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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

What are The Local Switzerland’s reader questions?

You may have seen 'reader question' in some of our recent reports, but who can ask a reader question and what can be asked? Here's what you need to know.

Published: 17 January 2022 11:13 CET
A rock with a question mark written on it somewhere in a riverbank
If you have a question you think we could answer, send us an email and we'll give it our best shot. Photo by Ana Municio on Unsplash

As part of our service to our readers and members, we often answer questions on life in Switzerland via email when people get in touch with us. 

When these have value to the greater Local Switzerland community, we put them together as an article, with ‘reader question’ in the headline. 

Who can ask a reader question and can I ask anonymously?

All readers of The Local Switzerland can ask a reader question, i.e. you do not need to be a member. If you do find our reporting valuable however, then please consider signing up. 

You do not need to live in Switzerland to ask a reader question, i.e. you could be coming to Switzerland for a holiday and have a specific question. However, the questions have to be related to Switzerland in some way. 

We will only turn a question into a reader question article where it has value to the broader Local community and where we can answer it.

Sometimes a question can serve as inspiration, i.e. if you ask us ‘why doesn’t my dog love me’, we may refer you to one of Switzerland’s best pet therapists – and then put together an article on pet care in Switzerland.

All reader questions we publish are anonymous. 

Whenever we decide to publish a reader question, we do not refer to the person who asked the question or give any identifying details. 

We do not release any details of the person’s private correspondence with us. 

We will not publish a reader question where the person asking it could be identified. 

What kinds of questions can be asked? 

Any question can be asked, although as we said above it should relate to Switzerland in some respect. 

For obvious reasons, recent questions have tended to focus on the Covid pandemic and the Swiss government’s rules, although reader questions can be about anything that’s on your mind. 

Many questions we are asked tend to be speculative – i.e. will Switzerland tighten Covid measures or what will happen in an upcoming referendum.

In that case, we do our best to answer on the basis of the evidence that is currently available and by reaching out to our contacts in the Swiss government, our partner law firm or other independent organisations. 

If you’d like to have a question answered – or just want to get in touch – drop us a line at [email protected]. 

Here are some examples of some of our more popular reader questions over the past few years. 

Reader question: Which do staff see when scanning my Swiss Covid certificate?

Reader question: How can I legally reduce my rent in Switzerland?

Reader question: Does Switzerland celebrate Halloween?

Reader question: What does being ‘successfully integrated’ in Switzerland mean?

Reader question: Can Swiss health insurance exclude me if I have pre-existing conditions?

Reader question: Can you drink in public in Switzerland?

Reader question: Will Switzerland make the Covid vaccine compulsory?

Reader question: How long is Switzerland’s Covid certificate valid for?

Reader question: Does a booster shot extend the validity of Switzerland’s Covid certificate?

Reader question: Can I get a Covid certificate in Switzerland if I was vaccinated with AstraZeneca?

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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

In Switzerland, like in other countries, people sometimes lose their belongings in various places. Many ultimately find their way to their rightful owner.

Published: 19 April 2024 12:10 CEST
Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

Unlike socks that disappear in the wash, never to see the light of day again (which is a global, rather than just Swiss phenomenon), many lost items often do reappear. 

The bigger the item is, the more chance there is of it being found.

But even smaller objects like keys are often returned to their owners — it all depends on who finds them and to what lengths these people are willing to go to ensure that lost items are returned to their owners.

(Human nature being what is it is, you have more chances of being reunited your keys than with your jewellery or a wallet that still has all its contents inside).

But you may be surprised to learn that cases of exemplary honesty still exist.

One such example, in 2022, involved an envelope containing 20,000 francs found lying on a sidewalk by passersby and returned to the man who dropped it while getting into his car. 

What are some of the more unusual things people leave behind?

Each year, Uber Switzerland publishes a list of things that passengers forget in cars. 

This year, among purses, cell phones, laptop computers, umbrellas, and pieces of jewellery, drivers found in the back seats items including a purple wig, carnival mask, coffee machine, and a spatula for crêpes.

The items found on trains are even stranger. 

They include, according to the national railway company SBB, taxidermy animals, an authentic samurai sword, and a prosthetic leg (it’s not clear whether this was a spare or whether the passenger had to hop off the train).

Where should you look for the items you lose in Switzerland?

It depends on where you think, or know, you left your belongings.

Public transport

If it’s on the train, file a lost property report here. 

For the PostBus, it’s here. 

Additionally, public transport companies in your community have their own ‘lost and found’ offices, as do local police stations.

Airports

Zurich 
Geneva 
Basel 

Additionally, to maximise your chances of being reunited with your lost property, report it here.

Through this site, you can also check whether your lost item has been found and handed in at one of the offices.

If your lost item is found, must you pay a ‘finder’s fee’?

Yes, Swiss legislation says so.

No exact amounts are specified, but “the reward should be appropriate in relation to the find,” according to Moneyland consumer platform.

In principle, “a finder’s fee equal to 10 percent of the amount returned to the owner is considered an appropriate reward.” 

Also, if the process of finding out who the lost object belongs to and returning it to you generates extra expenses for the finder (such as train fare or other travel costs, for example), you have to reimburse these expenses in addition to the reward.

(By the same token, if you find and return someone else’s belongings, you can expect the same compensation).

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