Does anyone know if you lose your US driver's license if you use it to get a Swiss license? Do they take it or something? My Italian friend said that they take it and then send it back to Italy or something which to him meant it was lost.

This website will give you all the information you need. Or else, give them a call to find out what the procedure is.

http://www.stva.zh.ch/internet/siche...e/kontakt.html

I fully agree with this approach, the delta required is not so much. The other benefit is the A1 theory test will be valid for 5 years should you decide to do the car license later.

If you are from Italy or another EU/EEA country, your license is exchanged for a Swiss one and is returned to the EU/EEA licensing authority. You may re-exchange it on re-entering the EU/EEA from Switzerland.

Other countries licenses are usually returned to you with a "Not valid in Switzerland" sticker affixed once you pass a road test if needed.

A license from A, AND, B, BG, CY, CZ, D, DK, E, EST, F, FIN, FL, FO, GR, HU, I, IRL, IS, L, LT, LV, M, MC, N, NL, P, PL, RO, RSM, S, SK, SLO, UK (incl. GB+ A,G,J,M,Z) or V will usually be exchanged and sent back with the same validity dates and categories.

Yes that is what happened to my USA license - just a bright orange sticker stuck on it and handed back to me.