Moving from Germany to Switzerland

What changes with your residence

Germany and Switzerland are close in language and different in law. The decisive connecting factor is residence: as soon as you are registered and living in Switzerland, Swiss rules apply to marriage, inheritance, taxes, work and housing, in some areas retroactively. Much of what you had arranged in Germany remains formally valid but works differently. That is why it pays to prepare the move legally rather than tidy up afterwards.

Arriving: permit, health insurance, everyday life

As a German national you are entitled to a residence permit under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. With an employment contract you receive the B permit; without employment you receive it too, provided you have sufficient means and health insurance. Registration with the municipality takes place within 14 days of arrival and before starting work. Within three months you take out compulsory basic health insurance; it applies retroactively from arrival. You convert your driving licence within twelve months and import your vehicle as household effects. After five years, German nationals are usually entitled to the C settlement permit.

Working: the Swiss employment contract

Swiss employment law is more liberal than German law. After a probation period of at most three months, notice periods of one to three months apply depending on years of service; no reasons are required and there is no protection against dismissal comparable to the German Kündigungsschutzgesetz. Only abusive dismissals and dismissals at an inopportune time, for instance during illness, are sanctioned. Holidays, overtime, continued pay during illness and occupational pension provision are regulated by law. Non-compete clauses are permitted but limited in place, time and scope. We review your draft contract before you sign and clarify how your German pension entitlements and the termination of your German employment interact.

Housing: renting or buying

A Swiss lease provides for a deposit of at most three months' rent held in a blocked account, notice periods of at least three months on customary local dates, and the possibility of challenging an excessive initial rent within 30 days. Whoever wants to move out early must propose a reasonable replacement tenant.

For purchases: as long as you still live in Germany, you are subject to the Lex Koller and need a permit for most acquisitions. Once your lawful and actual residence is in Switzerland, you may buy freely as an EU national. The purchase agreement is publicly notarised and ownership passes with the land register entry. Banks usually finance up to 80 percent of the purchase price and require an affordability calculation; pension fund and pillar 3a assets may be withdrawn early for owner-occupied property. We review and negotiate the purchase agreement, clarify easements and mortgage rights and accompany you through to notarisation.

Marriage and family: the property regime moves with you

For married couples the move has a consequence hardly anyone knows: without a marital agreement, the property regime is governed by the law of the state where both spouses live. With the change of residence, Swiss participation in acquired property replaces the German community of accrued gains, retroactively to the day of the marriage. This changes what is divided on divorce or death, for instance regarding inheritances, gifts and increases in value of individual property. From the German perspective, German law may at the same time remain decisive. We recommend an explicit choice of law in a marital agreement, which we notarise in-house. There we also settle what should happen to home ownership, business and surplus. For cohabiting couples: Switzerland offers no statutory protection, everything must be settled by contract.

Children who move with you are subject to the law of their new residence for custody, maintenance and compulsory schooling. Where parents live apart, moving a child across the border requires consent; we clarify this beforehand.

Inheritance: your will works differently

For the estate of a person whose last residence was in Switzerland, Swiss authorities and Swiss law are in principle competent, also from the perspective of the EU Succession Regulation. A will drawn up in Germany remains valid as to form, but its content is interpreted under Swiss law. This affects compulsory shares, which in Switzerland since 2023 amount to half of the statutory share for descendants, the equalisation of gifts and above all the joint will: the Berlin will, widespread in Germany, does not necessarily have the same binding effect in Switzerland.

As a German national you may subject your estate to German law by a choice of law; Switzerland and Germany recognise this choice. Whether that makes sense depends on family, assets and the location of real estate. Often the better solution is a Swiss inheritance contract that binds the spouses and limits the children to their compulsory share. We review your existing dispositions and draw up an arrangement that holds in both countries.

Taxes: two systems, one plan

With deregistration in Germany, your unlimited tax liability there ends; income from German sources such as rent, pensions or permanent establishments remains taxable in Germany. In Switzerland, salary is taxed at source under a B permit, and assessed ordinarily from CHF 120,000 gross salary or on request. Wealth is taxed at cantonal level, and capital gains on private assets are tax-free.

For inheritance tax, Germany remains competent for up to five years after departure, longer if you keep a home in Germany; German real estate is always taxed in Germany. In St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Zurich, spouses and descendants are exempt from inheritance and gift tax. Whoever holds substantial shareholdings in corporations must also plan for German exit taxation. We advise on Swiss law and coordinate the planning with your German tax adviser.

Advance care directive and living will

A German power of attorney for care remains valid in principle, but is little known in Switzerland and leads to queries in practice. The Swiss advance care directive determines who manages your affairs if you become incapable of judgement; the KESB reviews it and puts it into effect. Without one, the KESB orders a guardianship, because a spouse's statutory right of representation only covers everyday matters. We notarise the advance care directive and living will in-house and align them with your will or inheritance contract.

Business: incorporate, relocate, branch

Whoever brings their business has three routes: incorporating a Swiss GmbH or AG and transferring the operations, opening a branch of the German company, or a cross-border transfer of seat, which is possible but laborious. Incorporation requires public notarisation and at least one person with signing authority resident in Switzerland; after the move you meet this requirement yourself. In Germany, the permanent establishment, exit taxation and the winding up of the previous company need to be clarified. We incorporate and notarise in-house, draft articles and shareholders' agreements and work with your tax advisers on both sides of the border.

How we proceed

In the initial consultation, by video if you are still in Germany, we map your situation: what continues to apply, what needs to be re-arranged, in what order, and what it costs. You then receive drafts of the marital agreement, inheritance contract or advance care directive, which we discuss and notarise in-house. For employment, lease or purchase agreements we review the text before you sign.