Hi

I am a non-EU student who will begin an exchange semester ETH, Zürich from this Oktober. Because of visa and residence permit woes+less funding, I have decided to live on the German side of the CH-DE border in Grenzach-Wyhlen (Lörrach near Basel). I have residence permit for Germany...

I wish to know if there will be any hassles if I commute everyday from Basel to Zurich with respect to border controls... Also, I have read somewhere that people working on the border have to pay a special kind of tax (border tax?) and if there are commuting, some commuter tax...I want to know if anything of this sort is applicable to me.

Thanks for all the responses.

I've been checked only once out of 10 times in the Basel-Zurich commute. It was on the way to Basel, on a train continuing to Hamburg. They asked for my Swiss residence permit, which I didn't have with me. I did have my driver's license and ETH identification though, which apparently is enough for their purposes.

hmmm...but have you lived in the border areas anytime?

Kinch, you are the first person I could 'thank' after reaching 10 posts

You say you have visa and permit "woes". Do you need a permit to enter Switzerland even as a tourist?
If so how can you cross daily without one? They will want to know what you are doing, don't imagine you can really leave this to luck.

Well, 'woes' wasnt the right word I agree

Anyway, I do not want to apply now for swiss visa+permit and live in Zurich, as for me things are a little uncertain at the moment. Plus Zurich is very costly and I have a got a cheap accommodation on the border...including the commutation costs, it works out cheaper..

Legally with my German residence permit, I am allowed to enter Switzerland multiple times but I am sure if it can be for attending lectures in univ...