For reasons you can all well imagine ( ) I have a lot of Greek friends and family asking about the possibility of moving some of their € savings to Switzerland.

So I'd like to ask how things work.

Imagine somebody who does not work here and does not have a permanent address in Switzerland.
1. Can they just show up in a Banque Cantonale or UBS brunch and say the want to open a savings account (imagine an ammount above CHF 20K but always below CHF 100K)?
2. Should they provide a Swiss address?
3. Should they actually prove the Swiss address with a residence permit?

Thanks in advance for the insights.

I have a similar question:

I am not a resident of Switzerland but hold a Greek passport. Would like to open a bank account and transfer a minimum of 60 000 Euros that I can link to a debit card and withdraw cash at ATM's in Greece and Italy when needed.

Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome!

You could put it on my accounts...

PS: by the way if you search the forum I know they were the conditions to open a bank account...
I think you needed to have a Swiss address, at least for the opening...

PS2: Switzerland is no more a "secret banking country" so if you're money is illegal, or not declared, then it's not so safe...

Just saying right, because In Greece I can't remember having seen any receipts, facturation or similar, from the shops...

The short answer is that yes, non-CH-residents can walk in and open an account (with proof of identity etc. - no Swiss address required) but it will probably come with a few more strings attached.

In particular there are likely to be significant account maintenance fees (shop around as these vary from bank to bank) and they may be asked to prove where the money comes from.

If the amount is above $10,000 you will be asked for proof of ownership. This is to stop criminals banking drug profits in Swiss banks.

There are charges and taxes on foreign owned accounts. It would be better for your relatives if they lent you the money, transferred it by normal inter bank transfer, and you banked it here for them.

You will pay some tax on the capital, but it is still the cheaper way.

We're talking Greece mate

Check out Post Finance. From what I remember they usually let you open an account without being resident.

??????????? Swiss Franc account here! Not Greek Euros!

Sorry, I'll say again slowly: Your post mentioned "transferring money", implying it is not in cash and declared. Also, you mentioned a small "tax", also a no-no.

If the monies were above board and in a bank, the OP needn't ask. The owners would simply wire the money to Switzerland.

Usually you just sigm that it's your money & not the proceeds of crime.

Thanks.

The money is quite legally earned as far as I know. And we are talking about amounts below CHF 100K. Given the Swiss salaries reality, I didn't think anybody would care to investigate that little money.


Thank you.
Do you know what is the case if I open a common account with somebody? I am not considering doing this for EVERYBODY who asks me, but I have a specific uncle I'd like to help. Thus there will be a Swiss resident with a B permit (me) and a Greek citizen/resident. Should it qualify for a free savings bank account?

I already asked this at a BCV branch here in Lausanne, and I will ask at a few more banks the next days to confirm. The lady at BCV told me that for the moment (really emphasized) we can walk into any BCV branch to open that common account. But she added this might change any moment according to new rules from the SNB.
I am also asking in this forum because I am sure there are people who know these things better than a BCV customer rep, the thing is to find these people.


This is the other solution I am considering in order to help my uncle. In this case he does not even have to come here - just transfer the money to me.
What kind of capital tax would I have to pay in this case? Imagine somebody who just settles down in CH. Don't they have to take some money with them to cover their expenses until salaries start coming?



Swiss efficiency!



We have e-baking in Greece!
I swear to the ECB!
Well, the money of course is in a bank account in Greece.
Thus our main problem is not transferring it. The question is which account to transfer it to. The options are: 1. they wire it to an account of mine.
2. They open their own account in CH.
3. We open a common account in CH.
I'm trying to decide if options 2 and 3 are valid technically (meaning that we can do it despite my uncle not being a resident here) and if they imply any risk for my uncle or me (e.g. the Greek or Swiss authorities looking into it). Otherwise we'll go for option 1, which has the drawback that I get responsibility for somebody else's money (my uncle totally trusts me but still, I am not in love with the idea).

UBS will charge for having an account without living in switzerland
Post Finance will charge nothing.

You can walk in Post finance with your passport and open an account. and if its more than 7500 (or around that values) there are no fees. I am opening one for my girlfriend next week and she doesnt live in Switzerland and she dosent have a permit.

Alternative, your Greek "cousins" could go to UBS or Credit swiss in Athens and open an account by themself. The banks , for the obvious reasons, have simplified the procedures in opening an account from Athens.

As long as the transfer is via bank (you might have to answer some questions) then there is no problem with money "washing around"

Another possibility is to open the account in your name and give the relative the right to withdraw any amount and any time. You might also need to think about what will happen if one of you dies, as often accounts are frozen until the estate is settled.

The tax on the capital will depend on where you live on 31.12.2012, about 1% per year, I will check up.

Wealth Tax http://geneva.angloinfo.com/information/11/tax.asp
Swiss cantons levy taxes on the net wealth of individuals which are subject to (limited or unlimited) taxation. In the case the individual is resident in Switzerland, his worldwide wealth is subject to wealth taxes in Switzerland. Real estate or permanent establishments abroad are not taxed in Switzerland but considered for the determination of the applicable tax rate. In the case the individual is taxed on his/her real estate or permanent establishments located in Switzerland, the taxation is limited to the assets located in Switzerland.

The wealth taxes in the canton of Geneva amount to approx. 0.6% of the taxable net wealth.
In the canton of Vaud the wealth tax amounts to approx. 0.3%.

So your advice is to conceal the actual source and/or owner? What do they call that again?

Essentially it is becoming impossible for an individual to have a normal Swiss bank account without being officially resident here.

I know of two people (1 in the USA and 1 in the UK) who even have Swiss nationality and have lived here, who have recently been informed that as they are no longer resident in Switzerland, their accounts will be closed down by their bank.

If you are resident here and suddenly deposit substantial cash for "an uncle" in your name, there is likely to be problems and the tax authorities will want to know why this wasn't declared before - and tax you mildly with wealth tax, if you exceed the limits for this to apply...

I would suggest you NOT go down the road of opening an account for someone else. Both of you have equal access and equal responsibility on the account. It's just bad news to do this with friends and family. Keep your finances separate.

What your friends could do is buy CHF and put them in a safe deposit box at the bank in Greece.

Maybe you can also check HSBC expat for your relatives. If it is too difficult in CH.

Thank you guys.
Quite useful information from all of you.


But what qualifies as substantial?
Would CHF 50K trigger this action?
Would CHF 30K do?