Services
The work covers five areas. Each section below lists what is included. Most cases touch more than one area, so describe yours even if it does not match one of them exactly.
Check your case
Pick what fits. You see which services apply, who is involved and which documents your case needs.
What are you planning?
Your role
Your citizenshipCitizenship of the person you want to bring
Where are you now?Is the company already in Switzerland?
Services that apply
Who is involved
Migration authorities, commune, cantonal licensing, landlord, cantonal tax office, Federal Tax Administration (VAT)
Commune, cantonal licensing, landlord, cantonal tax office, Federal Tax Administration (VAT)
Migration authorities, residents' office, cantonal tax office
Residents' office, cantonal tax office
Cantonal tax office, Federal Tax Administration (VAT) and your fiduciary
Commune, cantonal licensing, commercial register, landlord, cantonal tax offices
Tax authorities in both countries, commercial register, bank, commune and cantonal licensing
Note
This is the classic case: permit, premises and licences in the right order, with someone on the ground while you are still abroad. The formation itself, a registered address and a Swiss-resident director, if required, come from partners.
Permit, premises and licences are handled in the right order by one contact. The formation itself and a registered address come from partners.
Premises and licences are handled in the right order by one contact. The formation itself and a registered address come from partners.
Many EU and EFTA citizens with a Swiss job handle the permit themselves: you register with your commune within 14 days of arrival. If anything gets complicated, the first conversation is free.
As a Swiss citizen you need no permit. When you move between cantons, the new commune, the local tax authorities and your insurers need to be informed. The effort is usually small.
A move is possible but demanding, because quotas and requirements for third-country nationals are strict. It runs with specialist partners and the first conversation shows whether your case is realistic.
Bookkeeping and routine tax filings can stay with your fiduciary. The added value lies in analysing margins and scenarios and in planning the year-end before the books close.
A new location inside Switzerland means a new lease and new licences, often a branch entry in the commercial register and, in another canton, taxes split between the cantons. Before all of that comes the question whether it pays off.
Moving an existing business here touches both countries. It raises the tax side of leaving and arriving and the question whether the company itself relocates or a Swiss entity is set up. A Swiss business bank account comes early, because onboarding usually takes longer for companies from abroad. The filings, a registered address and the account opening itself run through partners.
The company applies for the permits of the people it brings. A branch or subsidiary also needs a commercial register entry and a signatory who lives in Switzerland.
Holding shares in a Swiss company needs no permit. A permit only becomes relevant once you move here or start working in the business.
Documents your case needs
Prepared hereFrom you
- Passport or ID card
- Registration with your commune, due within 14 days of arrival
- Check of your current permit status
- Business plan with financing
- Proof of funds for the start
- CV and diplomas
- Employment contract
- Employment contracts in line with local pay
- Proof of the candidate search in Switzerland and the EU
- Permit application to the canton
- Permit approval before entry
- Review of the share purchase agreement
- Proof of sufficient means to live here
- Commercial register entry
- Signatory who lives in Switzerland, for a GmbH or AG
- AHV registration as self-employed
- Lease review before signing
- Operating licence applications
- Lease or proof of address for your home
- Registration with the commune within 14 days of arrival
- Health insurance within three months of arrival
- Annual accounts and last tax assessment
- Year-end review and tax return
- VAT statements checked before filing
- Tax return for the year of arrival
- Tax at source check, tax return where required
- Tax return, or tax at source if your company pays you a salary
- Tax position clarified before the move
As a rule, employees without a C permit are taxed at source. A tax return is only required from CHF 120,000 gross income a year, with other income or assets, or on request.
Sole proprietors file a tax return. As a rule, founders who draw a salary from their own GmbH or AG are taxed at source until they hold a C permit. A tax return then follows from CHF 120,000 gross salary a year, with other income or assets, or on request.
Typical documents. The exact list depends on the canton and your case.
People
Residence and work permits
For: employers hiring from abroad and for individuals, families and founders moving to Switzerland.
- Case assessment and permit strategy
- The complete application dossier
- All correspondence with the migration authorities at federal, cantonal and municipal level
- Registration with the commune and for mandatory social security (AHV) after arrival
EU and EFTA cases are handled directly. Third-country cases run with specialist partners and you keep a single point of contact.
Place
Business set-up
For: entrepreneurs who open or take over a business, in Switzerland or from abroad.
- Operating licences and all cantonal and communal requirements, for example hospitality licences, food safety and fire safety
- Commercial lease review and negotiation
- Meetings with landlords and authorities on your behalf while you are still abroad
The formation itself is arranged through partners. The same applies to a registered address or a Swiss-resident director where one is required.
Paper
Contract review and negotiation support
For: anyone who has to sign or renegotiate a commercial contract.
- Written negotiation positions based on federal and cantonal law
- Support during the negotiation itself
Where a formal legal opinion is needed, an admitted lawyer is brought in and coordinated. Court representation is not part of this service.
Taxes
Tax compliance and advisory
For: companies and individuals, including newcomers with a first Swiss tax return.
- Tax returns for companies and individuals
- Subsequent ordinary assessment (NOV) for people taxed at source
- Review of tax invoices and assessments
- Correspondence with the tax authorities
International and restructuring cases run with specialists.
Numbers
Business analysis
For: SMEs and self-employed people with bookkeeping in place.
- Margin and cost analyses
- Plan calculations and scenarios based on your existing accounts
Accounting advisory
Swiss taxes are assessed on the annual accounts. Most of what changes the tax bill is therefore decided before the books close.
- A year-end review of depreciation, provisions and value adjustments within what the tax authorities accept
- Advice on owner questions such as salary or dividend, pension buy-ins, pillar 3a and private use of company assets
- Accounting set-up for new companies, including the chart of accounts and the VAT method
- A plausibility check of the annual accounts before they go to the tax office
- A tax estimate during the year, so that provisions and advance payments match the expected tax bill
The bookkeeping itself stays with your fiduciary.
Who does what
Some steps legally require a partner, such as a notary for a company formation or a lawyer in court. The table shows which steps are handled here and which go to partners.
Part of your plan
Advised and handled here
Carried out by partners
People
Residence and work permits, application dossiers, registrations
Lawyers for appeals and difficult third-country cases, insurance and pension specialists
Place
Premises, licences and lease review
Usually no partner needed
Paper
Contract review and negotiation support, advice on legal form and formation steps
Company formation with a notary, registered address, Swiss-resident director if required, business bank account, lawyers for disputes and court
Taxes
Tax returns and compliance for companies and individuals
Tax specialists for international and complex structures
Numbers
Business analysis and accounting advisory ahead of year-end
Fiduciaries for bookkeeping and payroll, financing specialists, marketing specialists when the plan depends on reaching customers
The specialist is chosen for your case and receives everything already known about it. You get one invoice for the coordinated work. Lawyers and notaries need their own mandate under their professional rules. Where that applies, it is agreed with you upfront.
Growth consulting and help with raising capital are available on request. The scope is agreed case by case.
Not sure which service fits?
Describe your situation. The first conversation clarifies which one applies. You receive a response within one working day.
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