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FAMILY

Is foreign marriage recognised in Switzerland?

Perhaps you and your spouse are foreign nationals who got married abroad. Or maybe you are Swiss but decided to wed in Las Vegas with an Elvis Presley impersonator. Will your marriage be valid in Switzerland?

Is foreign marriage recognised in Switzerland?
If you wed abroad, you must make it official in Switzerland. Photo: Pixabay

Saying ‘I do’ implies not only a lifetime of happiness (if you are lucky), but also a number of administrative tasks, such as reporting the change of status, your new surname, and address (if applicable) to the municipal administration, cantonal tax authorities, your employer, your bank, the post office, and insurance companies.

If you changed your last name upon marriage, you should also request a new passport, ID card, and driver’s license.

All this is required of people domiciled  in Switzerland who got married here — regardless of their nationality.

However, the administrative burden is even heavier if you wed abroad.

To answer the initial question — yes, marriage contracted abroad is recognised in Switzerland, as long as it complies with Swiss law. This also concerns same-sex couples

This is the case even if the requirements in the foreign nation differ from Swiss procedures. But the union should comply with a civil (rather than merely religious) law in that country.

However, for the marriage to be considered legal in Switzerland, it must first be authenticated by Swiss authorities abroad.

How do you go about this process?

First, you must contact the Swiss embassy or consulate in the country in which the marriage took place and request that the union be recognised. 

You will have to provide all documents, such as your marriage license and anything else that is needed for the process to be completed.

The diplomatic mission will check the accuracy of the documents, notorise them, and translate them into one of Switzerland’s official languages (unless they are already in German, French, or Italian).

The documents will then be sent to the supervisory bureau of your canton of origin or canton of residence if both parties are of foreign nationality.

If all the conditions are met, it orders the transcription to be made in the Infostar database, the central electronic register for all civil status events, such as births, death, divorces, and, yes, marriages.

What’s next?
 
Other than living happily ever after, there are some other tasks you should complete if one of you is a foreign national coming to Switzerland for the first time.

Once your marriage is officially recognised and you are in Switzerland legally, you should inform your canton of your arrival.

The ‘address registration’ rules may come as somewhat of a shock to people from some other places, like the United States, where you can move from one location to another and stay pretty much under the radar.

Not so in Switzerland. Swiss authorities want to know who is living in their country and where — especially if you are foreigner.

When you settle in a new home, you have 14 days to announce your arrival in your commune of residence, though in some places the deadline may be longer.

In some cantons, you can do this procedure online, while in others you must come to your local residents’ registration office (Einwohnerkontrolle / Contrôle des habitants/ Controllo abitanti) in person.

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For members

TAXES

Do I have to pay tax on a ‘side’ job in Switzerland?

As the tax deadline in most Swiss cantons (March 31st) is fast approaching, you may be wondering whether you need to declare ‘side’ jobs on your tax declaration.

Do I have to pay tax on a ‘side’ job in Switzerland?

Much depends on what you mean by a ‘side’ and a ‘job’,

Say you did a favour for someone and that person expressed gratitude by giving you 100 francs.

If you are a hardcore law follower, then yes, you can include that 100 francs on your income tax return.

But if you don’t declare it, you are not a tax evader. After all, that 100 francs was not, for all intents and purposes’ an ‘income,’ so you are in the clear.

However, this leeway does not apply to money you earn from any actual work you perform, including second jobs (the one you may have in addition to your main employment) as well as freelance income.

This is how it works

In principle, you must pay tax on earnings from all employment in Switzerland.

If you are  a foreign citizen (for instance, a cross-border worker) subject to at-source taxation (withholding tax) — then you don’t have to worry about declaring your wages.

That’s because your company deducts the tax from your salary each month and sends this amount to cantonal authorities on your behalf.

But most people working in Switzerland (whether Swiss or foreign nationals) must include all their income (from work and other sources), as well as other assets may they have, on tax forms they fill out and send to tax authorities each year.

That includes income from all your jobs — that is primary, secondary, ‘and side’.

READ ALSO: Does your nationality determine how much taxes you will pay in Switzerland?

Will the ‘extra’ work you declare on your tax return raise your tax bracket?

It depends on how much income this side job generates, as well as the tax rate of your canton (which is the lowest in Zug and highest in Geneva).

READ ALSO: Why does the canton of Zug have Switzerland’s lowest taxes?

If you earn a significant amount, then, yes, you will have to pay more income tax. But if it is little money, then you shouldn’t worry about a dramatic jump.

This, by the way, applies not only to extra work, but to any job.

If you are a freelancer and earn little money (by Swiss standards) , then your tax burden will be quite low.

This income must, however, be declared, and you will have to pay self-employment tax on it, as a contribution to the social security scheme — at a maximum rate of  9.7 percent of your income.

You can also take out a second-pillar pension  with an insurance company, though, contrary to ‘regular’ workers, this is not required if you are self-employed.

If you need to know more about paying Swiss taxes as a freelancer, this article will help:

READ ALSO: What freelancers in Switzerland need to know about paying tax

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