Chinese tycoons have discovered Switzerland, with around 40-50 Chinese moving to the country in this way every year, mostly in the canton of Geneva, followed by Ticino, then Vaud, Zug and Bern. The Swiss media say that 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, and very few since 2018.
According to a recent Swiss news report, more and more wealthy Chinese are buying Swiss residence permits. Chinese tourists abound in Switzerland, but those who come to settle remain rare for now. Switzerland has a little-known legal provision that opens up a green route for wealthy foreigners to move to the country. A new trend has emerged in recent years, with more and more wealthy Chinese discovering this “shortcut” to Switzerland. In the last four years, 34 Chinese nationals have come to Switzerland in this way.
Switzerland is a rich and safe country, but it is not easy for foreigners to settle there, with the exception of the super-rich. Article 30 of the Swiss Federal Law on Foreigners explicitly allows foreigners from outside Europe to settle in Switzerland, provided they are wealthy enough to do so.
It is not easy for ordinary people from outside Europe to go through the formal process of coming to work and live in Switzerland. 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 identities of these specially approved immigrants are state secrets, and many states, when asked, refuse to answer questions about personal information on the grounds of tax privacy and data protection.
According to the report, Switzerland is actually not a very well-known country in this field, or even very glamorous, because to qualify for such residency, wealthy foreigners 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 the signing of a so-called “lump-sum tax payment” agreement, with an annual income (gross) of 400,000 Swiss francs (about 3 million yuan) or more for people from the European Union, while the requirements for migrants from outside Europe vary from canton to canton, with the canton of Fribourg requiring a minimum annual income of 500,000 Swiss francs, Geneva 750,000 Swiss francs, and Switzerland 750,000 Swiss francs. 750,000 Swiss francs in Geneva, and 1 million Swiss francs in both Vaud and Zug. Based on these annual incomes, these wealthy foreigners would have to pay a minimum of a low six-digit amount of tax in 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. But if you compare it to other countries, the figure becomes “large” again, as Portugal, Cyprus and Malta are all well-known as low-cost countries for immigrants.
Despite this, Geneva lawyer Kenel says he is not surprised by the growing trend of wealthy Chinese choosing to move to Switzerland, according to Swiss News, Kenel said in an interview with the Daily Herald: “Because these Chinese want to send their children to school in Switzerland, and they also value the good health care in Switzerland, especially in times of the new Guan (Chinese Communist virus) Epidemic. ) epidemic period.”
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