Apologies for posting this if it has already been answered but I have not been able to find a comparable question already posted.
I have started a very short term work contract here in Zuerich. It is for 2 months and three weeks. I fly in each Sunday night and fly back to England each Friday night.
I spoke to the permit office in Zuerich District 2 (where I am currently living) and they said I cannot have a residency permit as I am here for less than 3 months.
All the banks I go to will not open a bank account for me unless I have a residency permit (even though I have a Untermietvertrag (Sublet) contract for accommodation). I have offered my English address but they won't accept that.
So I am stuck. No residency permit therefore no bank account. As such I cannot provide my employer with information as to where to pay my salary. From the posts on the forum opening a non-resident bank account is either impossible or only possible if one has in excess of 500,000 CHF (which I don't).
Has anyone else either been in this situation or can provide advice?
Thanks,


Peter

you have a UK limited company? Bank account?

Hi Sean,


Thank you for your response.


I am employed directly as me (via a Swiss umbrella company) and not as my own English based Limited company. The recruitment agent who offered me the job in England said I have to use the customer's umbrella company as they will not accept any other limited / umbrella company.




My bank account in England won't provide the services I need (debit card) for an account in CHF. They will accept deposits in Swiss francs but I won't be able to access the cash via any ATMs. I could ask the employer to pay directly into the bank account in England but I was hoping there was a way to get a Swiss bank account so I could access my salary in Switzerland.


Thanks,


Peter

You probably need to register under this scheme.

https://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/bfm...verfahren.html

Whether you'd be able to get a bank account though I don't know.

Exactly! You should register online. Not sure if this means that you need to pay health insurance!?

Can your employer not send the money to your UK account?

You could use you UK credit card in ATMs here, and just pay off the full amount via online banking every month to avoid charges. Not ideal, as you'll pay a fee for cash withdrawals, but possibly the easiest option.

I'm not sure how much this would help but I'm happy to receive your salary into my account and then forward it on

Seriously though, if you know someone you can trust, they can open an account in their name and give you a general power of attorney (you don't need to be a resident for this). This is fairly easy to sort out, most banks actually have a simple form to fill out.

Thanks for all the responses. They have been helpful.

Regarding the power of attorney - I do have someone I trust who is resident in Switzerland. My own concern is would the Swiss taxman not start asking him lots of questions about where this money is coming from and why he hasn't declared it on his self assessment? I don't want him getting into trouble on my behalf or paying higher rates of tax.
Of course, if money in = money out then he won't have gained anything but not sure if the taxman sees it the same way.

Perhaps the simplest way is to tell the employer to hold my salary for three months. Hopefully my contract will get renewed and then after 3 months 1 day - straight down to the permit office.

Thanks,

Peter