01
Start the process
Tell us where you are moving, when you are leaving and the basic facts of your Swiss departure.
Swiss departure, without the full-service bill
Save $1,000s
in professional fees.
Get clarity for $497.
Stop paying Treuhänder and lawyers premium hourly rates to organise paperwork you can prepare efficiently. ExitSwitzerland walks you through the facts the cantonal tax administration actually looks at, organises your evidence, compiles a residency position file, and puts it in front of an experienced reviewer before you deregister and file your final part-year return.
Guided preparation / Residency file compiled / Human legal review
Your next chapter, organisedExample
🇨🇭 Switzerland🇦🇪 Dubai
One move. One organised file.
Your documents, without the guesswork.
Example checklist3 of 4 added
🏠
New-country leaseA home for your next chapter
✓🪪
Residence documentYour status abroad
✓🏦
Bank statementYour everyday financial ties
✓🚗
Driver's licenceAdd it when available
PENDINGKnow what you have. See what's next.Less scattered paperwork. More room for what's next.
Built around your move
Where are you headed?
🇦🇪 Dubai (UAE)🇲🇹 Malta🇨🇾 Cyprus🇬🇧 UK (non-dom / FIG)🇵🇦 Panama🇵🇾 Paraguay
Need a new residence too?
Leaving Switzerland is one step.
Establishing somewhere new is the next.
Exit Global can help evaluate practical residency pathways in Dubai, Malta, Cyprus and UK and beyond. Some routes can be completed relatively quickly depending on your circumstances. Each destination has its own site — click through.
🇦🇪
Dubai (UAE)
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇲🇹
Malta
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇨🇾
Cyprus
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇬🇧
UK (non-dom / FIG)
Explore residency pathways
🇵🇦
Panama
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇵🇾
Paraguay
Explore residency pathways ↗
Immigration eligibility, processing times and government requirements vary by route and applicant.
The $497 guided departure package
Do the simple work once.
Pay experts for judgment — not administration.
Traditional full-service departure engagements get expensive when Treuhänder, lawyers and pension advisers each bill hourly for gathering the same facts. Software handles the organisation and drafting; experts handle the parts that require judgment.
$497Prepared residency file + written review
Start the process →02
Upload your documents
Add evidence of your new life abroad and the Swiss ties you have changed, ended or retained.
03
Answer the questionnaire
Work through structured questions covering housing, family, work, banking, pension funds, property and the other connections a cantonal tax administration weighs.
04
We compile your residency file
The software organises your answers and evidence into a structured departure file: your position on Wohnsitz and Aufenthalt, your departure date, your pillar 2 / 3a withdrawal exposure and what stays taxable in Switzerland after you leave.
05
Expert review + written evaluation
Our team reviews the file and evidence, provides a written evaluation of your residency position and flags what to fix before you deregister and file.
06
You decide how to proceed
You receive the prepared file and review. You decide whether to deregister and file on that basis, ask your canton for a written confirmation, or obtain specialist advice first.
No open-ended hourly meter.
The core guided preparation and review is $497. Complex tax, valuation or specialist work is scoped and quoted separately, only if your situation requires it.
Your information is sensitive. We treat it that way.
Documents are stored privately when you explicitly save them. We use restricted access and do not sell or share your information.
01 / Understand the rules
There is no NR73 in Switzerland.
Here is what replaces it.
Switzerland has no federal departure form and no residency-opinion request. You deregister with your commune, your unlimited tax liability ends on the day you leave, and your canton assesses a final part-year return. Whether you have really left is judged on the facts — and on whether you have actually established a home somewhere else.
The residency test
Wohnsitz, or 30 days with work, or 90 days without.
Under Art. 3 of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (DBG), you are taxable in Switzerland on personal affiliation if you have your tax domicile (steuerrechtlicher Wohnsitz) or tax residence (steuerrechtlicher Aufenthalt) here. You have a tax domicile where you stay with the intention of remaining permanently. You have a tax residence if, disregarding temporary interruptions, you stay in Switzerland for at least 30 days while exercising a gainful activity, or at least 90 days without one.
The cantons apply the same definitions under the harmonisation act. For a departing resident, the question is the first limb: has the intention to remain permanently in Switzerland ended, and has a new centre of life demonstrably been set up elsewhere?
Fedlex: DBG Art. 3 (Bundesgesetz über die direkte Bundessteuer) ↗The trap
You are not gone until you have arrived somewhere.
The Federal Supreme Court held in BGE 138 II 300 (the 'Weltenbummler' case) that a person who leaves Switzerland without demonstrably establishing residence-type ties to a concrete place abroad is treated as keeping their Swiss tax domicile. Deregistering with the commune is necessary but not sufficient: a lease, a permit, a local life and time actually spent in the new country are what end Swiss residency. Perpetual travellers, and people who 'move' to a country where they merely hold a mailbox, are the cases that go wrong.
BGE 138 II 300 — Federal Supreme Court, 4 May 2012 ↗If you want certainty
There is no federal ruling on departure — your canton is the counterparty.
The FTA/ESTV does not issue residency determinations for individuals. Your cantonal tax administration assesses you, and cantonal offices (Zurich, for example) ask departing taxpayers to contact them after deregistering so the open tax years can be settled — with no guarantee that every year is finalised before you go. A written confirmation of your departure date and the settlement of open assessments is the closest thing to an opinion, and the facts you present are what it rests on.
Since 1 January 2021 the tax authorities can also require a taxpayer resident abroad to appoint a representative in Switzerland (Art. 126a DBG). Expect that request if property, a business or an open assessment stays behind.
Stadt Zürich: Wegzug ins Ausland (Steuern) ↗Separate from your return
Your final part-year return still has to be right.
Under Art. 8 DBG your tax liability ends with your departure from Switzerland — not at year-end. Under Art. 40 DBG the tax period is the calendar year, and where liability exists for only part of it, tax is levied on the income earned in that part; regularly recurring income is annualised to set the rate, while one-off income is taxed in full but not annualised. Capital payments from pension schemes are taxed separately under Art. 38 at one-fifth of the ordinary tariff. The canton issues the final assessment for the departure year, and in practice all outstanding taxes — including provisional ones — fall due when you leave.
Fedlex: DBG Art. 8 and Art. 40 ↗Why this matters
A flight changes
your location.
The facts tell the rest.
Swiss tax obligations depend on residency. Residents are taxed on worldwide income and wealth by the federation, the canton and the commune; non-residents are taxed only on Swiss-source items through economic affiliation — real estate, a business, pension benefits, board fees. The cantonal tax administration decides which you are by looking at where your life actually is, not at the date on your Abmeldebestätigung.
Read DBG Art. 3–5 on personal and economic affiliation ↗Where is your home?
Whether you sold, let out or kept your Swiss flat or house available is the heaviest fact in the 'intention to remain' analysis — and a retained home keeps you taxable on it under economic affiliation either way.
Where is your family?
A spouse, partner or children staying in Switzerland is a significant tie: the family's centre of life is where the courts look first, and it needs an explanation, not silence.
What does daily life look like?
Work, banking, pension funds, health insurance, vehicle registration, club memberships and days spent in each country tell the story the residency question is asking about — and prove you have actually arrived somewhere else.
02 / A simple way forward
From scattered documents
to a clear next step.
You don't need everything on day one. Start with what you know and keep track of the gaps.
01
Tell the story of your move
Choose your destination and record the key facts, dates and Swiss ties.
02
Build your document file
Keep new-country evidence and changes to Swiss ties in separate, labelled sections.
03
Get reviewed before you deregister
Our team reviews your residency file and evidence, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions before you deregister, withdraw pension capital or file your final return.
Guided preparation. Human review.
You do the groundwork.
Our team reviews the final file.
You should not have to start from a blank page, or pay a professional to chase every document. Build the file yourself; have it reviewed before you rely on it.
A reviewed residency file
Our team reviews your position on Wohnsitz and Aufenthalt, your supporting documents and departure narrative, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions.
A human review of the facts and evidence, not just a completed checklist.
Less administration. Lower preparation costs.
You gather documents and answer the guided questions. We focus professional time on reviewing your prepared file rather than assembling it from scratch.
Designed to cost less than having a firm manage every preparation task.
Specialists for the complex parts
Have a company, a self-employed business, a pension-fund payout decision, or Swiss real estate? We can connect you with Treuhänder and pension specialists for the pieces that need them.
The right specialist for the work your situation actually requires.
A more focused way to get there
Do not pay full-service rates
for paperwork you can organise.
Full-service Swiss departures can run into thousands of francs in combined Treuhand, legal and pension-advice fees once a pillar 2 capital withdrawal, a self-employed business, real estate and a treaty refund claim are in play.
This refers to broader, multi-specialist engagements, not residency preparation alone. Actual fees and savings vary.
Beyond the residency question
No exit tax.
But your pension capital is taxed on the way out.
Switzerland has no personal exit tax and no deemed disposal on departure: capital gains on private assets are tax-free under Art. 16(3) DBG, so nothing crystallises when you leave. Two things do. First, if you are self-employed, moving business assets to a foreign business or permanent establishment is treated as a sale under Art. 18(2) DBG. Second, any pillar 2 or pillar 3a capital paid to you after you have lost Swiss residence is subject to withholding tax at source under Art. 96 DBG — federal tax at up to 2.30% plus the cantonal rate of the canton where the pension institution has its seat, not where you lived. That withholding can be reclaimed within three years under a treaty that gives taxing rights to your new country; from a non-treaty destination it is final. Which canton, which date and which country decide the number.
ESTV: Merkblatt on withholding tax on private-law pension benefits (from 1 January 2025) ↗TREUHÄNDER / dipl. STEUEREXPERTE
Tax analysis and filings
A Treuhänder or dipl. Steuerexperte can model your final part-year return, the timing and location of a pension capital withdrawal, and what remains taxable in Switzerland after you leave.
PENSION SPECIALIST
Pillar 2 and 3a decisions
A pension-fund or vested-benefits specialist can confirm whether your mandatory BVG portion can be paid out at all for your destination, and how to sequence the withdrawal against your departure date.
Prepare it yourself. Get it reviewed. Bring in specialists when needed.
Start my guided departure →Team review is a separate, agreed professional engagement. Our advisory opinion is not a determination by the cantonal tax administration.
03 / Know what to gather
Two sides of the move.
One practical checklist.
These are suggested evidence categories, not a universal cantonal tax administration document requirement. Include what's relevant to your situation.
Your new country
Establishing your life abroad
- Lease or proof of housingNames, address, dates and the living arrangement.
- New driver's licenceIf issued and applicable to your situation.
- Residence or immigration documentThe visa or permit that applies to your status — and whether it is permanent.
- Local bank statementEvidence of an account in your new country.
Other useful context: employment, utilities, health coverage and travel records.
Switzerland
Documenting what changed
- Abmeldung at your commune (Einwohnerkontrolle)Deregister with your commune — Zurich, for example, accepts it up to 30 days before departure and requires it within 14 days after. Keep the Abmeldebestätigung; everything else depends on it.
- Swiss representation abroadSwiss citizens must register with the Swiss embassy or consulate for their new home within 90 days of deregistering, using the Abmeldebestätigung.
- Health insurance (KVG)Compulsory Swiss health insurance ends on the date you leave Switzerland, with exceptions for certain pensioners, cross-border and posted workers under the EU/EFTA agreements. Send the insurer the Abmeldebestätigung and keep the confirmation.
- AHV and pension fundDecide on voluntary AHV/IV (Swiss or EU/EFTA citizens moving outside the EU/EFTA, five continuous years' prior insurance, application within one year). Instruct your pension fund: vested-benefits account, or payout where permitted.
- Cantonal tax office, bank and vehicleContact your cantonal or communal tax office after deregistering to settle open years; update your bank to a non-resident address; deregister your vehicle or explain why it stays.
Keeping a Swiss bank account does not by itself make you a resident. Keeping a Swiss home that remains available to you is a different matter. See DBG Art. 3 ↗
Still waiting on a document? Mark it pending and keep going.
Start my departure file — $497 →Your file grows as your move does.
04 / When you're ready
You prepare here.
You deregister and file with your canton.
There is no federal form to 'submit' on departure — but there are four things your commune and canton expect you to do, and the order matters. This app does not connect to any cantonal portal.
Stadt Zürich: Wegzug ins Ausland (Steuern) ↗01
Deregister with your communeBook the Abmeldung at your Einwohnerkontrolle around your departure date (Zurich: earliest 30 days before, latest 14 days after). The Abmeldebestätigung fixes the date your unlimited tax liability ends.
02
Contact your tax office to settle open yearsCantonal offices ask you to get in touch after deregistering, bring salary certificates, deduction evidence and wealth statements, and expect all outstanding taxes — including provisional ones — to be paid. Name a Swiss representative if property, a business or an open assessment stays behind.
03
File the final part-year returnYour canton assesses the period from 1 January to your departure date. Regular income is annualised for the rate; one-off income is taxed in full without annualisation. Pension capital taken while still resident is taxed separately at the reduced tariff.
04
Keep the fileThe canton can revisit whether you really left. Keep the Abmeldebestätigung, the settlement of open years, your pension-fund payout statement, and every document that proves your new centre of life.
Good questions. Clear answers.
Before you
get started.
You can organise your evidence before deciding how far to take it.
Will your team review my final file?
Yes. Under an agreed review engagement, our team reviews your residency file and supporting package, provides a written advisory opinion and recommends revisions. That is our opinion — not a determination by any cantonal tax administration or the FTA/ESTV.
Is there a Swiss equivalent of Canada's NR73?
No. There is no federal departure form and no residency-opinion request. You deregister with your commune, notify your cantonal tax office and file a final part-year return; the canton assesses it. If you want something in writing, ask your canton to confirm your departure date and settle the open years before you go. What Zurich asks for ↗
Is there an exit tax when I leave Switzerland?
No — not on private assets. Capital gains on private assets are tax-free under Art. 16(3) DBG, so shares, funds and crypto held privately are not deemed sold when you leave. The exception is a self-employed person's business assets: moving them to a foreign business or permanent establishment counts as a sale under Art. 18(2) DBG. DBG Art. 16 and 18 ↗
Should I take my pension fund money out before or after I leave?
It is a residency-and-timing decision. Capital paid while you are still resident is taxed by your canton and the federation at the separate reduced tariff (one-fifth of the ordinary federal rate). Capital paid after you have lost Swiss residence is withheld at source under Art. 96 DBG at the rate of the canton where the pension institution sits — reclaimable within three years only if a treaty gives your new country the taxing right. Moving to an EU/EFTA state also blocks cash payout of the mandatory BVG portion if you become compulsorily insured there; the Sicherheitsfonds BVG checks this, earliest 90 days after departure. ESTV Merkblatt ↗ · Sicherheitsfonds BVG ↗
I am selling up and travelling for a year. Am I a non-resident?
Probably not, in the eyes of your canton. The Federal Supreme Court (BGE 138 II 300) treats a 'Weltenbummler' who has not demonstrably established residence at a concrete place abroad as still domiciled in Switzerland. Deregistration alone does not end tax liability; establishing a new home does. BGE 138 II 300 ↗
What if I keep my flat, a business or a bank account in Switzerland?
A bank account is a fact, not a tie that keeps you resident — but Swiss withholding tax (Verrechnungssteuer) on its interest and on Swiss dividends is refundable to a non-resident only under a treaty, within three years. Real estate or a business keeps you taxable in Switzerland on that item under economic affiliation (Art. 4 DBG), and the tax office can require a Swiss representative. A flat that remains available to you is also the single strongest argument that you never left. ESTV on Verrechnungssteuer refunds ↗
What happens to AHV and my health insurance?
Compulsory AHV/IV ends with your Swiss residence. Swiss and EU/EFTA citizens moving outside the EU/EFTA can join the voluntary AHV/IV if they were insured for at least five consecutive years immediately before leaving and apply within one year. Compulsory health insurance under the KVG ends on the date you leave Switzerland, subject to exceptions for certain pensioners, cross-border and posted workers under the EU/EFTA agreements. AHV Merkblatt 10.02 ↗ · BAG on insurance obligation ↗
What if I come back?
Tax liability restarts the day you take up domicile or residence again (Art. 8(1) DBG) — and residence can be triggered by as little as 30 days' presence with a gainful activity or 90 days without one. Frequent long stays in Switzerland after departure, especially with work, are how a 'departure' gets unwound. Keep a day count, and register with your commune when you genuinely return. DBG Art. 8 ↗
The next chapter starts with a plan
Get clarity before you spend
thousands more on professional fees.
Start my departure file — $497 →Dubai (UAE) / Malta / Cyprus / UK (non-dom / FIG) / Panama / Paraguay
The Exit network
One process. Every country.
Each site covers one departure, in that country's own rules. The destination sites cover where you're going. All reviewed by the same team at Exit Global.
Leaving
🌐Exit GlobalPortfolio home🇨🇦Exit CanadaNR73 + departure file🇺🇸Exit USAExpatriation + Form 8854🐻Exit CaliforniaFTB residency🗽Exit New YorkDomicile + statutory residency🇬🇧Exit the UKStatutory Residence Test🇮🇪Exit IrelandOrdinary residence tail🇫🇷Exit FranceArt. 167 bis exit tax🇧🇪Exit BelgiumSpecial departure return🇳🇱Exit NetherlandsM-form + conserverende aanslag🇪🇸Exit SpainArt. 95 bis + quarantine rule🇮🇹Exit ItalyAIRE + black-list presumption🇩🇰Exit DenmarkFraflytterskat🇳🇴Exit NorwayUtflyttingsskatt🇸🇪Exit SwedenTen-year share rule🇦🇺Exit AustraliaCGT event I1🇿🇦Exit South AfricaSection 9H exit charge🇩🇪Exit Germany§ 6 AStG Wegzugsbesteuerung🇦🇹Exit Austria§ 27 (6) Wegzugsbesteuerung🇫🇮Exit FinlandThree-year rule🇧🇷Exit BrazilSaída definitiva🇯🇵Exit JapanExit tax on ¥100m+ assets🇮🇱Exit IsraelCentre of life + s.100A🇳🇿Exit New Zealand325-day rule + IR886🇵🇹Exit PortugalArt. 16 CIRS residency🇰🇷Exit South KoreaExit tax on large shareholders🇦🇷Exit ArgentinaPérdida de residencia + baja🇮🇳Exit IndiaSection 6 residency + RNOR🇨🇭Exit SwitzerlandWegzug + pension withholding
Arriving
🇵🇦Move to PanamaTerritorial tax, Friendly Nations🇦🇪Move to DubaiNo personal income tax🇲🇹Move to MaltaRemittance basis, EU🇨🇾Move to Cyprus60-day rule, non-dom🇵🇾Move to ParaguayTerritorial tax, fast residency🇺🇾Move to UruguayTax holiday for new residents🇨🇷Move to Costa RicaTerritorial tax🇧🇸Move to BahamasNo income tax🇵🇹Move to PortugalD7, D8, Golden Visa, IFICI🇹🇭Move to ThailandLTR visa, remittance basis🇲🇾Move to MalaysiaMM2H, territorial tax🇮🇩Move to IndonesiaSecond Home visa, Bali🇬🇪Move to GeorgiaForeign income exempt, 1% SBS🇵🇷Move to Puerto RicoAct 60 for US citizens🇮🇹Move to ItalyFlat tax, 7% pensioner regime🇬🇷Move to GreeceGolden Visa, non-dom flat tax🇭🇰Move to Hong KongTerritorial, no CGT🇸🇬Move to SingaporeForeign income exempt, no CGT