EU citizens: the Swiss B permit without work

If you are a citizen of an EU or EFTA country, you can live in Switzerland without working as long as you have sufficient financial means and comprehensive health and accident insurance. There are no quotas and no investment requirement. The permit you receive is a B EU/EFTA permit, normally valid for five years.

Key facts (as of September 2026)

• Legal basis: art. 24 para. 1 Annex I of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (FZA/AFMP).
• Two conditions: sufficient financial means and comprehensive health and accident insurance. No quotas.
• "Sufficient" = above the social-assistance level (SKOS, art. 16 VFP); for retirees, above the supplementary-benefits threshold.
• The B EU/EFTA permit for non-employed people is normally valid 5 years.
• C permit after 5 years for most nationals (a treaty right for some, at the canton's discretion for others); normally 10 years for 13 more recent member states.
• Health insurance: sign up within 3 months of registering with your commune.

Who this route is for

The free movement rules cover retirees, people of independent means (sometimes called "rentiers" or "Privatiers") and other people who are not employed, together with their families. You need an EU or EFTA passport; a second nationality counts. The stricter conditions that apply to non-EU nationals (age 55, special ties to Switzerland, SEM approval) do not apply to you. The SEM directives are explicit that the restrictive AIG/VZAE conditions in art. 23 to 25 VZAE are not relevant here.

UK nationals are a special case. Those admitted before 1 January 2021 keep their acquired rights. Others now follow the third-country rules described in Swiss residence for financially independent non-EU nationals.

Condition 1: sufficient financial means

The test is whether you could live in Switzerland without needing public support. According to the SEM directives:

• Your means must be above the level at which a Swiss person could claim social assistance, as set by the SKOS guidelines (art. 16 VFP).
• For retirees, the bar is the threshold for supplementary benefits to the old-age pension (Ergänzungsleistungen).

There is no fixed national figure, because both benchmarks depend on household size and where you live. Cantons look at your pension, investment income and assets together. In practice, it helps to show a clear, documented picture: bank or custody statements, pension statements and, if you own property abroad, what it brings in.

The permit can be withdrawn if the means fall away later, so the resources should be durable, not just enough on the day you apply.

Condition 2: health and accident insurance

You need comprehensive health and accident cover. Once you register with your commune with a B or C permit, you must take out Swiss basic health insurance (LAMal/KVG) within three months (art. 7 para. 1 KVV). If you join on time, cover is backdated to the date you registered; if you are late, cover only starts when you join. See our guide to health insurance for new residents.

Applying and registering

The process is straightforward compared with the non-EU routes:

1. Find a home in the canton and commune you have chosen.
2. Register with the commune. EU/EFTA nationals are subject to the registration duty under the AIG/VZAE (art. 9 para. 1 VFP).
3. Provide evidence of your means and insurance, along with the documents the canton asks for.
4. The canton issues the B EU/EFTA permit.

Cantons handle the details, and document lists and forms vary. Your family members are covered under the free movement agreement too; the exact family definition should be checked with the canton for your situation.

How long the permit lasts, and the path to C

For how the B, C and L permits relate to each other, see Swiss permits B, C and L explained.

Tax: ordinary or lump sum

Your residence permit and your tax status are separate questions. As an EU/EFTA resident without Swiss earnings, you are taxed either under ordinary rules on your worldwide income and wealth, or, if you qualify, under lump-sum taxation (forfait fiscal / Pauschalbesteuerung).

The lump sum is open to EU citizens: the canton of Uri states plainly that it can be combined with an EU permit. The federal conditions (art. 14 DBG, ESTV Circular 44) are the same for everyone:

• you are not Swiss (Swiss dual nationals are excluded);
• you become taxable in Switzerland for the first time, or after at least ten years away;
• you do not work in Switzerland, and both spouses meet all the conditions.

Some tax treaties matter here. Under the treaties with Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria and Norway (as well as Canada and the USA), treaty benefits are only granted under the "modified lump sum", where all income from that state is taxed as under ordinary rules. Whether lump-sum or ordinary taxation works out better depends on your income mix and canton.

Cantonal minimum bases compared

If the lump sum is on the table, the canton makes a real difference. The federal base of CHF 435,000 applies everywhere for federal tax; cantons set their own minimum for cantonal and communal tax. A few examples from the ESTV cantonal fact sheets (February 2026):

Zurich, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Basel-Stadt have abolished lump-sum taxation, and Basel-Landschaft allows it only for the year of arrival. The full list is in lump-sum taxation by canton.

Social security contributions

People who live in Switzerland without working generally pay old-age and disability contributions (AHV/AVS) as non-employed persons until the reference age of 65. In 2026 these are based on your wealth plus 20 times your annual pension income, with a minimum of CHF 530 a year and a maximum of CHF 26,500 a year, reached at CHF 8.95 million. For married couples, each spouse is assessed on half the joint wealth and pension income (AHV/IV leaflet 2.03).

Buying a home

EU/EFTA nationals who live in Switzerland, on a B or C permit, are not "persons abroad" under the Lex Koller, so they can buy residential property without a Lex Koller permit. Before you have a lawful, actual domicile here, the restrictions still apply.

Common pitfalls

• Assuming "no work" means "no activity". For the lump sum, any occupation carried out in Switzerland counts, even board seats or work paid from abroad. For the permit, check that your plans fit the non-employed status.
• Showing means only on paper. A single high balance is less convincing than a stable pension or investment income.
• Missing the insurance deadline. The three-month window runs from registration, not from when you feel settled.

How we help

For EU and EFTA families, the permit is rarely the hard part. The value lies in choosing the canton, settling the tax position before arrival and getting the first months right. You can start with our eligibility check or read about our residence permit service.

This guide is general information as of 30 September 2026; a ruling or specific advice is needed for your own situation.