Free checklist · reviewed in October 2026
Leaving Switzerland: checklist for EU/EFTA and other nationals
Everything to arrange when you move abroad, from the commune and taxes to pensions, insurance and utilities. Enter your departure date and situation to see the tasks that apply to you and the date by which each is due.
0 of 18 tasks completed
Three months or more before departure
Give notice on your rental agreement
For a flat, the statutory notice period is at least three months, to the termination dates customary in your area. Give notice in writing by registered letter; for a family home, both spouses must sign. To leave earlier, you may propose a solvent replacement tenant who is prepared to take over the lease on the same terms.
Clarify your pension fund (2nd pillar)
Ask your pension fund for a statement of your vested benefits and its exit form. If you will be compulsorily insured for old age and disability in the EU/EFTA country, only the part above the statutory BVG minimum can be paid out in cash; the minimum part remains in a Swiss vested-benefits account until five years before retirement age at the earliest. When moving to Liechtenstein, no cash payment is possible.
Check your AHV contributions (1st pillar)
Request a statement of your individual AHV account from your compensation office and have any gaps corrected. As an EU/EFTA national, your contributions remain in the Swiss system and count towards a Swiss pension later; they are not refunded.
Plan your banking
Speak to your bank early: some Swiss banks close accounts held by non-residents or charge higher fees. Keep at least one account open if pension, tax or deposit payments will reach you after you leave.
One to two months before departure
Deregister with your commune
Report your departure in person at the residents’ office, usually no earlier than two months before you leave. Give your address abroad, return your residence permit and ask for the deregistration confirmation, which pension funds, health insurers and tax offices require. Some communes confirm the deregistration only once taxes and fees have been paid or secured.
Settle your taxes
File a tax return for the period up to your departure (income from 1 January to the departure date, assets on that date) and provide a delivery address or a representative in Switzerland for later correspondence. If you are taxed at source, a request for an ordinary assessment must normally be made by your deregistration date; check the rules of your canton.
Obtain final documents from your employer
Ask your employer for your final salary statement (Lohnausweis), which you need for the tax return, and for a reference letter (Arbeitszeugnis). Confirm where your last salary and any outstanding holiday pay will be paid.
Health insurance
Send your health insurer the deregistration confirmation: compulsory basic insurance ends when you leave Switzerland. Exceptions apply if you continue to work in Switzerland or draw a Swiss pension while living in an EU/EFTA country; you may then remain insured in Switzerland. Supplementary insurance is a separate contract with its own notice terms.
Review other insurance
Review your liability, household contents, legal protection and travel insurance: many policies end or can be terminated when you move abroad, but the terms differ. If your employment ends, accident cover through your employer ends 30 days later.
Cancel contracts and subscriptions
Give notice on internet, television and mobile subscriptions, observing their notice periods, and ask whether special terms apply when moving abroad. Cancel memberships and other subscriptions, such as public transport travelcards.
Household goods and customs
Prepare an itemised list of your household goods for customs. Most countries admit removal goods duty-free under certain conditions and within deadlines; check the rules of the destination country before the move.
In the last weeks
Mail forwarding and address changes
Order Swiss Post’s forwarding service to your address abroad (letters only, 12 months, CHF 90 online). Inform banks, insurers, pension funds and the AHV compensation office of your new address.
Utilities
Notify the electricity supplier, and for a house any other utility providers, of the move-out date, and arrange a final meter reading on the handover day.
Hand over the flat
Clean the flat and hand it over on the agreed date with a written handover report (Abnahmeprotokoll). Ask for the rent deposit to be released to your account.
Radio and television fee (Serafe)
Serafe bills households on the basis of the commune’s residents’ register, so deregistering normally ends the fee. Check your final invoice and contact Serafe if you are billed after your departure.
After departure
Request the pension fund payment
Send the payment request together with the deregistration confirmation; for EU/EFTA countries, also the confirmation of your insurance status there. Without instructions, the money is transferred to the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution after six months at the earliest and two years at the latest. The tax withheld at source depends on the canton in which the pension fund or vested-benefits foundation is based.
Withholding tax on pension payments by canton (VZ calculator) ↗
Pay the final tax assessment
Pay the final tax bill for the year of departure and keep your Swiss delivery address or representative active until it has been settled. Refunds of tax withheld at source are claimed with the tax return.
Keep your records
Keep the deregistration confirmation, salary statements, AHV statements and pension documents, as you will need them to claim a pension later. If you lose track of a pension account, the Central Office 2nd Pillar can search for it.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I withdraw my pension fund when I move to an EU/EFTA country?
Only partly, if you will be compulsorily insured for old age and disability in the new country: the part above the statutory BVG minimum can be paid out, while the minimum part stays in a Swiss vested-benefits account. When moving to a country outside the EU/EFTA, the full amount can usually be paid out. When moving to Liechtenstein, no cash payment is possible.
Can I get my AHV contributions back?
Only if you are a national of a country without a social security agreement with Switzerland and have contributed for at least one full year. EU/EFTA nationals and nationals of other countries with an agreement keep their contributions in the Swiss system and receive a Swiss pension later.
What happens to my residence permit?
Residence permits lapse when you deregister to live abroad. If you may return, you can ask the canton before you leave to maintain a C permit for up to four years; the canton decides at its discretion.
When does my health insurance end?
Compulsory basic insurance ends when you leave Switzerland, unless you continue to work in Switzerland or draw a Swiss pension while living in an EU/EFTA country. Send your insurer the deregistration confirmation. Supplementary insurance has its own notice terms.
Moving within Switzerland
Compare the estimated disposable income in all 26 cantons.
General information for guidance, reviewed in October 2026; it does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Rules can differ by canton and change over time; the official offices listed are authoritative.