The B permit for the entrepreneur who relocates

Relocating to Switzerland to found or lead your own company almost always goes through a B permit, the residence title that lets you live and work in the country for an extended period. But there is no single route: the rules change radically depending on whether you hold EU/EFTA citizenship or come from a third country. Here is how to find your way.

What the B permit is

The B permit is a residence authorisation normally valid for several years and renewable, tied to a purpose (employment, self-employment, family reunification). It differs from the L permit (short-term) and the C permit (settlement, open-ended, obtained after several years of residence). For an entrepreneur, the B is the go-to title for genuinely establishing your centre of activity in Switzerland.

If you hold EU/EFTA citizenship

Thanks to the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, EU/EFTA nationals enjoy facilitated access. Anyone wishing to carry out a self-employed gainful activity can obtain a B permit by demonstrating that they genuinely run their own business.

In practice, you generally need to prove:

• the existence of a real self-employed activity (entry in the commercial register, affiliation as self-employed with the AVS (state pension) fund, premises, clients);
• the ability to be self-supporting through the income from the activity.

Those who relocate instead as a director or employee of their own company (for example the managing director of a newly formed GmbH or AG) apply for the permit as an employee of that company.

If you come from a third country

For nationals of third countries (non-EU/EFTA) access is far more selective. Issuance is subject to quotas and to stringent conditions. As a rule the authorisation is granted to qualified staff, managers, specialists or people whose establishment brings an economic interest to the canton.

A non-EU entrepreneur wishing to set up their own business typically has to demonstrate:

• that the project has a lasting economic impact (jobs, investment, mandates);
• that they hold a qualified role in the company;
• the financial sustainability of the project and of themselves.

Opening a company as a foreign national does not, on its own, confer a right to the permit: the two things must be planned together.

Self-employment or director role

The choice of structure shapes the route:

• as the owner of a sole proprietorship or an active partner, apply for the permit as self-employed;
• as the managing director/executive of a GmbH or AG of which you are a partner, the permit generally follows the employee route within the company.

The two paths have different evidentiary requirements. Defining the legal form and your role first avoids setting up the wrong application.

The typical steps

1. Define the business project and the legal form (sole proprietorship, GmbH, AG).
2. Check your citizenship and the applicable route (EU/EFTA or third country).
3. Prepare the documentation: business plan, proof of activity, financial means.
4. Submit the application to the cantonal authority responsible for migration and employment.
5. Await the decision and, for third countries, the availability of a quota.
6. After arrival, complete the registration of arrival with your municipality of residence.

The related aspects not to forget

The permit is only one piece. In parallel you have to manage:

• tax residence and taxation in Switzerland;
• social insurance as a self-employed person or as an employee of your own company;
• health insurance, mandatory for anyone residing in Switzerland;
• family reunification, with its own rules.

Planning these aspects together with the permit, rather than afterwards, avoids having to correct already settled choices later on. The permit, the corporate form, tax residence and social coverage are all part of a single design: when one of these pieces is decided in isolation, it often constrains the others inefficiently.

How we help you

SIH ONE’s People division supports entrepreneurs in choosing between the self-employed route and the director role, in preparing the application and in coordinating with the incorporation of the company and the tax and social aspects. Talk to us about permits.