How to invest in Switzerland as a foreigner

Which investment routes are open to foreigners?

Switzerland offers a foreign investor five principal routes, and each has its own legal gate rather than a single foreign-investment law. There is no general approval requirement and no minimum-investment threshold; what you must clear depends on the asset class, as the table shows.

The sections below take these routes in turn, starting with the one rule that is about to change. Step-by-step instructions for each entry route sit in our company formation guides.

Does Switzerland screen foreign direct investment?

Switzerland adopted its first cross-sector FDI screening regime on 19 December 2025, when Parliament passed the Investment Screening Act (Investitionsprüfgesetz). But the act is not in force as of June 2026. The referendum period ran until April 2026, the Federal Council has yet to issue the implementing ordinance, and entry into force is expected no earlier than 2027. Until then, no general FDI approval exists in Switzerland.

The final text is far narrower than the draft that opened the debate. It applies only to foreign state-controlled investors: state bodies, companies controlled by a foreign state, and entities acting on a state's behalf. Private foreign investors (funds, family offices, corporates without state control) fall outside its scope entirely.

Coverage works in two tiers. Acquisitions of defence and dual-use goods manufacturers, operators of critical electricity and water infrastructure, and providers of central security-relevant IT systems are caught where the target has at least 50 full-time staff or CHF 10 million in turnover. A second tier (university and tertiary-care hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, transport and railway infrastructure, food-distribution centres, telecommunications operators and systemically important financial institutions) applies from CHF 100 million in turnover. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will run the review: a clearance decision within one month in phase one, up to three further months for an in-depth phase two, and only the Federal Council may prohibit a transaction.

Can a foreigner buy real estate in Switzerland?

A foreigner living abroad needs authorisation to buy residential property in Switzerland; commercial property needs none. The rule sits in the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (BewG, SR 211.412.41), universally known as Lex Koller, and it is the restriction most likely to surprise investors used to open property markets.

The commercial exemption is broad and practical. Offices, retail premises, industrial sites, logistics and hotels can be acquired by a non-resident directly, through a foreign entity or through a Swiss subsidiary, without any permit, and they may be held purely as an investment. What does not work is using a Swiss company to buy homes: a company controlled by persons abroad counts as a person abroad itself, so the corporate route does not bypass the residential restriction.

Residential permits are largely confined to holiday homes. The federal quota stands at 1,500 holiday-home authorisations per year as of June 2026, allocated to tourist cantons such as Valais, Graubünden and Bern, with net living space generally capped at 200 m². Buy-to-let residential investment by non-residents is, in practice, not authorised.

How do you buy or build a business in Switzerland?

A foreign investor enters Swiss business ownership either by incorporating a company or by acquiring one, and both paths are open to non-residents without state approval. Incorporation requires CHF 100,000 in share capital for an AG (at least CHF 50,000 paid in) or CHF 20,000 for a GmbH, takes roughly two to three weeks from notarised deed to commercial-register entry, and requires one Swiss-resident signatory under Art. 718 para. 4 CO. Structuring, capital and registration are the core of our Swiss company formation service.

Buying an existing business is usually structured as a share deal. Due diligence should at minimum cover a current commercial-register extract, the latest signed or audited financial statements, tax and social-security clearance certificates, and change-of-control clauses in key contracts and leases. Since 1 January 2025, Art. 684a CO voids the transfer of shares in a company that has no business activity, no realisable assets and is over-indebted, so a cheap dormant company offered online may be legally untransferable. A properly maintained ready-made shelf company (clean, capitalised and audit-documented) remains a lawful way to start operating within days.

Can a non-resident invest in Swiss shares and funds?

A non-resident can hold Swiss shares, bonds and funds without restriction; the practical gate is account onboarding, not securities law. The classic route is a Swiss bank or brokerage relationship (our guide to opening a Swiss bank account covers eligibility and timelines), though most international brokers also give access to SIX-listed securities.

The tax treatment favours private investors. Switzerland levies no income tax on capital gains from privately held movable assets (Art. 16 para. 3 DBG), and a non-resident with no Swiss business presence generally has no Swiss tax liability on such gains at all. Swiss-source dividends and interest are different: they carry 35% anticipatory withholding tax, of which part or all can be reclaimed under one of Switzerland's more than 100 double taxation agreements. Fund investors may buy Swiss collective schemes freely; the duties under the Collective Investment Schemes Act fall on whoever offers a fund in Switzerland, not on the person investing in it.

Why do investors choose Switzerland?

Investors choose Switzerland for stability that can be measured rather than asserted. The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking placed Switzerland first of 69 economies in its June 2025 edition, top in both government efficiency and infrastructure, and the Confederation holds the highest AAA/Aaa grade from all three major credit-rating agencies. The Swiss franc has a long record as a low-inflation currency, the workforce is multilingual and dense in pharmaceuticals, precision engineering, finance and IT, and the treaty network exceeds 100 double taxation agreements. None of this comes cheap. Switzerland is among the most expensive operating environments in Europe, which is why the next section matters.

Restrictions and friction foreign investors underestimate

More foreign investment plans in Switzerland stall on practical friction than on any statute, and most of it is underestimated at the planning stage.

• Lex Koller has no workaround for housing. Residential buy-to-let strategies fail, and structuring through a Swiss company does not help. Plan property exposure around commercial assets.
• The screening act will add time. A state-linked investor planning a critical-sector acquisition for 2027 or later should budget up to four months for the SECO review before closing.
• Notarial pace. Incorporations and capital changes need notarised deeds; foreign corporate documents usually need apostilles and certified translations. Count in weeks, not days.
• Work-permit quotas for your own staff. EU/EFTA citizens move freely, but third-country nationals fall under quotas: 8,500 permits for 2026 (4,500 B residence, 4,000 L short-term), held unchanged by the Federal Council on 19 November 2025. Relocating your own managers from outside the EU is possible, not automatic.
• Banking onboarding. Source-of-funds checks take four to eight weeks, and certain profiles — US persons under FATCA, Russian nationals under measures in force since 2022 — face a narrowed choice of banks.

What taxes will a foreign investor pay?

Tax depends mainly on the canton. Combined effective corporate income tax runs from roughly 12% in Zug to about 21% in the highest-tax cantons as of June 2026; VAT applies at 8.1% (standard rate since 1 January 2024); and groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more fall under the 15% Pillar Two minimum tax in force since 2024. Dividends leaving Switzerland carry the 35% withholding tax, reduced under treaties, while private capital gains on movable assets remain untaxed. Rates, deadlines and planning options are set out in our guide to taxes in Switzerland.