Hi everyone,

Me and my husband will be relocating from Spain to Switzerland (Schwyz region as my company is located there) this spring and planning on first finding a temporary accommodation, so we can search for a nice long-term apartment once there.
I know one of the requirements for the home rental application is the Betreibungsregisterauszug, so my question is – will we be able to register at Betreibungsregister and receive the confirmation using the temporary rental address? We obviously do not have proof of residence in Switzerland as we just plan to move there.

Let’s say can we get it if we just use Airbnb? Or should we get some temporary rental through a real estate agency, so they can somehow assist us in temporary residence proof?
We can have a similar document from Spain but we heard the Swiss one is required.
Another question – would 1 month be enough to secure a flat in Schwyz region (we are considering Altendorf, Wollerau, Hurden, Freienbach, Lachen, Siebnen, Galgenen, Tuggen or Schindellegi, Einsiedeln in price range 3000-3500 chf per month).
I will really appreciate your advice


Best,
Angie from Barcelona

The "betreibungs" process has nothing to do with any landlord or Airb'n'b. It is a register of debt since your time in Switzerland (once you officially register at the gemeinderhaus).

If you don't pay a bill (rent, insurance or anything) then you can end up with an entry on the betreibungsregister - which you do not want.

In my experience when I arrived in Switzerland I was not asked for a Betreibungsauszug because it didn't exist - it takes months for an entry to get registered on it.

Even if you are in temporary accommodation you should still register at the gemeinde in order to get a permit.

Officialdom can be quite picky when it comes to being fed the right documents. Common sense would say that if you've only just arrived in Switzerland and never lived here before, then you're not going to have any negative entries in the Betriebungregister, and thus the Spanish equivalnet document would be more appropriate.

But on the other hand officialdom and comon sense don't always fit well together. So if in doubt, ask them rather than assume.

Thank you for a great advice! We try to prepare all the necessary documents beforehand to make the relocation faster and easier and this point was not clear for me. What we want to avoid are the trips back and forth to Spain just to gather some more required documents or waste our time in a temporary flat in Switzerland in case it turns out we need some registrations and official confirmations.

We just recently heard from our lawyer that the Swiss work contract cannot be issued before having a permanent address in Switzerland, but on the other hand - you can not (or have little chances) secure a flat without presenting a contract or Swiss pay slip.. go figure

Depends entirely on the office which issues Betreibung information you go to, unless rules have recently been unified nationwide. Up until recently there were offices which did not check residence and thus for non-residents they did issue blank certificates.

Sorry, but that's rubbish. You don't need any address in Switzerland to have an employment contract issued. To register as being a resident before you start work, yes you will need an employment contract and probably a rental one as well. Be careful about Airbnb as not all cantons accept these and if they do you may need to rent for several months for it to qualify. Check with the cantonal migration office whether it's acceptable accommodation or not before you sign any rental contracts.

And why is a lawyer involved in the first place? You don't need a lawyer to move to Switzerland.

Or a property purchase contract, or a declaration from the owner that states you can live there.

Yeah, it sounds strange to me as well, it seems we need a local Swiss address to put it in the employment contract (our Company's lawyer assists us for the paperwork and relocation process).

Our plan is to rent a temporary apartment for 2 months (not through Airbnb but using UMS website or real estate agency where they can give us the rental agreement), then get our work contracts and then get registered at gemeinde while searching and applying for long-term apartments.


Your insights are very helpful and they definitely will save us some headaches

The two times we relocated to Switzerland (one from The Netherlands and one from Spain) we 1st moved to temporary housing paid by the company (up to 3 months). Contracts got signed with address in The Netherlands and in Spain... so not sure why your lawyer says you need a Swiss address (?).
Usually with temporary accommodation and the docs. from your employer you can easily register at the gemeinde. From my experience it's a straightforward and easy process.
Feel free to send me a pm if you need further info (I am Spanish as well).
Wish you a good move!

Locals would say BCN is not spain....

And many would say spain s'pain ...