Switzerland Residence Permit — Time Away: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

A Swiss residence permit (B) or settlement permit (C) ends by law when you leave Switzerland without deregistering and stay away for six months. A short-stay permit (L) ends after three months. Short visits back to Switzerland for tourism, family or business do not interrupt the six months. Holders of a C permit can ask, before the six months are over, to keep the permit for up to four years. The cantonal migration office applies the rule, and no decision is needed for the permit to end.

Limit: 6 months abroad for B and C permits, 3 months for L permits
Period: One absence, short visits back do not interrupt it
If you go over: The permit ends by law, without a decision
Keeping a C permit: On request, for up to 4 years, asked before the 6 months end
Law: Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (AIG) art. 61, Ordinance VZAE art. 79
Run by: The cantonal migration office

Who it applies to

People with a Swiss B or C permit who plan a long stay in another country.
C permit holders who are sent abroad for work or who want to study abroad for a year or more.
People who must go home for months to care for a family member.
People who live mostly abroad and return to Switzerland only for short visits to keep the permit.
Holders of a short-stay L permit, who have only three months.

The rule

Article 61 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (Ausländer- und Integrationsgesetz, AIG) lists the ways a permit ends. Under paragraph 1 it ends, among other cases, when you deregister to go abroad, and when its period of validity runs out. Paragraph 2 covers the person who leaves without deregistering: the short-stay permit ends after three months, and the residence permit and the settlement permit end after six months.

The permit ends by law. No office has to take a decision and no letter is sent. The reason for the absence does not matter for this effect: under the guidelines of the State Secretariat for Migration and the practice of the Federal Supreme Court, the six months also run when you are kept abroad against your will, for example in prison.

Article 79 of the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (VZAE) closes the most common way around the rule. Paragraph 1 says that the periods of article 61 are not interrupted by temporary stays in Switzerland for a visit, tourism or business. So when you have moved your life abroad, a week in Switzerland every few months does not start a new six months. Only a real return to live in Switzerland does.

The same article 61 gives C permit holders a way to stay away longer. On request, the settlement permit can be kept for four years. Article 79 paragraph 2 VZAE says the request must be filed before the six months are over. The office decides at its discretion and looks at the reason and the planned length of the stay abroad, for example a work assignment or studies. There is no such option in the law for B permits.

Why it exists

A permit gives the right to live in Switzerland. When the holder no longer lives there, the reason for the permit is gone, and Switzerland does not want permits to be kept as a reserve by people who have moved away. A fixed period that works by law is simple to apply. The rule on short visits stops people from keeping a permit alive with a few days in the country each year. The four-year option shows that the state wants to keep settled people who leave only for a time.

Counting the days

You count one absence from Switzerland from the day you leave. Short visits back for tourism, family or business do not stop the count.

Write down the day you left Switzerland to stay abroad.
Add six months for a B or C permit, or three months for an L permit. If you leave on 1 March with a B permit, the last day is 1 September.
Do not start again after a short visit to Switzerland. A visit for tourism, family or business leaves the count running.
The count stops only when you come back to live in Switzerland again.
With a C permit, file a request to keep the permit with the cantonal migration office before the six months end if you need more time.
Check the end date printed on the permit as well. A permit that runs out while you are away has ended on that date.

Countr and this rule. Countr lists Switzerland Residence Permit — Time Away, but it does not count it yet. The app measures an absence as days in a row outside the country and starts a new count on any day it sees you back. Swiss law does not work that way: under article 79 VZAE a short visit for tourism, family or business does not interrupt the six months. A tracker that returns to zero on every day in Switzerland would show too few days and would warn too late. Countr will count this rule when it can keep an absence running through short visits. The app also cannot know your permit type, whether you deregistered, or whether the office agreed to keep your C permit.

Track your days with Countr.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

Download on the App Store

Examples

Five and a half months away

You hold a B permit and leave Switzerland on 1 March 2026 to help your parents. You do not deregister. On 15 August 2026 you move back into your flat in Bern and take up your normal life. You returned before 1 September 2026, the end of the six months, so the permit did not end under article 61.

A week in July does not help

Same departure on 1 March 2026. In July you fly to Zurich for one week to see friends and go to the bank, then leave again. You move back for good on 10 October 2026. The July week was a temporary visit and did not interrupt the six months. The permit ended by law on 1 September 2026, and you must apply for a new permit to live in Switzerland.

A C permit holder on a two-year assignment

You hold a C permit and your employer sends you to Singapore for two years from 1 March 2026. In May 2026 you file a request with your cantonal migration office to keep the settlement permit and explain the assignment. The request arrives before 1 September 2026, so it is in time. If the office agrees, the permit can be kept for up to four years and you can return on it in 2028.

Exceptions

A settlement permit (C) can be kept for up to four years on request. The request must be filed before the six months are over.
A short-stay permit (L) ends after three months abroad, not six.
If you deregister to go abroad, the permit ends on that day. The six months are only for people who leave without deregistering.
A permit also ends when its period of validity runs out or when a permit is issued in another canton (article 61 paragraph 1).
The right of residence of EU and EFTA citizens is also governed by the agreement on the free movement of persons and by article 61a AIG, so their case can differ.

Common misconceptions

“If I come back to Switzerland for a few days every five months, the count starts again.”: No. Article 79 VZAE says that temporary stays for a visit, tourism or business do not interrupt the period. Only a real return to live in Switzerland ends the absence.
“The migration office must cancel my permit before it ends.”: The permit ends by law when the six months are over. No decision is needed. Many people learn about it only when they try to return or to renew the card.
“A C permit is permanent and cannot be lost.”: A C permit has no time limit while you live in Switzerland, but it ends after six months abroad like a B permit, unless you asked in time to keep it.
“I can ask to keep my C permit after I notice that I am late.”: The request must be filed before the six months end. A request made later comes when the permit has already ended.

Questions and answers

Should I deregister when I leave Switzerland for a long trip?

It depends on your plan. Deregistering ends the permit on that day. If you intend to come back within six months, people normally stay registered and return in time. For a longer stay with a C permit, ask the migration office about keeping the permit before you leave.

What happens if I come back one day after the six months?

The permit has ended by law. The law has no tolerance for a short delay. To live in Switzerland again you need a new permit and have to meet the conditions for admission again.

Does time in a neighbouring country such as France or Germany count as time abroad?

Yes. The rule is about leaving Switzerland. Living across the border in an EU country is an absence in the same way as living on another continent.

Can a B permit be kept for longer than six months abroad?

The four-year option in article 61 is written for the settlement permit only. For a B permit the law gives six months. Speak to your cantonal migration office before a long absence.

Do several shorter trips add up to the six months?

No. The rule looks at one absence, not at a yearly total. Several separate trips, each followed by a real return to your life in Switzerland, are not added together. But when you have moved abroad and only visit Switzerland, the visits do not divide the absence into shorter trips.

Does the same six months apply to Swiss tax residence?

No. Tax residence follows the tax law, which looks at your domicile and at stays of 30 or 90 days. It is a separate rule, covered by Switzerland Tax Residence.

Sources

Other rules for Switzerland

Switzerland Tax Residence 89 days in one visit

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.