Switzerland is a rich and safe country, but it is never easy for foreigners to settle in Switzerland, except for the super-rich. There is a little-known provision of Swiss law that opens up a green channel for wealthy foreigners to move to Switzerland.
Article 30 of the Swiss Federal Law on Foreigners explicitly allows foreigners from outside Europe to settle in Switzerland, provided they are rich enough.
It is not easy for ordinary people to immigrate to Switzerland
It is not easy for ordinary people from outside Europe to go through the formal process of coming to Switzerland to work and live. With their high-tech skills, they can obtain a residence permit in Switzerland, and even for high-tech talent, not many people are granted residence permits, as the government has limited the amount of foreigners entering Switzerland since the 2014 referendum passed a motion against mass immigration.
However, exceptions can be made for the wealthy. According to Article 30 of the law, people who can bring significant financial benefits to the cantonal government can easily be granted special permission by the canton. This means that it is possible to buy a residence permit in Switzerland if one has the financial means to do so.
According to the Daily Herald (Tagesanzeiger), there are currently 352 such privileged immigrants in Switzerland, the largest number of Russians (86), followed by Chinese (29), followed by Saudi Arabians (18), Americans (14) and Brazilians (13) respectively …… about The identity of these specially approved immigrants is a state secret and many states, when asked, refuse to answer questions about personal information, citing tax privacy and data protection reasons.
Chinese tycoons find Switzerland
Around 40-50 people move to Switzerland in this way every year, most of them in the canton of Geneva, followed by Ticino, then Vaud, Zug and Berne. A new trend has emerged in recent years, with more and more wealthy Chinese discovering this “shortcut” to Switzerland. In the past four years, 34 Chinese nationals have come to Switzerland in this way.
In contrast, the number of such immigrants from Russia has been decreasing, with the largest number coming from Russia every year until 2017, but very few since 2018.
Other countries are less expensive than Switzerland
In fact, Switzerland is not a very well-known country in this field, or even very attractive, because in order to get such a residency status, foreign tycoons must live here for at least six months a year; and the price point for residency in Switzerland is higher compared to other countries.
Most of these special grants require a so-called “lump-sum tax payment” agreement and, for those from the European Union, an annual income (gross) of 400,000 Swiss francs (about 3 million yuan) or more. For those from the EU, the annual income (gross) must be at least 400,000 Swiss francs (about 3 million yuan), while for immigrants from outside Europe, the requirements vary from canton to canton, for example, the canton of Fribourg requires a minimum annual income of 500,000 Swiss francs, Geneva 750,000 Swiss francs, and both Vaud and Zug 1 million Swiss francs.
Based on these annual incomes, these wealthy foreigners would have to pay a minimum of a low six-digit amount of tax each year at their place of residence in Switzerland. This figure is not really high, as there are many billionaires among the rich foreigners who come to settle here.
However, this figure is “large” when compared to immigration to other countries, such as Portugal, Cyprus and Malta, all of which are known to be low-cost immigration countries.
Nevertheless, Geneva lawyer Kenel, who is not surprised by the growing trend of wealthy Chinese choosing to move to Switzerland, said in an interview with the Daily Herald: “Because these Chinese want their children to go to school in Switzerland, they also value the good medical coverage, especially in times of the new crown Epidemic. “
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