland is permitted under the regime. Managing your own worldwide investments remains fine, which is exactly whom the regime is designed for.
21 of the 26 cantons, with Vaud, Valais, Ticino, the Grisons, Lucerne and Schwyz the traditional choices. Zurich and a handful of others abolished it locally.
Yes, at cantonal and federal discretion, where the canton weighs its fiscal interest. A strong tax proposal effectively carries the permit, which makes the negotiation decisive.
Yes. The B permit renews annually and matures into C settlement, typically after ten years, five for some nationalities. Citizenship remains possible after long residence under ordinary Swiss rules.
Spouses and minor children share the arrangement and the permits, living, studying and thriving in Switzerland alongside the principal.
It has survived referenda at federal level and remains embedded in cantonal finances. Individual cantons can abolish it locally, which is one more reason canton selection is done carefully.
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Tell us about your income sources and preferred region, and our specialists will indicate the realistic forfait range canton by canton and the timeline to your permit.