Offices
+36 70 421 32 63

Updated

CH-BUS

Residency through business

Residency in Switzerlandthrough business

A residence permit for an entrepreneur who opens or buys a company in Switzerland: what decides it is not the amount but the economic interest of the canton.

Get a preliminary assessmentAssess the project
  • The conditions under the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act
  • Working since 2004
  • We agree the project with the cantonal economics department
A Swiss residence permit for an entrepreneur
from CHF 1,000,000The practical scale of investment
A B permitThe type of status
4-8 monthsTo the status

01 / About the program

How residency through business works

Switzerland issues a B permit to an entrepreneur whose company brings the canton a benefit: it creates jobs for local people, pays taxes and works in a sector the canton needs. The law names no fixed amount of investment — the decision is taken by the cantonal economics department and then approved by the federal authorities within the annual quota.

01

The economic interest decides

The canton looks at the jobs, the tax yield and the sector. A company set up only for the sake of a status will not get a permit.

02

There is no fixed threshold

In practice projects start from CHF 1,000,000 of investment with a hiring plan. The exact amount depends on the canton and the sector.

03

Quotas apply

For citizens of countries outside the EU and EFTA the number of permits is limited by a federal quota and shared out between the cantons.

04

The status gives the right to work

Unlike the lump-sum tax, here you run your own company in the country — an active status, not a passive one.

02 / What you get

What a B permit through business gives you

The right to work in your own company

You run the business in Switzerland officially and draw a salary and dividends.

Life in the country with the family

A spouse and minor children receive the status together with you, and the spouse has the right to work.

Schengen without a visa

Travel around the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in every 180.

A Swiss jurisdiction

A company in Switzerland means access to local banks, the reputation of the jurisdiction and a stable legal environment.

Moderate corporate taxes

The rates depend on the canton and in a number of them are lower than in the neighbouring countries. We do the calculation with a tax adviser before registration.

A path to permanent status

After ten years of residence the C permit opens up, with naturalisation possible after that.

A preliminary assessment

Assess the chances of your project

Set out who is moving with you. At the review we assess the project against the cantons’ requirements and show the budget, the timeline by stage and a plan of action.

Who is moving?

Get the assessment

about a minuteno calls and no obligationsconfidential

  • An assessment of the project against the cantons’ requirements
  • The budget with the registration and the fees
  • A plan of action: where to start
A Swiss residence permit and corporate documents

03 / Why people apply

Why people arrange residency through business

This path is chosen by entrepreneurs who need not just a registration but a working company in Switzerland: manufacturing, trade, services, asset management.

The business and the status at once

The company solves a commercial task, and the permit follows from its usefulness to the canton.

The right to work

The lump-sum tax forbids activity in the country; this status allows it. For an active entrepreneur the difference is fundamental.

Access to banks

A Swiss company with local management opens accounts and credit lines that are out of reach for non-residents.

The family in Switzerland

Schools, medicine, safety — and the spouse keeps the right to work.

The reputation of the jurisdiction

A Swiss legal entity strengthens your position in negotiations and in work with international partners.

A long horizon

After ten years the C permit, and after that naturalisation is possible for the whole family.

04 / Travel

What the permit gives you for travel

A B permit gives the right to live and work in Switzerland and to travel around the Schengen area, but it is not citizenship.

Mode 01

Switzerland without limits

Residence and work in the canton that issued the permit. A change of canton is agreed separately.

Mode 02

Schengen, 90 days in 180

Travel around the Schengen area without a visa. The status does not give the right to work in other countries.

Mode 03

The status rests on the company

The permit is renewed while the business works and meets the hiring commitments it stated.

Mode 04

The rest of the world on your own passport

You travel to third countries on your passport of citizenship: that is what sets the visa regime.

Sources: the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) and the ordinance on admission, residence and employment. For citizens of countries outside the EU and EFTA annual quotas apply, shared out between the cantons.

05 / The composition of the application

Who gets the status with you

The permit extends to the entrepreneur’s immediate family. Open a row to see the conditions.

  • Experience in the sector and confirmed qualifications
  • The project is recognised as useful for the canton’s economy
  • Personally running the company and living in the canton
  • A confirmed lawful source of funds
  • In a registered marriage
  • Has the right to work in Switzerland
  • The children of the applicant or the spouse
  • They study in Swiss or international schools
  • They do not come into the application
  • Separate grounds are found for them
  • We go through it individually

06 / Cost

What residency through business costs

There is no fixed threshold: the budget is set by the project and by the canton’s requirements. The number of people in the application does not change the amount.

Your own company · creating a business

1,000,000 CHF

≈ $1,240,000

Holding period The whole time the status is in force

  • Registering a Swiss company with paid-up capital
  • A business plan with a plan for hiring local staff and a tax yield
  • The cantonal economics department assesses the benefit of the project
  • The permit is approved within the federal quota
  • The applicant personally runs the company and lives in the canton

Buying an operating company · a ready business

1,500,000 CHF

≈ $1,860,000

Holding period The whole time the status is in force

  • An enterprise with a history, staff and turnover is acquired
  • Keeping the existing jobs strengthens the applicant’s position
  • The seller’s reporting, liabilities and contracts are checked
  • The applicant joins the management of the company rather than remaining a passive owner

Scenario

The main applicant
1
Spouse
0
Minor children
0
Parents and adult children
0

The law sets no fixed threshold: the amounts are given as practical guides for projects the cantons recognise as useful. On top of the investment come registering the company, the permit fees, insurance and support. The requirements and quotas differ from canton to canton — the conditions are checked as at the date of the enquiry. This is a preliminary calculation, not a decision of a state authority.

07 / Comparison

Switzerland against other programmes for business

An entrepreneur has several European paths. Here are the main parameters side by side.

SwitzerlandItalyHungaryMontenegroUS E-2
Investment thresholdfrom CHF 1mfrom €250,000from €250,000from €10,000from $100,000
The right to workYesYesYesYesYes
Residence requirementYesNoNoYesYes
QuotasYesNoNoNoNo
Processing time4-8 months3-4 months4-6 months1-2 months2-4 months

The amounts are given as practical guides. The data are as at the date this page was updated and are checked again before the agreement is signed.

Full program comparison →

10 / How it works

How the process for residency through business works

STEP 1

Assessing the project

We go through the sector, the applicant’s experience, the scale of investment and the hiring plan. Projects of no benefit to the canton are cut off before any costs.

STEP 2

Choosing the canton

The requirements, the quotas and the attitude to foreign entrepreneurs differ. We choose the canton to fit the sector and the budget.

STEP 3

Preliminary agreement

The project is presented to the cantonal economics department. Their positive assessment is the key to the whole application.

STEP 4

Registering the company

Incorporating the legal entity, paying in the capital, opening the account and renting premises.

STEP 5

The application for the permit

It is filed with the cantonal migration office and then approved by the federal authority within the quota.

STEP 6

The family moves

Once the permit is issued we arrange the statuses of the spouse and children, the insurance, the schools and the registration of residence.

STEP 7

Renewals

The permit is renewed where the stated commitments are met: the jobs, the turnover, the taxes. After ten years, the C permit.

A step-by-step plan of the process

The same seven steps as a document: what is prepared at each stage, how the project is assessed and what is confirmed on renewal.

Download the step-by-step plan

11 / Our role

Why people arrange Swiss residency with us

Here the decision is taken by the canton, not by a form. What wins is a project that explains why this particular canton needs it.

01

We build the project for the canton

The sector, the jobs, the tax yield, the location. We build the case for a specific department, not a universal business plan.

02

We check the quotas

The number of permits is limited and shared out between the cantons. We take that into account in the choice and in the timeline.

03

We run the company, not only the visa

Registration, the account, the accounting, the hiring, the reporting — without a working company the status will not be renewed.

04

We calculate the taxes in advance

Corporate rates and personal tax differ between cantons by a factor of several. We do the calculation before the place is chosen.

12 / Team

Who runs the Swiss residency process

The application is run by a permanent team: the programme lawyer, a tax specialist and a family coordinator.

Andres FerreiraAndres FerreiraHead of Investment AdvisoryThe strategy and defending the project before the cantonDmitry NagyDmitry NagyInternational Tax ConsultantThe taxes of the company and the ownerMartina VeberMartina VeberHead of Case ProcessingThe documents and the migration sideSofia MendesSofia MendesInvestment Migration ExpertCoordinating the family and contact at every stage

15 / Materials

Useful materials on Switzerland

Materials on residency through business: the cantons’ requirements, the assessment of a project and the order of the process.

The main materialPresentation

A Swiss residence permit through business

The presentation gathers the essentials: how a project is assessed, the cantons’ requirements, the quotas, the family composition and how the work is done.

Inside:

  • what the canton treats as economic interest
  • what scale of investment is needed in practice
  • how the quotas for non-EU countries work
  • which family members receive the status
  • which documents will be needed
  • what is confirmed on renewal
  • how work with BRIDGES is organised

PDF · free · current as of August 2026

The sector, the jobs, the taxes, the location — what the cantonal department assesses.

The list by project, company and family, marking what has to be translated and certified.

We calculate the budget and assess the chances across several cantons.

All the materials are updated regularly by our team and are used when supporting BRIDGES clients.

16 / News

What has changed in the rules

2025-01-01

The Federal Council confirmed the annual quotas for permits for citizens of countries outside the EU and EFTA, shared out between the cantons.

2026-01-01

The cantons clarified the criteria of economic interest: the weight of jobs and tax yield in assessing projects was increased.

Worth having

Review the requirements for a Swiss business project

The short document we give clients before the start: the cantons’ requirements, the scale of investment, the stages and the timelines — in one list, with nothing padded.

Inside the document

  • What the canton treats as economic interest
  • The scale of investment and the hiring requirements
  • The current conditions for 2026

We will send it after a short form - no call or obligation.

17 / Questions

Answers to common questions

The law sets no fixed amount. In practice the cantons consider projects from CHF 1,000,000 of investment when buying or creating a company with a hiring plan. What decides it is not the amount in itself but the benefit of the project to the canton.

Jobs for local people, a tax yield, work in a sector the canton is developing and investment in fixed assets. A company set up only for the sake of a permit does not meet that criterion.

For citizens of countries outside the EU and EFTA the number of permits is limited by a federal quota shared out between the cantons for the year. It affects both the chances and the timeline: by the end of the year there may be no places left.

Yes, you run your own company in Switzerland and receive income officially. That is what distinguishes the status from the lump-sum tax, under which work in the country is forbidden.

Yes. The permit is issued for residence in a particular canton, and the company requires personal management. A formal presence will lead to a refusal on renewal.

A spouse and minor children. The spouse has the right to work in Switzerland. Parents and adult children do not come into the application — separate grounds are found for them.

4-8 months: most of the time goes on agreeing the project with the cantonal department and on approval of the permit within the quota.

Whether the company works, whether the hiring commitments have been met, whether the taxes are paid and whether you live in the canton. The permit rests on the real activity of the business.

After ten years of residence the right to the permanent C permit opens up, and naturalisation is possible after twelve years, taking into account cantonal and communal requirements, language and integration among them.

The lump-sum tax is for those who do not work in the country and pay a fixed amount based on their expenditure. This status is for an active entrepreneur: you run a business, hire people and pay ordinary taxes. The regimes have different purposes and the choice should follow what you intend to do.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Tell us what outcome your family needs

We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.

Get a preliminary assessmentBook a consultation

Or message us on WhatsApp or Telegram

Anna Kovalevskaya, lead lawyer at BRIDGES GLOBAL
Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer, citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice