1. Overview — the Canton of Valais in the migration-law context

The Canton of Valais (German: Wallis, Italian: Vallese) is a bilingual canton in southern Switzerland, extending from the Rhône valley to the Matterhorn. It is divided linguistically: in Lower Valais (the western, lower part of the canton) French predominates, in Upper Valais (the eastern part of the canton) German. The main town is the city of Sion (German: Sitten).

According to the surveys of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the resident population numbers several hundred thousand people; according to the FSO structural data, the share of the resident population without Swiss citizenship is in the order of magnitude of roughly a quarter. The current absolute values and rates are to be retrieved from the FSO statistics portals (statistik.ch / the cantonal statistical office); this focus deliberately refrains from printing individual values in order to rule out incorrect information.

Economically, Valais is shaped by viticulture, tourism (in particular alpine winter-sports and mountain tourism) and hydropower; the alpine topography shapes the settlement pattern. These descriptive contextual details are explored further in Section 10. They are purely descriptive and do not constitute any recommendation to establish residence specifically in this canton for economic reasons.

The cantonal authority competent for all residence-law procedures is the Service de la population et des migrations / Dienststelle für Bevölkerung und Migration (SPM).

Service de la population et des migrations / Dienststelle für Bevölkerung und Migration (SPM) — Canton of Valais Official body and contact data: https://www.vs.ch/spm The address, counter and telephone opening hours, email mailboxes and the scope of procedures that can be handled digitally change and are to be retrieved directly from the official SPM page. This focus deliberately records no street address, no telephone number and no counter hours so long as they are not confirmed against the official source.

2. Legal bases — federal law and cantonal implementing law

2.1 Applicable federal law

In migration law the Canton of Valais applies — like all cantons — federal law as a priority: the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20), the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201), the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) together with the associated Ordinance on the Introduction of the Free Movement of Persons (OFMP), the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) and the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0) with the associated Swiss Citizenship Ordinance (SCO, SR 141.01). For the legal bases, see the FNIA and OASA terminology glossary, the AFMP/OFMP glossary and the glossary on the Asylum Act.

Relevant provisions that are made concrete in the following sections include, among others: admission for gainful employment (Art. 18 FNIA), admission for education and continuing education (Art. 27 FNIA), the serious personal hardship case (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA in conjunction with Art. 31 OASA), the residence permit and its extension (Art. 33 FNIA), the settlement permit and its early grant (Art. 34 para. 2 FNIA and Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA), the change of canton (Art. 37 FNIA), family reunification (Art. 42–47 FNIA in conjunction with Art. 73 OASA), the rights after dissolution of the marriage or family community (Art. 50 FNIA), the integration criteria (Art. 58a FNIA) and the promotion of integration (Art. 58b FNIA), revocation and lapse of permits (Art. 62 FNIA and Art. 63 FNIA) as well as the SEM approval procedure (Art. 99 FNIA).

2.2 Cantonal implementing law

At the cantonal level, the Valais introductory and implementing law on foreign-nationals and integration law applies, supplemented by the cantonal citizenship act as well as the cantonal administrative-procedure and administrative-justice act. The exact enactments and their current versions are to be retrieved from the cantonal collection of laws of Valais (Systematic Collection of Legislation of the Canton of Valais / Recueil systématique de la législation valaisanne); this focus deliberately does not reproduce them by number, since cantonal enactments are frequently revised. A consolidated overview of the cantonal enactments with a migration nexus can be retrieved via the cantonal collection of laws of Valais.

3. Competent authority — contact and accessibility

The Service de la population et des migrations / Dienststelle für Bevölkerung und Migration (SPM) is the cantonal migration authority of Valais. The departmental assignment may change in the course of governmental reorganisations; the current assignment is shown on the official SPM page.

  • Authority: Service de la population et des migrations / Dienststelle für Bevölkerung und Migration (SPM)
  • Official body and complete contact data: https://www.vs.ch/spm
  • Address, counter and telephone opening hours, public-transport access, email, online portal: to be retrieved directly from the official SPM page — this focus deliberately does not print these volatile details in order to rule out incorrect information

Valais is a bilingual canton: in Lower Valais the procedural language is primarily French, in Upper Valais German. Applications, attachments and correspondence are in principle to be submitted in the official language of the respective region; foreign-language documents are as a rule to be produced with a certified translation into the competent official language. Which official language and which counters are decisive for a specific municipality of residence is to be enquired of the SPM.

4. Processing time — cantonal classification

Reliable, publicly published service-level commitments by the SPM on processing deadlines are not consistently available. The actual processing time depends strongly on the state of the file, the completeness of the documents submitted, the workload of the authority, the language-region jurisdiction and the complexity of the individual case. As a rough, non-guaranteed classification, cantonal sources cite for general processing an order of magnitude of roughly six weeks; initial applications (gainful employment, family reunification) tend to be above this, mere extensions tend to be below it. These values are descriptive and are not a processing guarantee.

Two reservations are to be observed:

  • The SEM approval of cantonal preliminary decisions (Art. 99 FNIA) is not included in this classification and may take additional weeks to months.
  • The production of language certificates or foreign criminal-record or civil-status documents may de facto suspend the procedure until the proofs are available; the seasonally high demand for applications in tourism (cf. Sections 6 and 10) may additionally influence processing times at times.

The indicative values currently communicated by the SPM are to be enquired of the authority directly (https://www.vs.ch/spm).

5. Proof of language skills

The decisive language of integration in the Canton of Valais is the official language of the region of residence — in Lower Valais French, in Upper Valais German. Which official language applies for the specific municipality of residence is to be enquired of the SPM or the municipality.

ConstellationLevel required (CEFR)Legal basis
Family reunification from a third stateA1 oral (or proof of registration for a language-support offering)Art. 58a FNIA and Art. 58b FNIA in conjunction with Art. 73 OASA (and following)
Early C settlement permit after five instead of ten yearsB1 oral and A2 writtenArt. 34 para. 4 FNIA in conjunction with Art. 60a OASA and Art. 77d OASA

The decisive factor in each case is the official language of the region of residence. Whether the canton, in a bilingual situation, allows in individual cases proof in the respective other national language (French instead of German or vice versa) is governed by cantonal practice and the SEM guidance and is to be clarified in the individual case with the SPM; the decisive point of reference remains the official language of the region of residence.

  • Recognised proofs: the Swiss fide certificate (in French or German) as well as the language diplomas recognised under federal law named in Art. 77d OASA. Which diplomas (such as DELF/DALF for French or Goethe/telc certificates for German) are accepted in the individual case follows from Art. 77d OASA and the fide list in force at the time; the proofs currently recognised are to be checked via fide or the SPM.

The exact levels, the recognised diplomas, the regionally decisive official language and any exceptions are to be checked currently with the SPM or via fide.

6. Standard permit practice B / L / C

The Canton of Valais applies the federal-law standard practice under the FNIA/OASA and the SEM guidance. The following key points are the general federal-law requirements, not a special Valais practice:

  • B residence permit: granted to EU/EFTA nationals on the basis of the AFMP (SR 0.142.112.681) and the OFMP; to third-country nationals according to the rules on admission for gainful employment (Art. 18 FNIA), subject to the labour-market requirements, the quota logic and the SEM approval (Art. 99 FNIA). See the B residence permit.
  • L short-term permit: for fixed-term employment relationships as well as for education and continuing education (Art. 27 FNIA). In Valais the tourism and winter-sports sector generates pronounced seasonal demand for fixed-term permits (descriptive context). See the L short-term permit.
  • C settlement permit: ordinarily after ten years (Art. 34 para. 2 FNIA); early after five years in the event of successful integration (Art. 34 para. 4 FNIA in conjunction with Art. 60a OASA), under the heightened language requirements named in Section 5. The early grant is a possibility tied to integration requirements, not an unconditional entitlement. See the C settlement permit.

Anti-scope: SwissImmigrationPro gives no pointers to "favourable" application timings (such as at the start of the season), to individual case officers, or to strategies for circumventing the labour-market requirements or the quota logic. The grant, extension or early grant of a permit is a procedure regulated by federal law with clear requirements; the case-by-case assessment is incumbent on the cantonal authority and — in the event of a dispute — on the legal profession.

7. Naturalisation

Naturalisation follows a three-tier procedure: federal (federal naturalisation authorisation under the SCA/SCO), cantonal (citizenship of the Canton of Valais under the cantonal citizenship act, retrievable via the cantonal collection of laws) and communal (citizenship of the municipality of residence). All three levels must be met cumulatively.

  • Substantive requirements (federal law): ordinary naturalisation requires in particular the requirements under Art. 9 SCA (Swiss Citizenship Act, SR 141.0; among others a minimum residence duration and a settlement permit) as well as the integration criteria; successful integration and familiarity with Swiss living conditions follow from Art. 11 SCA and Art. 12 SCA.
  • Proof of language skills: language competence is made concrete under federal law in the Swiss Citizenship Ordinance: Art. 6 SR 141.01 (SCO — Swiss Citizenship Ordinance) requires oral competence at level B1 and written competence at level A2 in a national language — in Valais, depending on the region, French or German. Art. 6 SR 141.01 (SCO) belongs to the Swiss Citizenship Ordinance and is to be distinguished from the provisions of the Swiss Citizenship Act (Art. 9 SCA, Art. 11 SCA and Art. 12 SCA, SR 141.0). See the glossary on the Swiss Citizenship Act.
  • Residence requirements: the federal-law minimum residence duration is governed by Art. 9 SCA. Additional cantonal and communal residence requirements (such as a certain minimum residence duration in the canton or in the municipality of residence) follow from the cantonal citizenship act and the respective communal practice; they vary and are to be checked via the cantonal collection of laws as well as with the municipality of residence.

For the in-depth legal account of the naturalisation procedure, see the glossary on the Swiss Citizenship Act and Naturalisation in Switzerland.

Anti-scope: SwissImmigrationPro makes no commune-shopping recommendation — that is, no recommendation to relocate one's residence to a municipality with a supposedly "simpler" or "faster" naturalisation practice. The communal naturalisation practice varies; its assessment in the individual case as well as the accompaniment of a naturalisation procedure are not part of SIP's scope of services.

8. Asylum in the canton

Asylum procedures are conducted under federal law by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). According to the SEM distribution key (Art. 27 AsylA, Asylum Act, SR 142.31), the Canton of Valais is one of the reception cantons for persons in the extended asylum procedure.

  • Asylum region and federal asylum centre (FAC): Valais belongs to one of the Confederation's six asylum regions. The exact assignment of the asylum region and the local FAC structure are to be retrieved via sem.admin.ch.
  • Legal advice and return counselling (RBS): the legal-advice and provider organisation (RBS) mandated by the SEM under Art. 102f AsylA for the asylum region is retrievable via sem.admin.ch as well as via the Swiss Refugee Council (OSAR).

For the in-depth account of asylum law — N procedure, F provisional admission, S protection status — see the glossary on the Asylum Act as well as the N residence permit during the asylum procedure, the provisional admission (F permit) and the S protection status.

9. Taxes and source tax — migration-law context

Foreign employees without a settlement permit holding a B or L permit are as a rule subject, for their employment income, to source tax (impôt à la source / Quellensteuer). The source-tax deduction on employment income is levied at the cantonal level; the tariffs and the modalities follow from the cantonal tax law of Valais in conjunction with the federal harmonisation-law requirements.

If the annual gross employment income exceeds the threshold of CHF 120,000, a subsequent ordinary assessment (SOA) takes place ex officio; below this threshold the source tax has in principle a discharging effect, while an SOA is possible upon application. The exact amount of the threshold, the applicable tariffs and the cantonal application modalities and deadlines are to be checked with the cantonal tax administration of Valais.

The qualitative cantonal and communal tax burden of Valais can be reliably classified only via the official cantonal tax materials; this focus gives no comparative tax assessment. The tax burden is no reason to choose or avoid a canton and replaces no tax assessment.

Anti-scope: SwissImmigrationPro is not a tax advisory service. Questions on source tax, on the SOA, on double-taxation agreements or on international taxation are to be answered by a qualified tax advisory service or by the cantonal tax administration of Valais.

10. Economy and largest municipalities

The following details are descriptive; they serve for classification and constitute neither a recommendation nor an evaluation. Concrete numerical values (population, share of foreign nationals, rents, tax burden) are to be retrieved via the official statistics and tax portals, not taken from this focus.

Valais extends from the Rhône valley to the Matterhorn. It is a bilingual canton (French/German), with French predominating in the lower (western) Valais and German in the upper (eastern) Valais. The economic mainstays are viticulture, tourism and hydropower; life in the alpine area shapes the canton. Tourism generates seasonal demand for fixed-term permits. The integration requirements include proof of language skills in the official language of the respective region of residence.

Descriptive key figures:

  • Share of foreign nationals: in the order of magnitude of roughly a quarter of the resident population (exact rate to be retrieved via the FSO)
  • Housing costs: very different by region (valley regions, tourism locations); current rent-price benchmarks to be retrieved via the cantonal statistics or the relevant rent-price indices
  • Tax burden: to be classified via the cantonal tax materials; this focus gives no comparative evaluation

Largest municipalities (descriptive): Sion (main town), Sierre, Monthey, Martigny and Brig-Glis. Sion, Sierre, Monthey and Martigny lie in the French-speaking Lower Valais, Brig-Glis in the German-speaking Upper Valais.

11. Anti-scope statement for the Canton of Valais

For reasons of professional ethics (Art. 12 SR 935.61, BGFA — Federal Act on the Freedom of Movement of Lawyers), of clarity and of credibility towards users and supervisory authorities, SwissImmigrationPro holds the following topics for Valais expressly outside its scope of services:

  • No canton-shopping strategy: SIP makes no recommendation as to whether a procedure could be conducted "more advantageously" in Valais than in another canton. Jurisdiction follows residence; a strategic relocation of residence with a foreign-nationals-law background may be abusive. Equally, no assessment is made as to whether Lower or Upper Valais would be "more advantageous".
  • No comparative leniency assessment: SIP does not assess whether Valais would be "simpler" or "stricter" than another canton.
  • No individual-case strategy: SIP draws up no hardship-case argumentation (Art. 30 para. 1 let. b FNIA in conjunction with Art. 31 OASA), no family-reunification strategy and no appeal strategy.
  • No appeal templates and no deadline calculators: the choice of legal remedy, the argumentation, the selection of evidence and the timely submission belong to the lawyer's practice.
  • No tax advice and no tax optimisation.
  • No positioning or location advice and no lawyer recommendation outside the structured and transparent procedures provided for this purpose.

12. Cross-References