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‘All depends where you live’: Can you get by in Switzerland with just English?

We recently asked our readers whether it's possible to live in the multilingual Switzerland speaking only English. The responses we received are truly revealing.

Published: 30 November 2022 15:28 CET
Updated: 31 January 2024 11:33 CET

'All depends where you live': Can you get by in Switzerland with just English?

For certain Swiss jobs, like architecture, just English is not enough. Photo: Pixabay.

There is plenty of observational and anecdotal evidence indicating that some foreigners never make an effort to learn one of Switzerland’s national languages, relying only on English for daily communication — no matter how long they have been living in the country.

But is this really feasible?

We recently asked readers to share their views and experiences on this very topic.

We put out two specific questions: Can you get by in Switzerland with just English? And, Is it possible to find jobs and work in Switzerland without speaking a local language?

Most of the answers indicated that, yes, both are possible under certain circumstances. But, there is a…”but”.

English is the ‘language of business’

Karen Rasmussen from Basel found that “there are three types of people: those who don’t speak English; those who are eager to practice their English; and those whose English is actually quite good despite their shyness about speaking it.

“The later two categories represent probably 80 percent of people I’ve encountered.”

Because of the prevalence of English in Switzerland, finding a job should not pose a problem, Karen said. “If you’re working for a big multinational company, English is the language of business.”

‘It depends on where you live’

“In the bigger cities and in the German speaking parts, English is much more widely understood”, said Kathryn from Vaud. “I have not found this to be the case in the French speaking region.”

She also believes that finding an English-only job is feasible, “but it is the non-working part of life that is difficult with only English, at least that is the case in the French speaking areas. I have even had doctors who can barely communicate in English.”

German is ‘nice to have’

“In Zurich, it is pretty easy. Everything important is solved in English. The only time I speak German is with my neighbours. But that I would not need for survival,” said Brian Holinka, adding that “in my job English is necessary, German is nice to have”.

For Lynette Haeuselmann from St. Gallen, who is an English teacher for adults, “one can get by with just English, but it will be a limited social existence.

“As a foreigner, I learned German and that made things a lot easier for me. Being able to communicate with locals is a big help towards integrating into one’s new ‘Heimatland’.

‘Possible to get by’

Some respondents said you can function without an official Swiss language.

“I think that the two biggest factors that affect how much you can get by with just English in Switzerland are: where you live, and what job you have,” T. B. from Zurich pointed out.

“Living in a big city makes it easier to get by with just English, and working in companies where the majority of employees are not Swiss and English is established as the working language, “makes it quite possible to get by”, said the respondent.

“Having said that, I think that you just ‘get by’ though. You probably cannot experience the country in its fullest, and cannot feel integrated, in order to be able, at some point ‘n the future, to call this place ‘home’ (if this is of course your goal).”

Whether or not you can work entirely in English depends on the job, T. B. says.

“For example, for engineers it is possible, for doctors most likely is not.”

Languages needed for socialising

For Sean Knox, who lives in Zurich but works in Baar (ZG), getting by with just English in these two international locations can be done.

“However, I realised that my German will need to improve if I want to progress from simply getting by to social integration,” he said.

While most people in Switzerland have a good proficiency of English, “in a group, especially in social situations, Swiss people will generally speak a local language, which is totally fair but can be quite isolating.”

This has been the experience of Paul Hunt from Biel / Bienne, who also found that this is more of a challenge in the German speaking part than the French or Italian parts “because we learn high German in classes but can’t understand dialects”.

“Knowledge of high German has, however, been essential the longer I’ve lived here,” he pointed out, especially for official paperwork like filing tax returns or registering for unemployment benefits.

In terms of job opportunities, they would be more limited with just English and “there are many sectors where not speaking a local language would not be possible”.

‘Old-fashioned’

Some respondents found that not speaking a local language definitely limits their job options.

One of them is George from Basel, who says that despite being a highly qualified professional in security business, “I am unable to find a job — not because I am not good but because my colleagues will not be able to understand me.”

“Switzerland remains old fashioned yet is in desperate need of workers, but only if they match their way of thinking,” he added.

Another reader, Luka from Lucerne, also found that lack of language skills has been a major hurdle on his career path.

“For me, in architecture, it is almost impossible in a long term if I want to have a well-paid position,” he said.

It’s ‘arrogant’

Some readers have pointed out what others have already observed as well.

“Sure, you can get by without a local language, but what a way to miss out on an amazing country,” said Jennifer from Montreux (VD).

A Geneva reader agrees that it is possible to manage with just English, “but to truly integrate and not feel like a foreigner it’s important to know the local language”.

And another respondent noted that “you can probably get by just speaking English, but it’s arrogant and incorrect to think that everyone should speak English” too.

This article was first published in 2022 but we have republished it because it remains of interest to our readers.

Member comments

Anonymous - 25 April 2023 at 17:56 CEST

No comments from Ticino? OK, here is mine: My wife and I retired from the US to Ticino 15 years ago. Except for the equivalent of 2 years of US college Italian, we are self-taught in Italian. It was difficult to learn a new language in our 60’s, but it was necessary and rewarding. 1/3
Anonymous - 25 April 2023 at 18:17 CEST

Few people outside the hospitality and banking industries speak English in Ticino. You absolutely must be able to read and write Italian to deal with daily life, particularly with Cantonal and Comunal government officials. A more rudimentary command of spoken Italian will get you by 2/3
Anonymous - 25 April 2023 at 18:19 CEST

at the grocery store and with repair persons, etc. Ticinese Italian is simpler than Standard Italian, so your errors won’t be frowned upon (as they might be in Tuscany, if you fail to use the subjunctive), and people in Ticino appreciate your effort to speak in the language of your Canton. 3/3

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Your key questions answered about Europe's new EES passport checks

Two big changes are coming for travel in and out of the EU and Schengen zone – EES and ETIAS.

You can find an overview HERE on what they mean, but broadly EES is an enhanced passport check at the border including biometric information while ETIAS is a visa waiver required for tourists making short visits.

Despite being scheduled to begin later this year, many aspects of how EES will actually work on the ground are still unclear – while much of the available information is for people who are travelling as tourists (rather than foreigners living in an EU or Schengen zone country).

So we asked readers of The Local to send us your questions.

Here we take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions – including the situation for dual-nationals, for non-EU citizens resident in Europe, for second-home owners and the situation at the UK-France border.

Some answers are still unclear – either because they have not yet been finalised or because the available information is not very specific. Where we have had to answer “we don’t know”, we will continue to badger the European Commission plus national and port authorities on your behalf. We will update this article when we know more.

When is this coming into effect?

Good question. Believe it or not, discussions on the Entry & Exit System began in 2011. At that time the UK was part of the EU and was reportedly enthusiastic about EES. Things changed and now the border between France and the UK – an external EU border since Brexit – is a major worry. More on that below.

Anyway, it’s been a long term project and the start dates have been postponed multiple times, first because of Covid and then because infrastructure was not ready. The most recent postponement came at the request of France, which wanted to get the Paris Olympics over with before any border changes were made.

The EU now says that the start date for EES is the “second half of 2024” – UK media have reported October 6th as a possible start date while European airports have reportedly told to be ready by November. Meanwhile the French interior ministry says that the start is envisaged “between the final part of 2024 and the beginning of 2025”.

We’ll see.

Who does it affect?

EES is aimed at non-EU travellers who are a crossing an EU/Schengen external border.

EU citizens will not have to complete EES registration.

Neither will non-EU citizens who have residency in an EU or Schengen zone country – they will need to produce proof of residency such as a residency permit or long-stay visa.

Neither will non-EU residents who have a valid short-stay visa for a country in the EU. This could include second-home owners who have obtained a short-stay (under six months) visa in order to allow them unlimited visits to their holiday home.

However citizens from countries which do not benefit from the 90-day rule and who therefore need a visa even for short visits (eg Indians) will have to complete EES registration.

It does not apply when travelling between Schengen zone countries (more on that below).

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

What is EES pre-registration?

You’ll soon be hearing a lot about EES “pre-registration”. EES itself is basically an enhanced passport check – travellers will need to register their biometric details (fingerprints and facial scans) to enhance the security of passport checks.

Automated passport checks will also start to calculate how long you have been in the EU, and therefore automatically detect over-stayers (eg people who have over-stayed their visa or who have over-stayed their 90-day allowance). EES does not change any of the rules regarding length of stay, it just toughens up enforcement of them.

The first time that you cross an external Schengen border you will need to register additional details including fingerprints and a facial scan, and have them electronically linked to your passport. This takes place in a special zone at the airport/port/station that is your departure point.

Once you have completed the pre-registration, you then proceed to passport scanning.

The pre-registration only needs to be done once and then lasts for three years. Those three years renew every time you cross an external border, so regular travellers shouldn’t need to renew it until they get a new passport – at which point the pre-registration must be done again.

Does pre-registration have to be done at the airport/port/station? Can’t I do it on a website or app?

Advance registration is what many travel operators, especially in the UK, are calling for. They say that getting everyone to complete pre-registration in person on site will cause chaos.

However, the EU at the moment seems to be sticking to the original idea of in-person registration. There are a number of practical problems with trying to pre-register fingerprints, but a solution could yet be found.

What can I do now?

Many of our readers want to get organised now and register their details in advance to avoid border delays. Unfortunately this is not possible and at the moment all you can do is wait until the system comes into effect. Frustrating, we know.

What about dual nationals?

People who have dual nationality of an EU and non-EU nation (eg British and Irish passports or American and Italian passports) will not be required to complete EES checks if they are travelling on their EU passport.

If, however, they are travelling on their non-EU passport they would need to complete EES registration.

EES does not change any of the rules relating to dual nationality or to travelling as a dual national – full details HERE.

What’s the situation for non-EU citizens resident in the EU/Schengen area?

The European Commission is clear about one point: EES does not apply to people who have residency in an EU country. This is because a major part of EES is catching over-stayers – which of course does not apply to people who are resident here.

What the Commission is a lot less clear about is how this will work in practice.

Most airports/port/stations have two queues: EU passports and non-EU passports. It’s not clear which queue non-EU citizens resident in the EU should use, how they can avoid automated passport checks entirely and use a manned booth (so that they can show both a passport and proof of residency) or even whether manned booths will be available at all departure points.

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

How does this affect the 90-day rule?

Citizens of certain non-EU countries – including the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia – are entitled to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without the need for a visa.

EES does not change this rule, so all the current regulations and restrictions continue to apply.

READ ALSO: How does the 90-day rule work?

What EES does change is the enforcement of the rule – at present non-EU nationals have their passports manually stamped on entry and exit, and border guards use these stamps to calculate whether people are sticking to their 90-day allowance.

It’s a bit of a hit-and-miss system, passports don’t always get stamped when they should, sometimes border guards misread the stamps and sometimes passports get stamped in error. EES should solve all of these problems by using an electronic scan of the passport and automatically calculating the 90-day allowance.

It will make it much harder for people to over-stay (indeed, this is one of its stated aims) but for people sticking to the rules it should actually be easier and more efficient. Should. If it works as advertised, that is…

What’s the deal for second-home owners?

For non-EU citizens who own property in the EU, it all depends on whether they have a visa or limit their visits to 90 days in every 180, as described above.

People who use the 90-day allowance will be subject to EES and use the system in the same way as short-stay tourists.

People who have a visa are exempt and need to show their visa at the border. As described in the “non-EU residents in the EU” section, however, it’s far from clear how this will actually work in practice at the border.

Why is the UK-France border such a problem?

As discussed above, EES will apply to all EU/Schengen external borders, but the biggest fears so far are about the UK-France border.

So is this just the Brits whining about the easily foreseeable consequences of Brexit? Actually no, there are genuine reasons why this border is likely to be a problem, mostly relating to volume of traffic and infrastructure.

Although it is true that EES wouldn’t have affected the UK-France border if it hadn’t been for Brexit, the current reasons for the worries are more practical.

Put simply, the UK-France border is one of the busiest EU external borders that there is, with around 60 million people crossing per year. Of those travellers, around 70 percent are UK citizens, meaning they will have to complete EES formalities.

Add to that the limitations of space: several UK destination points, including the Port of Dover and Eurostar’s London St Pancras terminal, are already in cramped areas with very little expansion room, meaning that creating the new infrastructure to deal with EES checks is very difficult.

For context, the newly completed EES pre-registration area at Coquelles (Calais) covers 7,000 square metres, in order to accommodate up to 60 passenger vehicles simultaneously.

The final factor is the Le Touquet agreement – the 2003 bilateral agreement between France and the UK means that passport checks for people entering France are done on UK soil, and vice versa. This creates a unique situation where people travelling from Eurostar Gare du Nord or St Pancras, the ports of Dover or Calais or the Channel Tunnel terminals of Folkestone and Coquelles go through two sets of passport checks on departure, and none on arrival.

READ ALSO: What is the Le Touquet agreement?

The double passport checks mean that delays at one area can have severe knock-on effects.

Since Brexit, the Port of Dover has reported long delays at several peak times such as the start of the school holidays while Eurostar has been forced to cut the number of trains it runs per day.

EES implementation problems won’t be limited to the UK-France border, but the volume of people crossing the border means that even slight delays to one system can easily lead to hours-long queues.

What about Nato staff or people with diplomatic passports?

People who have a special status such as diplomatic passports will not have to complete pre-registration. However, as with other exempt groups such as non-EU residents of the EU or visa holders, it is unclear how this will actually work on the ground and which passport queue they should join.

Will I need an extra visa to enter the EU as a tourist?

EES does not change anything with regards to visas – in essence all the current visa rules stay the same, only the enforcement changes.

However there is another change coming down the track – ETIAS, which will affect non-EU citizens entering the EU as tourists or visitors.

You can find an overview of how it works HERE, but one thing we do know is that it won’t be introduced until after EES is up and running and (hopefully) most of the problems ironed out.

One unholy mess at a time.

Will it really be an unholy mess?

The European Commission says: “The main advantage of the EES is saving time. The EES replaces passport stamping and automates border control procedures, making travelling to European countries using the EES more efficient for the traveller.”

Hmm.

As outlined above, there could be infrastructure problems at several departure points, there is as yet little clarity on certain import details and of course all new systems take time to bed in.

After the first year of operation things are likely to get smoother – by this time most regular travellers will have already completed the pre-registration and will therefore by able to move straight into getting their passport scanned, leaving only new travellers to complete the pre-registration formalities.

That first year, however, looks like it could be a little chaotic at certain borders, especially the UK-France one, at peak travel times such as the start of school holidays.

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