Swiss Expat Stats

The Swiss apparently do not find their motherland to be a particularly exciting country, since the most common (although not the most important) reason for their relocation is the search for an adventure or a personal challenge (mentioned by 28%). In addition, 24% of the Swiss report that they specifically wanted to live in the country they currently reside in, and according to a further 22% they simply enjoy living abroad.

Many Swiss expats have previous experience with life abroad. Almost a quarter (24%) has lived in four or more countries before, excluding Switzerland and their current host country; globally, only 16% of participants can say the same. Planned lengths of stay do not deviate as much (e.g. 27% Swiss vs. 25% overall plan to possibly stay forever). However, in contrast to the worldwide trend, stays of 3–5 years are somewhat more popular with the Swiss than those of over five years (20% and 10%, respectively).

Luckily, the Swiss passport seems to open many doors, as an exceptionally high percentage of the Swiss expats (59%) mention that getting a visa for their host country was very easy, an opinion only 41% of their global peers share.