Switzerland does not grant a classic golden visa. What actually exists: lump-sum taxation, B permit through significant Swiss interest, entrepreneur permit. A practice overview.
The term Golden Visa is often used misleadingly in Switzerland. Switzerland does not have an investor visa in the sense of a flat capital-for-residence programme like Portugal before 2023 or Malta. What exists are three realistic paths for wealthy third-country nationals — and one of them has become significantly narrower since 2024.
Path 1: Lump-sum taxation (expense-based taxation)
Third-country nationals aged 18 or older who establish residence in Switzerland for the first time or after at least ten years of interruption can be taxed under expense-based taxation. Requirement: no gainful activity in Switzerland. The permit is a B permit obtained through cantonal negotiation.
The cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Valais, Ticino, Zug, Schwyz, Lucerne, Bern and Schaffhausen currently offer lump-sum taxation. Zurich, Basel-City, Basel-Land, Schaffhausen and Appenzell-Outer Rhodes have abolished the model at cantonal level (federal tax remains). The minimum tax varies cantonally between approximately CHF 150,000 and CHF 400,000 per year.
Path 2: Significant public interest — Art. 30 para. 1 lit. b FNIA
This provision permits deviation from the ordinary admission requirements if a 'significant public interest' is demonstrated. This is narrow — typically for scientists, top-tier culture, top-level sport or strategically important economic investments with demonstrable jobs and tax-substrate benefit for Switzerland.
Pure investment capital without operational substance is not enough. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and the cantonal migration offices examine substance strictly.
Path 3: Entrepreneur permit — Art. 19 FNIA
Those who develop substantial economic activity in Switzerland — founding a company with jobs, significant investment volume, tax substrate — can obtain a B permit via Art. 19 FNIA. The hurdle lies in substance, not in invested capital alone.
From our practice: a defensible application includes a plausible business plan, demonstrable initial capital (typically at least CHF 1 million, depending on the canton more), the creation of at least three to five jobs within 24-36 months, and ideally a connection to the local economic area.
What is not a path
Switzerland has no visa that grants residence in exchange for cash or real-estate investment. Programmes from other European countries (Portugal, Greece, Malta — partly now discontinued or tightened) have no equivalent in Switzerland. Beware of advisory offers that promise such a programme — they either sell one of the options described above under a false name, or a structure that does not hold legally.
Strategy for wealthy clients
For very wealthy clients without Swiss employment intent: lump-sum taxation in the right canton, combined with careful residence and asset planning. For clients with entrepreneurial ambitions: entrepreneur permit with real substance. In both cases, the cantonal negotiation is the key — federal law sets the frame, the canton decides.
Permits in detail