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OPINION AND ANALYSIS

Why joining a club in Switzerland offers a fast track to integration

The Swiss are a nation of joiners, and you are missing a trick as a resident if you don’t follow their example and get involved with a non-profit association, Clare O’Dea writes.

People walking in Switzerland
There are plenty of associations to join in Switzerland - including for walking. Photo: Julita on Pixabay

Involvement in non-profit associations is very common in Switzerland – 45 percent of adults are members of at least one such entity.

In fact, so many people are involved in associations, it forms an alternative layer of society. Association membership is the perfect gateway to integration into Swiss life, a way to make social connections but also to learn how the country works behind the scenes. 

Is there something about the structure and order of this legal entity that appeals to the Swiss character? Associations certainly have strong historic roots in the culture, and are a key part of daily life, being used to maximal effect. 

Sporting and cultural life would be non-existent without the free labour of associations, which also provide a legal and organisational framework to get things done at any level, from local to national or even international.

100,000 Swiss associations 

The history of associations in Switzerland goes back 300 years. Because the legal basis for setting up and running an association is so simple, they are an easily accessible tool for self-organisation, making them a central plank of civil society.

The 18th century origin of such groups was the preserve of the male elites. Men all over Europe and elsewhere, thirsty for knowledge, formed societies to discuss scientific, medical, philosophical, economic and political advancements. That century saw some 400 societies of varying shelf-life being formed in Switzerland.

Today, there are 100,000 associations in the Alpine country covering every imaginable interest. Men and women are fairly evenly represented, with 48 percent of men and 41 percent of women taking part in at least one.

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

Women playing football

Whether a sports club or another association, many Swiss are members of clubs. Photo: Alexander Fox on Pixabay

On a structural level, an association has an executive committee, membership and articles of association. But essentially it is just a group of people pursuing a joint purpose. This can be political, scientific, artistic, religious, charitable or social in nature, as long as the objectives are non-economic.

‘Association life’

As an independent and autonomous legal entity, an association can set goals, mobilise people, seek funding. It can even sue the state, like Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland (KlimaSenionrinnen Schweiz) is doing. After the association’s complaint against the government lost at appeal in the Federal Supreme Court in 2020, the group took their fight to the European Court of Human Rights.

The ethical purpose of associations is a big part of the reward of getting involved, whether it’s helping to run the local volleyball club, preserve local heritage or save the planet. They create a structure that allows people to contribute to society or a good cause.

Looking more closely at the level of engagement, almost half of people participating in association are involved on at least a weekly basis. The majority are active at least once a month. There’s even a German word for the sector and everything to do with it – das Vereinsleben or association-life.

Every disease or illness has its association, as does every shooting club or yodelling group. Clubs for immigrants are usually run as associations, as are neighbourhood committees, interest groups for the young and the old, the disabled, different professions and art forms.

Flag and alphorns: who said Switzerland is boring? Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

All of life is there. And if you’re a foreigner looking to integrate, you should be there too. The easiest way to find your local associations is to look on your commune website which lists them all, with links. Articles appear from time to time bemoaning the decline of Vereinsleben and the lack of new volunteers, so there are always openings. 

When a death notice appears in my local newspaper, it is often accompanied by sympathy notices placed by the different associations in which the person was active. Many older people who have spent their life in one place have a full curriculum vitae of volunteering roles.

This is what makes life colourful and meaningful for so many people. Whether it’s pursuing hobbies or working for a good cause, it is one of the best ways to find your tribe.

Do it Yourself

After being invited to join the executive committee of a local cultural association in the canton where I live, I discovered a parallel universe, a web of connections and activities I had known nothing about. From participating in the association’s meetings and events, I learnt so much more about how things work in the canton, who is actually running the show, culturally speaking, and how they do it.

With this experience, I was able to set up an association myself with likeminded people to pursue a new cultural project. The door is open to anyone who wants to avail of this vehicle to create something new, including charitable work.    

For all you need to know about running an association in Switzerland (in English!), Vitamin B is an online resource centre that provides information, individual advice and further training. Set up by Migros Culture Percentage, which also includes the adult education institution Migros Club School, Vitamin B is, of course, an association itself. 

So next time you drive through a village and see people in high-vis jackets directing traffic to an improvised car park for a popular event, you could ask yourself who these people are and whether it might be worth your while to join the joiners.

A dynamic, up-to-date guide to Swiss society and current affairs, All About Switzerland ebook features a selection of 29 articles by Clare O’Dea. The articles were first published by The Local Switzerland from 2022 to 2024. The ebook is available on Amazon, Kobo and other retailers.

This article was first published in May 2023.

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For members

MONEY

What you can be fined for in Switzerland if you don’t follow everyday rules

If you are a new arrival in Switzerland, or even if you have been living here for a while but are not familiar with local laws, these are the rules you need to follow to avoid being slapped with a fine.

What you can be fined for in Switzerland if you don't follow everyday rules

Switzerland has numerous rules and regulations in place for a variety of infractions.

The good news (if you can call it that) is that you can be fined only for not complying with official laws. If you break one of many unwritten rules, you may get hostile looks and comments, but no legal repercussions.

Some of the offences are obvious — not speeding or being drunk while driving; not causing a disturbance in public; and not instigating or participating in criminal activities, among other infractions — everything that you shouldn’t do anywhere, not just in Switzerland.

Others, on the other hand, like the ones mentioned below, are more related to Switzerland’s own, and often quirkily unique, regulations.

These are some of the rules you may inadvertently break and the fines that could be handed to you for non-compliance.

Not registering your address at your commune

When you rent an apartment or buy a property in Switzerland, you will have to announce your arrival at your local municipality. 

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 because Swiss authorities want to know who is living in their country and where.

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

This is how to go about this process.

(The entire process will have to be repeated when you move to another home, even if you remain in the same commune. You will have to de-register your old address and register the new one.)

What happens if you don’t do this?

Local authorities will find you anyway sooner or later — probably sooner — and impose a hefty fine on you, the amount of which will depend on the reason why you didn’t register in the first place.

Not having a health insurance

Health insurance is compulsory in Switzerland for all legal permanent residents.

Anyone who moves here must get health coverage within three months of their arrival. 

If you fail to do so, your local authority will choose a plan on your behalf and you will have to pay the premiums.

If you don’t (and have no valid reason for being exempted from this obligation), two things will happen.

Firstly, you could be denied medical care other than in case of emergencies.

Secondly, your unpaid bills will add up, and you could be subject to debt proceedings. This, in turn, could be held against you if you ever decide to apply for naturalisation.

READ ALSO: Could personal debt stop you from becoming Swiss? 

Driving without a vignette

If you use Swiss motorways, even if it’s only for a short stretch, you must purchase a 40-franc sticker to affix to the inside of your window shield.

Unlike many other countries, Switzerland has no tolls on their highways, so the vignette compensates for the cost of maintaining the roads.

Vignettes are valid for one year, from January 1st to December 31st, and can be purchased at petrol stations, post offices or online.

If you drive on the motorway without a vignette or if it is not stuck on correctly, you risk getting a 200-franc fine.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Switzerland’s motorway charge sticker

Trash disposal and recycling

In nearly all Swiss towns and villages, trash must be segregated and placed in special bags or in bags that have a special sticker on them, and placed in a designated collection point on assigned days.

Not segregating your trash — for instance, throwing out PET bottles with tin cans or paper, or not putting it out on correct days — can result in heavy fines, the amount of which is determined by each individual commune.

Municipal workers have the right to go through trash bags to identify garbage offenders — and they do.

Just to give you an idea of the amount you could be expected to pay, a woman in the Lausanne area was fined 190 francs after she allegedly put out her garbage on a Wednesday, rather than on Monday, which was a designated trash collectin day on her street.

Another offender, a US citizen living in Zurich, threw a carton box with his name and address into a ‘regular’ trash can, instead of recycling it.

At the time of this incident, the offender had not yet received his fine, but it was expected to be as high as 320 francs. 

This article will help you avoid such penalties. 

Being loud on Sunday

Under the law, Sunday is a day of rest in Switzerland, so you should do nothing to disturb your neighbours, either sonorically or visually.

This means no loud noises like lawn mowing, vacuuming, or recycling bottles. Also, you cannot hang your laundry out to dry, as the sight of your undies may be offensive to your neighbours on a Sunday.

This is what  a 35-year-old German woman should have known, but clearly didn’t: she committed a faux-pas of recycling glass on Sunday.

Her reaction after being slapped with a 250-franc fine: “I can understand that people don’t want to be disturbed, but going to the police over a few bottles seems a bit much”.

Not in Switzerland, apparently.

If someone complains and, even worse, reports you to police, you can expect a warning at best (if this is your first offence), or monetary penalties which depend on the noise ordinance in your community.

Just as an example, fines for excessive noise in Geneva could be as high 150 francs.

READ ALSO: Six things you shouldn’t do on a Sunday in Switzerland 

Buying your train ticket too late

If you purchase your ticket on your Swiss railway app just as the train is pulling out of the station, you commit an offence

This may be taking the notion of punctuality to new heights, but one of Swiss trains’ (SBB’s) regulations states that a ticket is not valid if it is purchased after the departure of the train, even if by a split second.

Anyone who does this, for whatever reason, is considered a fare dodger.

If you do this, you could be slapped with a 90-franc fine which, depending on the distance you are travelling, may be much more than you actually paid for your ticket.

That is the amount for first-time offenders.

For the second and subsequent infractions, the fine increases to 130 and 160 francs, respectively.

But that’s not all,: you could also be fined for putting your luggage on an empty seat of a crowded train, thus preventing another passenger from sitting down.

“The general rule is that one person only can occupy one seat,” said SBB spokesperson Jeannine Egi.

In theory, passengers can be asked to buy a ticket for their luggage. However,  this measure is rarely used in practice.”

“The train staff can enforce the ‘house rules’ on trains using their own judgement,” Egi said.

READ ALSO: Why putting your luggage on the seat on a Swiss train could cost you 

These are just some of the rules you may accidentally break while in Switzerland.

But there are others as well:

READ ALSO: Six ways you can be fined in Switzerland 

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