Switzerland · Retirement
Residence Permit for Retirees (Art. 28 AIG / Art. 25 VZAE)
Open
Last verified July 2026
For non-EU/EFTA nationals aged 55+. Discretionary, cantonally administered, and requires personal ties to Switzerland.
A narrow but real non-EU route that does not depend on asserting a cantonal fiscal interest — though 'special personal ties' is interpreted strictly and holiday visits or owning a chalet do not qualify on their own.
Qualifying routes
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Retiree admission, age 55+
No set investment. Requires sufficient financial means, no gainful activity worldwide, and special personal ties to Switzerland.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- No investment threshold; costs are advisory and the ordinary or lump-sum tax bill
- Timeline
- 3–12 months — Cantonal decision; SEM approval required
- Physical presence
- Switzerland must become the centre of your life; the canton verifies genuine residence
- Family
- spousedependent children under 18
- Permanent residency
- C permit generally after 10 years
- Citizenship
- 10 years' residence
- Language test
- B1 spoken / A2 written in a national language
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- aged 55 or overnon-EU/EFTA nationalno gainful employment worldwidesufficient financial meansspecial personal ties to Switzerlandcentre of life transferred to Switzerland
What can go wrong
- No gainful activity anywhere in the world — stricter than most retirement visas, and it bars continuing to run a business abroad.
- 'Special personal ties' to Switzerland must be substantiated; property ownership alone is insufficient.
- Claiming supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen) is an explicit ground for revoking the permit.
- Cantonal practice varies widely and refusals are common.
- Non-EU nationals face restrictions on buying Swiss residential property under the Lex Koller until they hold a C permit.