Resident in CH means you have 1 year to convert your license to a swiss one, otherwise you face the consequences.

It depends on what your official resident status is ... here or there.
I would guess that being here for 5 days per week could pertain to Swiss residency, as recognised by officialdom, in which case (as stated above) after one year, if a Swiss 'resident' is found driving with a foreign issued licence, you could well end up in vat of brown smelly stuff.

From the law
Art. 42 Road Traffic Licensing Ordinance / Verkehrszulassungsverordnung http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifie...247/index.html
From the law alone you would need a Swiss license to legally drive a car in Switzerland. But I assume there is a similar English/Welsh/Scottish or U.K. law which mandates that you need a European or U.K. license and a Swiss is not valid.

Interestingly, the StVA Zurich has on its list of fees the following item:
"Ausländischer Wochenaufenthalter - Bewilligung für Führerausweiszulassungsbefreiung CHF 120"
http://www.stva.zh.ch/internet/siche...GEBlenker.html

(Wochenaufenthalter = People who stay at one place only during the work days, but have their main residence else where.)
(Ausländischer Wochenaufenthalter = See above + main residence is aboard.)

This fits your bill. I could not see any application form on the website. Call them or go to the counter and ask what legally has to be done in your case.

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Depends where you are resident. But of course a Swiss license will work in UK

If you are resident in Switzerland ( registered at the commune, have a permit etc) then you have to convert your UK permit to a Swiss one if you want to be able to drive here. If you don't convert it you cannot legally drive the company car.
You need to find out how converting to a Swiss licence will affect you with regards to insurance in the UK. If you can get insurance easily and affordable with a Swuss licence then you have no problems.
If it's a hassle and you really need to be able to drive in the UK when you're there you'd be better off sticking to the UK one and just never driving over here. Let the missus drive a rental car when she visits if you want to travel by car.

Thanks to everyone for their wise words - especially ASwissinTheUs.

I believe my current legal status is Ausländischer Wochenaufenthalter as it's a short term contract. We've certainly discussed that with the tax lawyer.

But I cannot understand why I have to give up my UK license (which I need to use all the time there) just for the off chance of having to drive the company car occasionally.

In CH you have lovely public transport. In The UK we don't.

Looks like it is far more difficult than thought. I will ask my fellow UK citizen (who works over here in a similar way), once he gets back from his business trip. He must have the same problem.

Regards


Ian

Most likely he does not care or even more likely he is not aware of the problem and even more likely it will never be a problem as random police checks are few and rare and most accidents can be handled w/o the police.

PS: If you never drive a car in Switzerland, the there is no need to exchange the licenses. Only if you drive a car in Switzerland you need a valid license as defined by the Swiss law.

PPS: There is a third (actually fourth if we count the exemption from the StVA) option. Acquire a full Swiss license by the official way. Costs some money and time for First Aid course, applying for learners permit, learning for theory test, taking theory test, basic driving theory course, then actual driving test. No driving lessons needed. Beauty of it: A Swiss driving license is valid forever and you keep your U.K. license.

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Are you a UK tax resident? I assume your also a Swiss tax resident as well.
The Swiss will insist on a CH license.

You need to tell your UK insurers, expect your premium to roughly triple as very few insurers will cover you.

For info my GF lives in the UK, pays £350 for fully comp insurance. To put me as an occasional driver on her car the premium will rise to £950 as I am not a UK resident although I took my test in the UK in 1979 & DVLA think my original license is still valid.

People -- You don't "GIVE UP" your UK license. It's simply sent back to the DVLA to look after for you while you have nice valid Swiss license.

You can use your nice valid Swiss license pretty much anywhere in the world while you are Swiss resident, you can still hire cars in the UK and hey lots of places even accept it as valid ID.. and if one day you decide to return to the UK to stay - you simply get your old UK license back from the DVLA - remember they have just been looking after it for you - in case you lost it

It's really very very simple.

Do you have a Swiss work permit? Then you have 12 months from the start date to swop your UK licence for a Swiss one if you want to drive any sort of vehicle in Switzerland

Not simple at all if you own a vehicle in both countries though. We live here in CH, but still have property in the UK and go very regulalry and kept a vehicle there- but in the end we sold the car as it was so difficult to insure the vehicle legally. We could insure it at our address- but had we ever had an accident, we would have encountered serious problems, as we would have 'lied' about us not being residents. Just not worth the risk- so we either drive over when we visit, or hire a car with our Swiss Licences.

Except for that the latest questioner is on a short term contract, staying here only on weekdays and returning to Blighty for the weekend .... so it all comes back to what his residency status is, specifically concerning work contract and permit.
If his contract means that he's here for less than 12 mths., then it's all academic, anyway.

Anyway .... the state my UK licence was in, after 21 years bent and folded in a wallet that I always sat on; when I submitted it here, 15 years ago, I'd be surprised if it hadn't disintergrated by now in a dark, dank storeroom down in Swansea.

Actually, it is.

Either claim UK residence (there is no problem for non-Swiss residents to own and sure a vehicle in CH), or keep a CH registered vehicle in the UK (I keep two CH registered vehicles in Italy).

Tom

Interesting- so where is the car insured and taxed- and did you declare it is kept abroad? I will ask my friend at La Mobilière when I next see him.

They are motorcycles, and registered, insured and taxed here, they just happen to be garaged in Trieste.

One of them is even in my daughter's name, and she lives in LA.

Tom

That's easy for you as it's quite near, not quite so simple if you lives hundreds of miles away from where the vehicle is located.
I can imagine it would be a bit of a pain if you had a Swiss registered and insured car located the UK when the MFK became due ( not that it happens very often but a pain nonetheless).
I do think that there is a time limit on Swiss insurance if the car is kept permanently outside Switzerland. Once a current policy expires I don't believe they will renew it.

Can't you just tell UK you lost your license and have them issue you a new one?

300 miles is near?

Tom