How much wealth do you need to move to Switzerland?

There is no fixed amount of wealth that buys a right to live in Switzerland. EU and EFTA citizens, and non-EU retirees aged 55 or over, need "sufficient financial means": enough to live without social assistance or supplementary benefits, with no investment required. Other non-EU nationals who do not work in Switzerland rely mainly on the fiscal-interest route, where the canton looks at the tax you will pay; Geneva and Zurich publish their expectations, most cantons do not.

Key facts (as of September 2026)

• No golden visa: Swiss law has no permit based on an investment amount.
• EU/EFTA, not working: sufficient means + comprehensive health and accident insurance; no quotas, no investment.
• Non-EU retirees (55+): means above the supplementary-benefits level, reliably available for life, plus special ties to Switzerland.
• Fiscal-interest route: Geneva publishes an expenditure base of CHF 750,000 for third-country nationals; Zurich expects an annual tax of about CHF 1 million, together with close ties to the canton and relocation of the whole family.
• CHF 435,000 (2026) is the federal minimum lump-sum tax base, not a wealth requirement or a tax bill.
• Owning Swiss property gives no right to a residence permit.

The short answer by route

The rest of this guide explains what each line means in practice, and why a figure you read online may not apply to you.

EU and EFTA citizens: sufficient means, no investment

If you hold an EU or EFTA passport and do not plan to work in Switzerland, the test is simple in principle. You need sufficient financial means and comprehensive health and accident insurance (art. 24 para. 1 Annex I FZA). There are no quotas and no investment amount.

"Sufficient" has a precise meaning (SEM directives VFP §6.2.3):

• your means must be above the level at which a Swiss person could claim social assistance, measured against the SKOS guidelines;
• for retirees, means must exceed the threshold that would give a right to supplementary benefits (Ergänzungsleistungen).

The permit is normally valid for five years and can be withdrawn if your means or insurance fall away. So the question is not how rich you are, but whether your income and assets reliably cover your life here. Our guide to the B permit without gainful activity goes through the evidence cantons ask for.

Non-EU retirees: means for life and real ties

Non-EU nationals, including UK nationals arriving since 2021, can retire here under art. 28 AIG if they are at least 55, have special personal ties to Switzerland, no longer work anywhere and have sufficient means (SEM directives AIG §5.3).

The financial test is the same benchmark as for EU retirees, above the supplementary-benefits level, with one addition: the means must be reliably available for life. A large fortune does not replace the ties requirement, and owning property or business ties in Switzerland does not count as a tie on its own. The canton decides at its discretion and the SEM must approve. See retiring in Switzerland.

The fiscal-interest route: what cantons expect

Non-EU nationals who are under 55, or who lack special ties, usually look at the permit for important cantonal fiscal interests (art. 30 para. 1 let. b AIG; art. 32 VZAE). You move your centre of life here, spend most of your time here and do not work in Switzerland (work abroad is allowed).

Here, the relevant figure is not your wealth but the tax the canton expects you to pay. Only a few cantons publish their expectations:

Please read these as expectations, not prices. The permit is a "may" provision with wide discretion: the canton weighs its fiscal interest, the SEM must approve every case (art. 5 lit. e ZV-EJPD), and a permit can be refused even when the figures are met. Other cantons assess case by case; we have not found published figures for them on official cantonal sites, so treat numbers quoted online with care. More in Swiss residence for financially independent non-EU nationals.

Lump-sum minimums are bases, not wealth requirements

The figure most often misquoted is CHF 435,000. It is the minimum federal tax base for lump-sum taxation in 2026 (art. 14 para. 3 lit. a DBG): the amount on which federal tax is calculated, not the tax you pay and not a wealth threshold. Cantons set their own minimum bases, for example CHF 426,357 in Geneva for 2026, CHF 415,000 in Vaud, CHF 250,000 in Valais and CHF 500,000 in Zug.

The actual base is the highest of your worldwide living costs, the minimum, seven times your annual rent or rental value, and a control calculation of certain Swiss-source income. The lump sum is a tax regime, not a permit: EU citizens can combine it with their free movement permit, and for non-EU nationals it is often part of a fiscal-interest application (in Vaud, a signed lump-sum agreement is a required document). See lump-sum taxation by canton for the full table.

What about a golden visa or investment route?

Switzerland has no golden visa. Neither the AIG nor its ordinance contains an admission ground based on an investment amount, and figures such as "CHF 250,000" or "CHF 1 million" circulating online are not in federal law. Buying property gives no right to a residence permit. Self-employed non-EU applicants can apply under art. 19 AIG, but that route is about the economic benefit of the business, and there is no statutory minimum investment either. Our golden visa guide covers this in more detail.

Running costs to plan for

Beyond the permit test, a few recurring costs are set by law and worth budgeting:

• Health insurance is compulsory for every resident, within three months of registering.
• AHV/AVS contributions for non-employed residents: CHF 530 to CHF 26,500 a year in 2026, based on wealth plus 20 times annual pension income, until age 65.
• Wealth tax in your canton, under ordinary taxation or through the canton's lump-sum method; see Swiss wealth tax by canton.

How we help

We start from your nationality, age, ties and income sources, identify the route that genuinely fits and tell you frankly what each canton is likely to expect. Our eligibility check is the quickest way to see where you stand.

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