What happens to your bank account in Switzerland if your temporary permit is not extended? Do you keep your account?

I have another question related to that, can I open an acount with a temporary L permit?

Yes, you can.

I once heard that you have to have a minimum in your bank account to be able to keep it, something like 50k at UBS?? But my memory is a bit vague on this . Hmm, on second thought, maybe I misunderstood the German numbers...No I checked, I wrote it down, it was 50k.

My boyfriend is currntly on an L, and has an account with UBS. He was told the account would remain open, although he had to leave 200 CHF as a deposit, and he definately didn't have to have a minimum of 50K!!!

I was living in Switzerland in 2004-2005 then moved to Austria for a year, before coming back again. I kept the account open (didn't even tell them I was out of the country). I don't remember how much I had in the account, but it was less than 1000 CHF. When I came back I just announced them that I had a new address.

So,

I'll arrive in September with a L permit for 4 months, can I open an account? Which will be the process?

UBS told my husband he would need 100K to keep his account open after he leaves. They do know when his permit expires, but I don't know how carefully they track this.

By the way...if you're thinking of opening a new bank account (maybe this is a new thread, but), I would strongly suggest that you not open up an account with UBS. My husband's semi-annual paycheck has been lost by them and they have offered 0 help thus far . My international wires take 4 business days to arrive to UBS, while int'l wire transfers to other banks has taken only 2 business days.

So now we have three possible quotes by UBS managers

• 200 CHF for an L permit
• 50,000 CHF for a B permit
• 100,000 CHF for a B permit

that is very inconsistent, so I am thinking that people with UBS who are leaving Switzerland might benefit from asking several UBS staff at several branches? Maybe we can build a list of the minimum amounts needed at other banks, so please post if you know any.

100K for a B Permit. Information from other banks would be most appreciated. I would like to switch banks I am so angry with UBS.

Untill this moment I only saw people talking about UBS, which are the other Banks options?

Anyone have any updates on this? It would be good to have a reference for the minimum needed, at least for B permit holders who are leaving Switzerland. It would also be good to know if people in different circumstances get different quotes (like country they are moving to, size and type of branch asked, etc.).

I feel your pain re: UBS .... I changed within my first 3 months in Switzerland and never looked back ... Credit Suisse requires a forwarding address and nothing else as I remember ( if you live outside of Switzerland , it costs CHF 72 per year to maintain your account so they ain't complaining )

I have never had any problem with UBS. On the contrary, I find them extremely helpful.

I can second MM's sentiment here. Have always found UBS to be very flexible, informative & helpful. This may be the fact that I have an English guy for a contact.
If anyone wants his details, PM me & I can let you know.

Ok, after a trip to three banks, these are the answers when you leave CH and want to keep an account open:

1. UBS: 50k needed to keep the account (confirmed within two years by two different UBS bank managers, all in Kanton BE
2. Credit Suisse: 72 CHF/year to keep the account (says Marcachvin above), a minimum I do not know anything about
3. Raiffeisen: you cannot keep an account unless you keep a current postal address in Switzerland (I did not ask about minimum balance)
4. Postfinance: no minimum required and no Swiss postal address required; they will send the post to your real address overseas; if you want to have 0 costs, keeping >7.5k still works

This is for EU B permit holders who are leaving Switzerland. I did not ask about Non-EU or L-Permits. Bottom line, PostFinance seems the cheapest and easiest, UBS has a high minimum balance, and Raiffeisen is impossible for many of us.

50k to keep an account open,what planet to UBS live on

\I have never had any problems with UBS and find them really helpful. I kept my accounts there when I went back to the Uk and never had to leave a certain amount in the account. When I purchased my flat in CH they sorted everything out and what is great is when you ring the tel no on your statements(in english) an english speaker answers straight away.
Now the CS, I found them a different story............

i have an account with ubs (i have a 5 year B permit)

when i opened it back in september i had less than 1000 francs....i have a bit more than that now (but never went near the 50000 anyway!). i never had a problem

My experience with UBS has also been highly questionable ... it might be worthy of its own thread ...