Leaving Switzerland: what you need to do
If you move abroad, deregister with your commune at the latest 14 days before you leave. Deregistering ends a foreign nationals’ permit; a C permit can be kept for up to four years on request. In 2025, 133,829 people moved abroad (FSO).
1. Deregister with your commune
- If you move abroad, deregister with your commune at the latest 14 days before you leave. (VZAE Art. 15 para. 2)
2. What happens to your permit
- Your permit ends when you deregister to go abroad. Without deregistration an L permit ends after three months, B and C after six months. On request a C permit can be kept for up to four years. (FNIA Art. 61)
3. Keeping a C permit
- The request to keep a C permit must be filed before the six months run out. Visits, holidays or business trips to Switzerland do not interrupt the period. (VZAE Art. 79 para. 2)
4. Naturalisation: your residence counts as given up
- Residence with a residence or settlement permit counts in full, temporary admission (F) counts half. If you deregister abroad or actually live abroad for more than six months, your residence counts as given up. (SCA Art. 33)
AHV, pension fund and pillar 3a when you leave
What happens to your pension savings when you leave depends on where you go: the EU/EFTA or another country, and whether your home country has a social security agreement with Switzerland.
Pension fund (2nd pillar)
- If you leave Switzerland for good you can ask for your pension fund assets (the vested benefit) to be paid out in cash. Married people and registered partners need the written consent of their spouse or partner. (FZG Art. 5 para. 1)
- Exception: if you remain compulsorily insured for old age, death and disability in an EU state, Iceland or Norway, or live in Liechtenstein, you cannot take the mandatory part (the BVG retirement assets) in cash; only the part above the mandatory minimum is paid out. (FZG Art. 25f)
- Whatever is not paid out stays in Switzerland in a vested benefits account or policy. If you do not tell your pension fund, it transfers the assets to the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution after six months at the earliest and two years at the latest. (FZG Art. 4)
Pillar 3a
- Pillar 3a assets may be withdrawn early when the conditions for a cash payment under the Vested Benefits Act are met, which includes leaving Switzerland for good. (BVV 3 Art. 3 para. 2 let. d)
AHV (1st pillar)
- Foreign nationals receive an AHV pension only while they live in Switzerland, unless a social security agreement with their home country provides otherwise. Swiss citizens receive their pension abroad as well. (AHVG Art. 18 para. 2)
- Foreign nationals from countries without a social security agreement can reclaim their AHV contributions if they paid for at least one full year, have no right to a pension, and neither they, their spouse nor their children under 25 still live in Switzerland. Only the contributions actually paid are refunded, without interest. (Art. AHVG 18, RV-AHV 1, RV-AHV 2)
- Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals living outside the EU/EFTA can join voluntary AHV/IV insurance if they were compulsorily insured for at least five consecutive years immediately before. Employed people pay 8.7 per cent of income, at least CHF 870 a year. (AHVG Art. 2)
Tax on payouts abroad
- If you live abroad and receive benefits from a Swiss pension fund or pillar 3a, Switzerland deducts a withholding tax: for the direct federal tax 1 per cent on pensions and, on lump sums, as set by Article 38 paragraph 2. The cantons add their own withholding tax. (DBG Art. 96)
FSIO: list of social security agreements · AHV/IV: international leaflets
Pillar 3a when you leave
If you leave Switzerland for good, you can withdraw your pillar 3a early (FSIO). The withdrawal is taxed separately; the calculator shows the tax for every commune. (BSV)
Moves abroad since 1981
Moving to and from Switzerland →
Swiss residence permits: every permit and the figures →
Sources: FSO: demographic balance and permanent resident population by permit type · FNIA · VZAE · SCA · SEM · BSV · SLI-2026-10-10.39
Frequently asked questions
How long before leaving must I deregister?
If you move abroad, deregister with your commune at the latest 14 days before you leave.
What happens to my B or C permit?
Your permit ends when you deregister to go abroad. Without deregistration an L permit ends after three months, B and C after six months. On request a C permit can be kept for up to four years.
Can I keep my C permit if I emigrate?
The request to keep a C permit must be filed before the six months run out. Visits, holidays or business trips to Switzerland do not interrupt the period.
Does time abroad count for naturalisation?
Residence with a residence or settlement permit counts in full, temporary admission (F) counts half. If you deregister abroad or actually live abroad for more than six months, your residence counts as given up.
Can I withdraw pillar 3a when I leave Switzerland?
Yes, if you leave Switzerland for good you can withdraw your pillar 3a early (FSIO). The tax on the withdrawal depends on the commune.
Information, not legal advice. The laws and the decision of the cantonal migration office are authoritative.
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