Date of application: 01.01.2024 (the legal position in force at the time of writing). Cantonal practice details, authority structures and contact information are volatile; for each canton, this file therefore names the official website as the binding reference source instead of fixed individual particulars. In case of doubt, the information provided by the competent cantonal migration authority always prevails.

This file is a cluster overview, not an individual-case advisory text. It describes a family of practices, not an individual strategy for choosing a canton. Comparative value judgements on the "strictness" or "leniency" of one canton relative to another are deliberately omitted — such assessments tied to a specific person would constitute legal advice. The professional-law basis for this is the Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers (Lawyers Act, LLCA, SR 935.61), which reserves individual legal advice to lawyers entered in the cantonal bar register (compare, on professional duties, Art. 12 (SR 935.61)). SIP explains the legal position in general terms and does not replace legal advice from a lawyer in an individual case.

1. Overview — what is the "German-speaking standard-practice cluster"?

In its basic structure, Swiss migration law is federal law. The governing enactments are the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, FNIA, SR 142.20), the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201), the Federal Act on Swiss Citizenship (Swiss Citizenship Act, SCA, SR 141.0) together with the Citizenship Ordinance (OLN, SR 141.01), the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31), as well as — for nationals of the EU/EFTA — the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) together with the Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons (OFMP). The implementation of this federal law, however, lies with the 26 cantons. In practical application, the cantons can be grouped into practice families — that is, families that exhibit similar procedural languages, similar interpretative traditions and similar administrative structures. This grouping is not a legal concept but a didactic auxiliary structure that makes it easier to find one's way through the federal complexity.

The German-speaking standard-practice cluster comprises 14 of the 26 cantons and is thus, numerically, the largest cluster group in this content taxonomy. It covers roughly half of German-speaking Switzerland. The canton of Zurich and the canton of Bern form their own units outside this cluster, since their practice is treated separately on account of their size and special constellations. The canton of Basel-Stadt and the canton of Basel-Landschaft are likewise treated as their own units on account of their border location with France and Germany. The canton of Graubünden is trilingual and belongs to no language cluster.

1.1 Cluster definition

Included in this cluster are cantons that share the following characteristics:

  • Procedural language: exclusively German (High German, written language). Swiss-German dialect is not used in written correspondence; orally, the language is switched depending on the official's and the citizen's language.
  • Language-proof requirement: German (fide certificate or equivalent; compare Art. 77d OASA).
  • Standard authorisation practice: application of the FNIA and the SEM directives without pronounced cantonal special doctrines, with selective variation in interpretation (for example regarding the early C settlement permit under Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA or regarding the interpretation of social assistance within the framework of Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA).
  • No pronounced IO special practice, with the exception of the canton of Zug, whose IO practice is dealt with in the cantonal in-depth treatment of Zug.

1.2 What this cluster is not

This cluster is not a recommendation for choosing a particular canton in which to take up residence. It permits no statement as to which canton makes a procedure "easier" or "more difficult". Administrative discretion in Swiss migration law is largely rule-bound; cantonal practice differences are real, but in an individual case are to a large extent compensable through the conduct of the file and the quality of the application. SIP gives no strategic advice on choosing a canton and, in particular, no comparative value-judgement statement between the cantons of this cluster (anti-scope).

2. The 14 cantons of this cluster

The cantons are listed alphabetically by their official abbreviation. For each unit, the competent authority, the official website as the binding reference source for address, opening hours and contact information, as well as at most three sentences on special-practice keywords are given. Specific street addresses, telephone numbers and fees are deliberately not fixed here, as they frequently change; the relevant official cantonal website prevails. A continuously maintained federal directory of all cantonal migration authorities is kept by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) at www.sem.admin.ch. An in-depth treatment of substance does not take place in this cluster file but — where one exists at all — in a separate major or minor file per canton.

2.1 Aargau (AG)

  • Authority: Amt für Migration und Integration Kanton Aargau (MIKA). Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.ag.ch.
  • Practice keywords: within this cluster, practice has reported since the beginning of 2024 a tightened line of interpretation regarding dependence on social assistance in the canton of Aargau. Decisive in this respect are the ground for revocation in the case of receipt of social assistance under Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA (for residence permits) and Art. 63 para. 1 let. c FNIA (for settlement permits). The interpretation of these elements is limited by the case law of the Federal Supreme Court; cantonal tightenings move within this framework. As regards debt-enforcement proceedings, it should be noted that debts alone do not constitute a ground for revocation, but may at most acquire significance indirectly via the integration assessment (Art. 58a FNIA) (see debt enforcement and residence rights).
  • Procedural language: German.

2.2 Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR)

  • Authority: Amt für Inneres, Migrationsamt. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.ar.ch.
  • Practice keywords: small canton with a consolidated, uniform practice without pronounced special doctrines. The low case volume leads to a high continuity of personnel in case handling and thus tends towards consistent conduct of files over the years. This finding is descriptive and not evaluative.
  • Language: German (Eastern Switzerland language area).

2.3 Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI)

  • Authority: Amt für Inneres, Migrationsamt. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.ai.ch.
  • Practice keywords: Appenzell Innerrhoden is the least populous canton in Switzerland; the current population figure can be obtained from the Federal Statistical Office (www.bfs.admin.ch) and from the canton. The migration authority is correspondingly small in scale, from which results a high influence of individual case handling on cantonal practice. This finding is descriptive, not evaluative — it is a constant of small administrative units and signifies neither particular strictness nor particular leniency.
  • Language: German.

2.4 Glarus (GL)

  • Authority: Departement Sicherheit und Justiz, Abteilung Migration. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.gl.ch.
  • Practice keywords: small canton with the historical peculiarity of the Landsgemeinde (public assembly with open voting). For foreign-nationals-law authorisation procedures without a citizenship dimension, the practice moves within the cluster standard range. Statements on the "strictness" of the cantonal naturalisation practice are deliberately omitted; the legal limits of naturalisation follow from the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0) and the case law of the Federal Supreme Court (see section 6).
  • Language: German.

2.5 Lucerne (LU)

  • Authority: Amt für Migration Kanton Luzern (AMIGRA). Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.lu.ch.
  • Practice keywords: central-Switzerland core unit. The cantonal practice moves within the cluster standard range without pronounced special doctrines. In the asylum field, Caritas Switzerland, with its seat in Lucerne, is active as the carrier organisation for the federally mandated legal advice; the precise regional competence of the legal advice offices in the federal asylum centres can be obtained from the SEM (www.sem.admin.ch) and from Caritas Switzerland (see section 5).
  • Language: German.

2.6 Nidwalden (NW)

  • Authority: Amt für Migration. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.nw.ch.
  • Practice keywords: small canton of central Switzerland. Cluster standard practice without pronounced special doctrines. In practice, matters with a connection to the neighbouring canton of Obwalden and to Lucerne frequently arise.
  • Language: German.

2.7 Obwalden (OW)

  • Authority: Amt für Justiz, Migration. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.ow.ch.
  • Practice keywords: small canton of central Switzerland. As with the other small cantons, the small staff size leads to a high significance of individual case handling; the interpretation moves within the cluster standard range. The current organisational structure can be obtained via the official cantonal website.
  • Language: German.

2.8 St. Gallen (SG)

  • Authority: Migrationsamt Kanton St. Gallen. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.sg.ch.
  • Practice keywords: principal canton of Eastern Switzerland with a substantial migrant population. Cluster standard practice without pronounced special doctrines. In the asylum field, HEKS is active in the Eastern Switzerland asylum region as the carrier organisation for the mandated legal advice; the specific location of the competent federal asylum centre can be obtained from the SEM (www.sem.admin.ch) (see section 5).
  • Language: German.

2.9 Schaffhausen (SH)

  • Authority: Migrationsamt Kanton Schaffhausen. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.sh.ch.
  • Practice keywords: small canton in the north of German-speaking Switzerland, geographically largely surrounded by Germany (German hinterland Konstanz–Singen–Waldshut). Cluster standard practice. On account of its location, cross-border permits (G cross-border permit) play an above-average role in cantonal comparison; their basis is the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) together with the OFMP. Current cross-border-commuter figures can be obtained from the Federal Statistical Office (www.bfs.admin.ch).
  • Language: German.

2.10 Schwyz (SZ)

  • Authority: Amt für Migration Kanton Schwyz. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.sz.ch.
  • Practice keywords: central-Switzerland canton. In migration law, the Schwyz practice moves within the cluster standard range. The early C settlement permit under Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA presupposes successful integration and lies within the discretion of the authority; official grant rates are not published, which is why no rate is stated here. Comparative value judgements between cantons are deliberately avoided.
  • Language: German.

2.11 Solothurn (SO)

  • Authority: Migrationsamt Kanton Solothurn. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.so.ch.
  • Practice keywords: medium-sized canton with cluster standard practice without pronounced special doctrines. The official and procedural language is German throughout.
  • Language: German.

2.12 Thurgau (TG)

  • Authority: Migrationsamt Kanton Thurgau. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.tg.ch.
  • Practice keywords: Eastern Switzerland canton with a German border location (Lake Constance region). Cluster standard practice. In the asylum field, the canton belongs to the Eastern Switzerland asylum region, in which HEKS is active as the carrier organisation for the mandated legal advice (see section 5). The current organisational structure can be obtained via the official cantonal website.
  • Language: German.

2.13 Uri (UR)

  • Authority: Amt für Migration. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.ur.ch.
  • Practice keywords: small canton of central Switzerland with a small migrant population. Cluster standard practice; high significance of individual case handling as with the other small cantons. This finding is descriptive and not evaluative.
  • Language: German.

2.14 Zug (ZG)

  • Authority: Amt für Migration Kanton Zug. Address and contact information via the official cantonal website www.zg.ch.
  • Practice keywords: canton strongly shaped economically by the finance and holding sector. In migration law, the Zug practice moves within the cluster standard range, with the special component of a small but existing IO practice in the field of residences privileged under public international law (carte de légitimation, headquarters agreements with individual international organisations). This IO component is not comparable in scope and structure to the Geneva IO world and is dealt with separately in the cantonal in-depth treatment of Zug (planned). Otherwise, the cluster standard practice applies.
  • Language: German.

3. Common practice characteristics of this cluster

The following practice characteristics apply, as a basic tendency, to the 14 cantons of this cluster. They are not a guarantee promise for an individual case; divergent cantonal interpretations are possible and should, in case of doubt, be enquired about with the competent cantonal authority.

3.1 Language proof

For the grant of a B residence permit in family reunification from a third country, the cantons of this cluster as a rule require proof of German at level A1 oral in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The legal basis lies in the integration criteria under Art. 58a para. 1 let. c FNIA, made concrete by the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201), namely Art. 77d OASA. For the early C settlement permit under Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA in conjunction with Art. 60a OASA, the higher level laid down by federal law applies (in practice B1 oral and A1 written in German); the grant lies within the discretion of the authority and presupposes successful integration.

The fide certificate in the German language is accepted as officially recognised proof, as are the equivalent diplomas mentioned in Art. 77d OASA (SR 142.201) (for example Goethe-Zertifikat, telc Deutsch, ÖSD certificate). The cantonal variation moves within the limits of federal law; a systematically stricter interpretation is not documented in this cluster. See, on this, the language proof (A1/A2/B1 fide).

High German versus Swiss German: the language proof requires High German (standard written language). Swiss-German dialect is not required for the proof and is also not examined by the fide test. In everyday oral practice, authorities occasionally use dialect depending on the official's and the citizen's side; there is no entitlement to being served in dialect, just as there is no entitlement of the authorities to the applicant's understanding of dialect.

3.2 Standard authorisation practice (B, L, C)

The grant and renewal practice for B, L and C permits in this cluster closely follows the FNIA and the SEM directives. The cantonal variation concerns:

  • Early C settlement permit under Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA: the grant lies within the discretion of the authority and presupposes successful integration; the actual grant practice fluctuates from canton to canton. Official grant rates are not published, which is why no rate is stated here. The cluster shows no pronounced special doctrine.
  • Renewal practice in the case of social-assistance receipt (Art. 62 para. 1 let. e FNIA): Aargau departs as a special case with the tightened interpretation reported since the beginning of 2024 (see above 2.1 and debt enforcement and residence rights). The other cantons of the cluster orient themselves towards the Federal Supreme Court line. Receipt of social assistance does not automatically lead to revocation; an overall appraisal in the individual case is decisive.
  • Integration agreement (Art. 58a FNIA): not systematically employed in this cluster. Unlike in individual Romandie cantons, in which the integration agreement (convention d'intégration) serves more widely as a routine instrument in renewals with integration deficits, the German-speaking cluster cantons tend to use it selectively and on an individual-case basis. The concrete practice varies from canton to canton and should be enquired about with the competent authority.

3.3 Procedural language

The procedural language before the cantonal migration authorities of this cluster is exclusively German. Applications, petitions, appeals, translations of annexes — all written documents must be submitted in the German language or accompanied by a translation prepared by a recognised translator (cantonal administrative-procedure acts, to be compared per canton). Written correspondence in French or Italian is as a rule not accepted or is returned with a request for translation.

In the case of a change of canton from a Romandie canton or from Ticino to a cluster canton, the renewed language proof in German must therefore be furnished (compare Art. 37 FNIA on the change of canton; see change of canton (Art. 37 FNIA) and the language proof (A1/A2/B1 fide)).

4. Practice differences within the cluster

Despite cluster membership, individual cantons exhibit practice differences that are relevant for the conduct of the file. These differences are not strategy-relevant for choosing a canton (see anti-scope) but for understanding one's own file in the currently competent canton.

  • Aargau (since 2024): tightened interpretation of dependence on social assistance. Practical effect: receipts of social assistance can lead, on renewals, to more intensive investigations. See debt enforcement and residence rights.
  • Schwyz: handling of the early C settlement permit within the cluster standard range (see 2.10); official grant rates are not published, which is why no rate is stated here.
  • Appenzell Innerrhoden, Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus: high significance of individual case handling on account of the small staff size. This is descriptive and not evaluative; it signifies neither strictness nor leniency, but a high consistency within the canton over time.
  • Lucerne: significant legal-advice location through Caritas Switzerland (legal-representation function in asylum procedures).
  • Zug: IO component small but existing (see the cantonal in-depth treatment of Zug).

Cluster standard practice does not mean uniformity. It means: no pronounced special doctrine relative to the FNIA/OASA/SEM standard, with selective interpretative variation.

5. Asylum practice in the cluster

The Federal Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) is federal law and is applied by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in the federal asylum centres (FAC) (see the glossary on the Asylum Act (AsylA)). The cantons of this cluster are affected by the following FAC structures:

  • North-western Switzerland asylum region: covers, among others, the cantons of Aargau and Solothurn as well as further cantons of the region.
  • Central Switzerland asylum region: covers, among others, the cantons of Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Uri and Zug.
  • Eastern Switzerland asylum region: covers, among others, the cantons of St. Gallen, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus.

The exact locations of the federal asylum centres and the current regional allocation can be obtained from the SEM (www.sem.admin.ch); the regional asylum structure is periodically adjusted by the Confederation.

The cantonal allocation of asylum seekers according to the Confederation's distribution key is staggered by region; its basis is the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31), namely Art. 27 AsylA. After the allocation, the canton takes over accommodation and the payment of emergency aid.

5.1 Legal representation (RBS)

The legal advice offices active in the FAC are mandated by the SEM and run by carrier organisations. In the asylum regions relevant here, these are, as a basic tendency:

  • in the Eastern Switzerland asylum region, the Swiss Church Aid (HEKS) — relevant for the cantons SG, TG, AR, AI and GL;
  • in the Central Switzerland asylum region, Caritas Switzerland — relevant for the cantons LU, NW, OW, SZ, UR and ZG;
  • in the North-western Switzerland asylum region, likewise HEKS — relevant among others for the cantons AG and SO.

The current carrier organisation and mandate period per asylum region can be obtained from the SEM (www.sem.admin.ch); the mandates are reassigned periodically.

These legal-advice structures are not part of the cantonal authorities but are federally mandated bodies that accompany asylum seekers legally in the accelerated asylum procedure in force since 1 March 2019. Free advice and legal representation are anchored in the Asylum Act itself (Art. 102f AsylA (SR 142.31) and the subsequent provisions) and are provided in the first procedural phases.

6. Naturalisation in the cluster

Ordinary naturalisation rests on a multi-tiered interplay of federal, cantonal and municipal law. At federal level, the Federal Act on Swiss Citizenship (Swiss Citizenship Act, SCA, SR 141.0) and — as a separate enactment — the Ordinance on Swiss Citizenship (Citizenship Ordinance, OLN, SR 141.01) apply. The two instruments must be kept apart: the substantive naturalisation requirements (in particular duration of residence and integration) are in the act, while the ordinance makes them concrete (thus namely the language requirement in Art. 6 OLN). The cantonal citizenship acts and the municipal citizenship regulations govern the cantonal and the municipal tier (see the glossary on the Swiss Citizenship Act 2018 (BüG)).

6.1 Language proof for naturalisation

For ordinary naturalisation, the federal-law language minimum standard applies:

  • B1 oral and A2 written in the relevant cantonal official language, here German. This language requirement is anchored in the Citizenship Ordinance (Art. 6 OLN, SR 141.01); it makes concrete the integration criterion of participation in economic life and the acquisition of education under the Swiss Citizenship Act (compare Art. 11 let. a SCA, SR 141.0, on the general integration requirements). The act and the ordinance are separate enactments in this respect.

The cantons may, in their citizenship acts, go beyond the federal minimum standard; individual cantons have selectively higher requirements. The precise cantonal rule must be looked up in the relevant cantonal citizenship act and with the competent authority.

6.2 Municipal hearing — the "naturalisation assembly"

The municipal tier of naturalisation is the historical peculiarity of Swiss citizenship. The municipality decides — or its citizenship commission, the municipal council or the municipal assembly — on the grant of municipal citizenship, which is at the same time a requirement for the cantonal and the federal tier.

Within the cluster, the practice varies:

  • individual municipalities (among others in the cantons of Schwyz and Aargau): maintain a public or semi-public municipal hearing tradition. The concrete arrangement varies from municipality to municipality and should be enquired about with the respective municipality.
  • other municipalities of the cluster: tend towards a decision more strongly borne by a citizenship commission with a more restricted public hearing.

What remains decisive throughout is municipal autonomy within the limits of federal and cantonal law. The municipal hearing is legally bound to the federal-law prohibitions of discrimination; the Federal Supreme Court has notably declared naturalisation decisions at the ballot box inadmissible (fundamentally BGE 129 I 217 and subsequent case law). The current state of the case law can be obtained at www.bger.ch.

7. Tax practice in the cluster

Anti-scope note: SIP is not tax advice and gives no recommendation on the tax-optimal choice of residence. The following notes are exclusively contextualised in migration law and serve the understanding of tax facts relevant to authorisation.

  • Withholding tax (tax at source): for foreign employees without a C settlement permit (typically B and L permit), income tax is as a rule levied at source, that is, deducted directly from the salary by the employer. The tax at source is at its core a cantonal tax (cantonal and municipal share, plus the share of the direct federal tax) and is administered by the relevant cantonal tax office. If the determining annual gross income exceeds a threshold value, a subsequent ordinary assessment (SOA) additionally takes place; this threshold value is set uniformly Switzerland-wide and has for years stood at around CHF 120,000, but is to be reviewed periodically. The precise current threshold value as well as the tariff and procedure can be obtained from the cantonal tax office and from the Federal Tax Administration (www.estv.admin.ch).
  • Cantonal tax rates: the tax burden varies within the cluster depending on the canton and the municipality. Concrete tax-burden comparisons and tax multipliers are deliberately not reproduced here; the relevant cantonal and municipal tariffs as well as the inter-cantonal tax-burden comparison of the Federal Tax Administration (www.estv.admin.ch) are decisive. This variation has no direct migration-law effect, but can become secondarily relevant — for example in the assessment of the capacity for economic self-support or, for self-employed persons, within the framework of the admission to gainful employment under Art. 18 FNIA. For individual tax questions, a tax advisor is to be consulted.
  • Anti-scope again: SIP gives no statement as to in which cluster canton taking up residence would be advantageous for tax reasons. Such a statement would be tax advice and is incumbent on licensed tax advisors.

8. Language of the procedure — detail

As mentioned under 3.3, the procedural language in this cluster is exclusively German. This has the following concrete consequences:

  • Applications (forms and accompanying letters): in the German language. The online forms of individual cantons are conducted in German; a multilingualism of the forms is the exception and varies from canton to canton.
  • Annexes from abroad: birth certificates, marriage certificates, certificates of marital capacity, criminal-record extracts, diplomas and so on must be accompanied by an officially certified German translation. As a rule, translations by translators licensed in Switzerland (cantonally recognised lists) or translations prepared and certified by the Swiss consulate in the country of origin are recognised. An apostille (1961 Hague Convention) for original documents is required in most cases.
  • Oral hearing / interview: in German (High German). For persons without sufficient knowledge of German, an interpreter is brought in at the cost of the authority or of the applicant (depending on the procedural situation) (compare the cantonal administrative-procedure act and the cantonal interpreter list).
  • Transition to Romandie or Ticino: in the case of a change of canton to a French- or Italian-speaking canton, the procedural language changes entirely. Residence attestations, earlier files and annexes may have to be translated anew. Language proofs in German are not automatically recognised as language proofs in French or Italian; a separate proof is required (see language proof (A1/A2/B1 fide)).

9. Cantonal supervisory commissions over the legal profession

Each canton designates, under the Lawyers Act (Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers, LLCA, SR 935.61), namely Art. 14 LLCA, SR 935.61, a supervisory authority over the lawyers entered in the cantonal bar register. This supervision is organised differently in the cluster cantons (cantonal variation; the concrete competence is to be checked per canton):

  • in most cantons the supervisory commission is attached to the cantonal high court or administrative court;
  • in some cantons there is an independent supervisory authority of the bar chamber;
  • the conference of cantonal supervisory authorities over the legal profession coordinates at national level.

These structures are indirectly relevant for SIP users, since they govern the possibility of complaint against lawyers' errors. The supervisory authority competent in each canton should be enquired about with the respective cantonal office.

10. Economic profiles of these cantons — for understanding the practice

The following economic profiles are descriptive and are intended to help situate cantonal practice tendencies. They are not a recommendation for choosing a canton.

  • Zug: economic location shaped by the finance and holding sector as well as by commodity trading; IO component small but existing.
  • Aargau: industrially shaped canton with commuter-oriented residential municipalities within the catchment area of the Zurich and Bern labour markets. The combination of an industrial mid-sized sector and commuter structures leads to a population that is diverse from a migration-law standpoint.
  • Lucerne: tourism, education (University of Lucerne, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), insurance, culture; diversified profile.
  • St. Gallen: mid-sized industry, textile tradition, insurance, University of St. Gallen (HSG) with an international student body.
  • Schwyz: central-Switzerland canton; in the field of naturalisation, traditionally more strongly shaped by municipal hearing forms (see section 6).
  • Thurgau: agriculture, mid-sized industry, Lake Constance tourism, commuter interconnection with the Zurich–Winterthur region.
  • Schaffhausen: border canton with a German hinterland; industry; an above-average cross-border-commuter share in cantonal comparison.
  • Solothurn: mixed profile of industry (watchmaking tradition in the Grenchen area) and agriculture.
  • Glarus, Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden: tend to be rural, SME-structured, with specific local industries (watchmaking in individual municipalities, woodworking, tourism, micro-industry). Small absolute migrant population.

11. When do persons typically move into this cluster?

Practice knows some typical constellations in which persons from other clusters move into the cantons of this cluster group. The enumeration is not exhaustive and not a movement-recommendation catalogue:

  • Occupational moves into central Switzerland (for example insurance in the Lucerne area, the finance and holding sector in the Zug area) or into Eastern Switzerland (industry in the St. Gallen and Thurgau area).
  • Family reunification into a cluster canton in which a family member resident in Switzerland is already established.
  • Relocation of residence for tax considerations: in practice, it happens that persons relocate their residence for tax reasons. SIP takes no evaluative or recommending position on this (anti-scope). What is significant in migration-law terms is solely that the residence must actually be established and lived; a mere sham residence is inadmissible in both tax and migration law. The concept of residence is governed by Art. 23 CC (Swiss Civil Code, CC, SR 210) and the case law of the Federal Supreme Court issued thereon.
  • Studies at a higher-education institution within the cluster (for example the University of Lucerne or the University of St. Gallen).
  • Employment or assignment in the asylum field (federal asylum centres of the affected asylum regions), for example as an employee of a legal advice office, as an allocated asylum seeker or as security personnel.

In each of these cases, Art. 37 FNIA applies: the change of canton is subject to authorisation when authorisation status and personal circumstances so require. See change of canton (Art. 37 FNIA).

12. Cross-references

This file forms a cluster overview and refers to numerous further files. The following cross-links are the most important:

13. Anti-scope — what this file and SIP in general do not provide

  • No strategic advice on choosing a canton: SIP gives no recommendation as to in which cluster canton taking up residence turns out, in migration-law terms, to be better or worse. Such recommendations tied to a specific person would be legal advice; their professional-law basis is the Lawyers Act (LLCA, SR 935.61, compare Art. 12 LLCA on professional duties).
  • No tax advice: SIP is not tax advice. Tax statements are exclusively contextualised in migration law. For individual tax questions, a tax advisor is to be consulted.
  • No positioning advice vis-à-vis authorities: SIP gives no advice on how an applicant should "position" themselves in the procedure. Such advice is lawyer activity.
  • No comparative value-judgement statement between cantons: SIP refrains from statements such as "canton X is stricter than canton Y" or "in canton Z the authorisation is easier to obtain". Such statements would be empirically unsubstantiated and legally delicate.
  • No individual application of the law: SIP does not apply the mentioned norms to a concrete set of facts of a concrete person. Anyone who needs legal advice in an individual situation should consult a lawyer entered in the bar register in the relevant canton (BfR register per canton). This applies in particular to the in-practice complex constellations of social-assistance dependence (AG 2024), hardship-case procedures under Art. 30 FNIA, change of canton under Art. 37 FNIA and naturalisation.