Switzerland gun laws: what is allowed and who can buy

Which laws govern firearms in Switzerland?

Swiss firearms law sits in the federal Weapons Act of 20 June 1997 (WG/LArm, SR 514.54) and the implementing Weapons Ordinance (WV, SR 514.541). The cantons execute the regime: each cantonal weapons bureau issues acquisition permits, exceptional authorisations and carrying permits, while the Central Weapons Office at fedpol handles cross-border movements and verifies foreign attestations.

The framework was last reshaped by Schengen membership. To stay in the Schengen area, Switzerland had to adopt the 2017 EU Firearms Directive, and gun associations forced a referendum. On 19 May 2019, 63.7% of voters approved the alignment. The practical effect: semi-automatic centrefire weapons fitted with high-capacity magazines moved from the permit category into the prohibited category, acquirable only with a cantonal exceptional authorisation. Former army rifles taken over directly from military stocks were exempted, which preserved the militia tradition described below.

Can a foreigner buy a gun in Switzerland?

Yes, a foreigner can buy a gun in Switzerland if resident here, and the rules tighten in three steps depending on status. Holders of a C settlement permit acquire weapons on the same conditions as Swiss citizens, including the permit-free categories. Resident foreigners without a settlement permit (B and L permit holders) need a weapons acquisition permit for every weapon, even those that are permit-free for citizens (Art. 21 WV), and must attach an official attestation from their home state confirming that they are entitled to acquire the weapon there (Art. 9a para. 1bis WG). How you obtain B or C status in the first place is covered in our Swiss residence permit guide.

One restriction overrides everything else. As of June 2026, Art. 12 of the Weapons Ordinance prohibits the acquisition, possession and carrying of weapons by nationals of eight states: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Algeria and Albania. The ban applies regardless of Swiss residence status. Cantons may grant a time-limited exceptional authorisation under Art. 7 para. 2 WG, typically for participants in hunting or sport-shooting events, but the default is a complete bar.

Non-residents face the strictest route. A person domiciled abroad must present an official attestation from their state of residence that they may acquire the weapon (Art. 9a para. 1 WG), and for prohibited items an exceptional authorisation is only available on the same attestation basis (Art. 9c WV). Taking the purchase home then triggers export formalities, so in practice over-the-counter sales to visitors do not happen. Foreigners who intend to settle usually resolve the residence question first (our relocation and lump-sum taxation practice obtains the permits and tax rulings) because the permit type determines which acquisition rules apply.

Which acquisition route applies to which firearm?

The Weapons Act sorts firearms into four routes: permit-free acquisition, the standard acquisition permit, exceptional authorisation, and an outright ban. The table below maps the categories as of June 2026, with the overlay that applies to foreigners.

The category test is mechanical: a magazine swap can move a rifle from the permit route into the exceptional-authorisation route. Heirs follow a separate path: six months to apply for the acquisition permit or transfer the items to an entitled person (Art. 8 para. 2bis WG).

What does the weapons acquisition permit require?

The Waffenerwerbsschein is refused on four grounds listed in Art. 8 para. 2 WG: the applicant is under 18; is under a general deputyship or represented by an appointed care representative; gives cause to assume they could endanger themselves or third parties; or appears in the private extract of the criminal record for an act showing a violent or dangerous disposition, or for repeated felonies or misdemeanours. There is no shooting test and no licence exam for mere ownership. The check is a records check.

Applications go to the weapons bureau of the canton of residence on the official form, with a copy of a valid passport or identity card (Art. 15 WV). Anyone buying a firearm for purposes other than sport, hunting or collecting must state the reason for acquisition (Art. 8 para. 1bis WG). The permit covers one weapon, is valid across Switzerland for six months and can be extended by three months at most (Art. 9b WG). Ammunition sales run on the same impediment test: the seller checks the buyer against Art. 8 para. 2 and records identity.

As a member of a Zurich shooting club, I have been through the acquisition myself: for a resident with a clean criminal-record extract the Waffenerwerbsschein is essentially a records check that clears within a few weeks, and it is documented club membership, not the application form, that evidences the sport purpose and supports an exceptional authorisation where a semi-automatic falls under Art. 28c. The step I most often see delay a newcomer is the home-state attestation a non-settled foreign resident must attach: without it the cantonal bureau will not open the file.

Does owning a gun allow you to carry it?

No. Ownership and carrying are separate regimes, and the gap between them is the most misunderstood part of Swiss law. Carrying a weapon in publicly accessible places requires a carrying permit (Waffentragbewilligung) under Art. 27 WG. The applicant must show the absence of impediments, make a credible case that they need the weapon to protect themselves, other people or property against a real, specific danger, and pass an examination covering weapon handling and the legal limits of weapon use. The permit is issued for a specific weapon type, for five years at most.

Cantons grant carrying permits sparingly, in practice almost exclusively to people with professional protection duties, such as security staff. A generalised wish for self-defence does not meet the Art. 27 threshold. What remains legal without any carrying permit is transport: taking an unloaded weapon to and from the shooting range, a course, a dealer, an armoury or a new home (Art. 28 WG), with the weapon and ammunition kept separate during the journey.

Why do Swiss soldiers keep army rifles at home?

The militia army explains much of Switzerland's gun density. Soldiers may keep their personal service weapon at home between refresher courses, although storage in an armoury is available and an increasing share choose it. The pocket ammunition once issued for home storage was withdrawn from 2007, so the rifle in the cupboard sits without army-issued cartridges. At the end of service, a soldier may take over the weapon privately; automatic versions are converted to semi-automatic fire only before transfer, and Art. 5 para. 1 lit. b WG exempts exactly these directly transferred ordonnance weapons from the post-2019 prohibition.

What Swiss gun law does not allow

The permissive reputation has hard limits, and several common assumptions fail on the statute.

• Concealed carry for self-defence is practically unavailable. Without a demonstrable specific threat, the Art. 27 carrying permit will be refused; carrying without it is a criminal offence under Art. 33 WG.
• Automatic weapons are banned. Acquisition and possession of fully automatic firearms and launchers are prohibited (Art. 5 para. 1 WG); only collectors, museums or professionals obtain exceptions.
• Silencers, laser sights and night-vision sights are banned accessories (Art. 4 para. 2 and Art. 5 para. 2 WG). Cantonal exceptions under Art. 5 para. 6 exist (some cantons authorise silencers for hunting) but they are individual decisions, not entitlements.
• Tasers and certain knives (daggers with symmetrical blades, butterfly and spring knives) cannot be acquired or transferred (Art. 5 para. 2 WG).
• Shooting outside ranges is prohibited. Firing a weapon at publicly accessible places outside authorised shooting events and ranges is banned (Art. 5 para. 4 WG); hunting and properly secured private grounds are the exceptions.
• There is no constitutional right to bear arms. Every acquisition runs through the statutory tests, and the 2019 alignment showed the categories can tighten by majority vote.

How armed is Switzerland, and how violent?

Switzerland holds roughly 2.3 million civilian firearms — about 27.6 per 100 residents — according to the Small Arms Survey 2017 estimate, one of the highest densities in Europe, though far below the United States at around 120 per 100. Violence has not followed the density. The Federal Statistical Office police crime statistics for 2024 record 45 completed homicides, 0.50 per 100,000 population, of which 10 were committed with a firearm, a firearm-homicide rate of 0.11 per 100,000. The Swiss pattern pairs wide ownership with narrow permission to use: the carry threshold keeps guns at home or at the range. Questions on acquiring firearms after a move sit alongside the other matters in our private client guides and are handled by the firm's private clients practice.