Just wondering if I can do this. Most threads I found with the search thing which was relevant to me was for people with lots of money!
I plan on moving to Switzerland in April, however I was wondering if I could do this before I move.
Main reason for this is my partner wants to transfer money from his savings into a Swiss account. This normally takes 1 month from an English account to English account which is why we want to get it done now to a Swiss account.
If we can't I have family I could send it to to make it easier.

Also, I am a Swiss national by Birth (Also English ). Partner is English. Would it be easier for me to open an account?

Or, if you open an account when in Switzerland can you just send the money over from an English bank account? I'm assuming it will be easier than withdrawing money from a savings account, however I'm not sure how long this will take. (We would like the money to be there from day 1. )

Thank you in advance for answering.

Being Swiss helps. Having an address will pave the way for you too. If you don't have an address, a job contract may help. Though, normally one must be present and deposit some money to open an account. Once open you can transfer funds from England no problem. An account is opened rather quickly, the e-banking takes a few days to send you the card, reader/encoder, password. Nothing that shouldn't be completed in about a week's time.
JC

You might find it cheaper to use a currency exchange service rather than transfer via the bank - e.g. xe.com

Don't have an address or job yet - That's why we were hoping to have the account first, so we could get a deposit on a flat for us to rent or so.
My partner is going over first then I will go (We have a puppy so we can't both go at the same time without somewhere to stay.. My parents have a cat so that is out of the question!)

I'll ask my parents to help him to open an account when he is first there. Fingers crossed it will go easily Work also shouldn't be too hard for him for he is very qualified and has tons of experience. (Construction)

Thank you for all of the information you have given me. It has really helped.

You can't open an account without a residence permit (unless you have a lot of money). Also if your address is outside Switzerland then you have to pay a high fee every month. Transfer funds to a UK current account, once you have work contract or permit in hand, open Swiss account & transfer funds from UK account!

Your parents live in Switzerland and you are Swiss? Just open a bank account using your parents address.

Being Swiss is the permit ;-)

I tried this. But I couldn't. I waited until I had my housing and work contract and my residence permit. Then went to Post.
In the meantime, for my rental deposit and first rent I transferred money to a trusted person in Switzerland (my soon to be boss's secretary).
And the rest I just brought cash, and an empty credit card.
If your parents are there surely you can trust them to pay deposit etc for you after an international bank transfer?

Have looked into this, too, from what I can see Postfinance let you open an account from outside CH, costs $10Fr per month. Have a look at their website:
https://www.postfinance.ch/en/priv/p...chf/offer.html If you scroll down to the very bottom, it says customers domiciled abroad pay fees, so it should be possible. If your partner cannot do it as he is not Swiss, then you should be able to.

I have not tried it yet, as we don't have moving date yet, and don't want to waste several months worth of fees, we aren't moving until June/July
.

Some points:

First of all, to answer the main question, you *cannot* open a Swiss account from London. Swiss law says that for opening an account the bank must meet the customer on Swiss terrotory (so you have to visit Switzerland at least once).

First for the non-Swiss partner: Banks separate foreign customers as those living in Switzerland and those who dont. If you live here (and have a residence permit to prove it), opening an account is straightforward. If you do not, then generally you can only open savings accounts (so no Maestro card or online banking) but most require at least 50000 franks or even more. Generally there are no monthly fees. But you may have to visit a big branch where they can deal with non-residents. Banks have a right to reject customers.

Second for the Swiss national, it is easier, but again you must visit CH and also you face quite high charges if you are not living/working/have property here. Basically banks want ex-residents to close their current accounts when leaving (Credit suisse charges 40 CHF per month).

So basically in your case it's best to wait and do as soon as you arrive. It takes no time at all, you visit a bank and get the account number on the spot, and you can then use online banking to tranfer from UK to Switzerland.