what company?
I was told by Swisscom (for our TV and Tele) 12 months for term cancellation, no exceptions.

When I took out a contract with Swisscom 12-months ago I posed the question of leaving before the term of the contract and was told it is not a issue and could cancel.

Swisscom mobile has me locked in for 12 months at a time.
Maybe it is different for a business contract.

Hello, my L-permit expires soon and I wonder whether I need to inform the local Kreisburo that I am leaving the country? Secondly, is it possible to stay a little longer (i.e. week or two) beyond the end of the permit? I am UK citizen. Many thanks for you advice!

You'll need to deregister, just as you registered when you arrived. This will let you get out of contracts early.

As you're a UK citizen, I'd imagine you could stay on a couple of weeks after you deregister, but why not just deregister right before you go?

Im leaving Switzerland too...movin' to he UK

wish u all the best & good luck with everything

I'm leaving Switzerland in under 3 weeks, and all I had to do is already listed here (exception for planning the "Endreinigung" in advance).

Many thanks for the advice and comments! I've just realised that my permit expired a few days ago so I will probably just deregister next week and then leave within the following days. All the best, Simon

A lot of people I know here are off - us included. Louis Wu did start another thread on the practical side of these things (can't seem to find it at the moment), but one of the best things for moving is vacuum bags for clothes and soft toys. We just reduced two overflowing Ikea bags of washing to fit in the space of just over half a bag. If you're paying by volume to move, then these will save you a lot of money.

What if you can't pay off your taxes in time? I have to leave in January, no way I can change that - so if I leave without looking after my taxes, I was told it'll be hell to pay if I ever want to come back. Can I be prevented from leaving the country?

I think it depends on the canton. My father in law retired to Spain a few years ago, and he had to pay taxes in full before he could go (Zurich canton). I'm told that Basel is similar, which means I'm dreading trying to save enough for taxes and moving this January as well!

Then I'll have to check how it is in Bern, since my move is going to be permanent and I don't see myself coming back, I suppose it would still be nice to know I am not on a wanted list anywhere.

you can worm out of it by showing them some official documentation you have left which you get when you deregister.

for me the main thing was getting my apartment deposit back, which consisted of getting the place properly cleaned and finding a new tenant. what a pain, since few foreigners qualified for the apartment. also recommended is to use the mieterverband in order that the horrible people who check your apartment don't extort all your deposit.

another thing to do is get mail forwarding - its just a form you fill in at the post office.

Make sure that your Swisscom and other bills are paid up before you
leave.

I just had a Swisscom bill find me from 2004.

You can talk to the officers at the Steueramt and explain you need to have whatever adjustment payments calculated ASAP after you turn in your 2009 Steuererklärung. They SHOULD send you the "Endrechnung" within just a few days. They did that with me, at least, within the same week (but I live in a small town, not in Bern, so it might be different there).

Hmm, but if leaving in mid-january, that could be a problem, as tax papers are usually issued by your employer, bank, etc. at the end of January. Any ideas?

Emigrant can nominate a local resident who takes responsibility that the tax declaration is submitted and tax arrears are settled.

Hm, that's good to know. I'll also try and just pre-pay what the estimate online shows we'd owe, -15%.

If you have a tax advisor, you can give that person power of attorney. They can also pretty well calculate what you will need to pay so that you can be prepared.

Their professional status also will set the officials at ease, no doubt