SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

PROPERTY

Buying property in Switzerland: Can foreign nationals get a mortgage?

If you are a foreign national and want to buy property in Switzerland, you may be wondering whether you are eligible for mortgage. The answer depends on several factors.

Buying property in Switzerland: Can foreign nationals get a mortgage?
Depending on your passport, you may need permission to apply for a Swiss mortgage. Image by Randy Jost from Pixabay

The most important condition for being able to obtain a Swiss mortgage is your residency status. So the question should be not whether you qualify for a mortgage but, rather, if you can purchase property in Switzerland in the first place.

Logically, if you are allowed to buy a house or an apartment in Switzerland, then you can apply for a mortgage as well.

Who can and can’t buy a house / get a mortgage?

A citizen of an EU / EFTA state can freely purchase real estate (home or land) in Switzerland. This applies to both primary residence and holiday homes.

The same is true for third-country citizens, say US or UK nationals, who have a valid permanent residency B or C status — there are no restrictions placed on them either.

However, rules are in place for people from outside Europe who don’t have either of the two above-mentioned residency permits.
They will need a permission to purchase housing in Switzerland — a measure intended to prevent Swiss properties from falling into foreign hands.  

Additionally, they can only buy a house which will be used as the primary residence — this means that they can’t buy it as an investment and rent it out.

And if you are a cross-border worker in Switzerland (G permit), you can buy a second home in the vicinity of your  place of employment without authorisation. However, you are not allowed to rent out this property for as as long as you work in the region as a cross-border commuter.  

Conditions are even stricter if you a foreigner living abroad — rules for such purchases are set out in a law called Lex Koller and are quite complex.

Unless you are looking to buy holiday homes in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Bern, Freiburg, Glarus, Grisons, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri, Vaud and Valais, you will need a special permission as well.

READ MORE: ‘Lex Koller’: What are Switzerland’s rules for foreigners buying property?
 

Where can you ask for authorisation to buy a house?

If you are among those who need a special permission to own a house, you should apply for permission to cantonal authorities in the municipality where the property located.

Page 13 of this PDF document indicates contact addresses for each canton.  Officials will indicate what paperwork you need to submit for consideration of your case.

What about mortgages?

Needless to say, if your application is rejected, you will not be given a mortgage either.

If it is approved, then you can apply in pretty much the same way as Swiss citizens do, though you will be asked to provide additional documents, such as your work / residency permit, for example, along with the canton’s authorisation.

From then on, it is up to you and your financial abilities to choose the mortgage that suits you best from among several types available in Switzerland, such as SARON and LIBOR mortages, which are detailed here:

EXPLAINED: What is Switzerland’s ‘SARON’ mortgage

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

PROPERTY

Rent prices and living space: Where in Switzerland has the best deal?

Under what conditions do foreign residents live in Switzerland? How many people in are owners rather than tenants (and vice-versa?) And where in Switzerland are rents highest and lowest?

Rent prices and living space: Where in Switzerland has the best deal?

These and other housing-related questions are answered in a new survey published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday. 

These are some of its main findings.

Living space is determined by nationality

In each canton, Swiss nationals have more living space at their disposal than their foreign counterparty, the study found.

The national average for a Swiss household of two or more persons is 44.6 sq/m, while for foreign households it is 30.8 sq/m.

Looking at some cantons, in Zurich, that ratio is 43.5 sq/m for Swiss and 30.8 sq/m for foreign residents.

In Geneva, it is 36.2 vs 28.4; in Basel-City 38.8 vs 29; and in Vaud 42.7 vs 30.4.

The highest disparity, however, was found in Thurgau: 50.5 vs 34.3.

READ ALSO: How foreigners in Switzerland have worse living conditions than the Swiss

Owners vs. tenants

It comes as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with Switzerland’s housing market that far more people rent their dwellings than own them.

Just over 1.4 million accommodations (both homes and apartments) are owned by the people who live in them, while 2.4 million are occupied by renters.

The reasons for this trend, which contrasts with the rest of Europe, include the high cost of land and properties, as well as the fact that Switzerland’s tax system favours tenancy over ownership.

READ ALSO: Why do so many in Switzerland rent rather than buy a home?

Highest and lowest rents

The study confirmed that Zug has highest rents in Switzerland — the average cost is 1,850 francs. This fact is party due to the scarcity of available housing plaguing the tiny canton.

READ ALSO: Why does Zug have Switzerland’s ‘most acute’ housing shortage?

Zurich, which has been suffering from housing woes of its own, is in the second place (1,654 francs), followed by Schwyz (1,616).

Rents in five other cantons are also above the Swiss average of 1,412, francs.

They are Geneva (1,504); Nidwalden (1,495); Basel Country (1,468); Vaud (1,416); and Aargau (1,415).

The most affordable rents, on the other hand, are to be found in Jura — a mere 986 francs.

SHOW COMMENTS