Own a Swiss company while living in France

Can you own a Swiss company without living in Switzerland?

In principle, living in France does not prevent you from owning all the shares of a Swiss company. You do not need to give a shareholding to a Swiss partner simply because you live abroad. You must, however, meet the formation requirements and arrange representation by a person resident in Switzerland.

Start with what you will actually do. An investor receiving dividends is in a different position from an entrepreneur working daily in a Swiss workshop or directing the business from their home in France.

References: SECO SME portal, State Secretariat for Migration, French tax administration and CLEISS.

What are the requirements for an LLC or corporation?

Ordinary Swiss incorporation rules apply: articles of association, capital, a notarised incorporation deed and commercial register entry. Living abroad mainly adds representation, banking and personal work-status questions that need to be organised.

Company debts are obligations of the company and are covered by its assets. Limited liability generally protects shareholders, but does not cancel personal guarantees or possible liability arising from management duties.

References: Swiss LLC and corporation — federal SME portal.

For a detailed comparison, read our article on choosing a legal structure. A sole proprietorship works differently: you conduct the business personally without a separate incorporated entity. For the operational cross-border route, including self-employment and a G permit, see starting a Swiss business as a cross-border commuter.

Do you need a Swiss partner or a Swiss representative?

The legal requirement concerns the representative’s residence in Switzerland, not Swiss nationality or compulsory share ownership. The person must have appropriate representation powers and perform a real role.

Individual signing authority allows a person to bind the company alone. It is not the only possible arrangement in every case: collective signatures may be possible if the required representation can be ensured in Switzerland. Ask the notary and competent commercial register to confirm the exact combination of offices, residences and signing powers.

Before appointment, agree the mandate, access to information, permitted decisions, remuneration and replacement arrangements. A representative is not merely an administrative address. There is also a specific LLC management point: under federal commercial register practice, a sole manager must have individual signing authority; collective authority with a director does not replace that requirement.

Legal references: Article 814(3) CO and Article 718(4) CO. See also the federal commercial register communication on LLC managers’ signatures. Confirm the actual signing arrangement for your company before filing.

Is a Swiss registered office address enough?

The statutory seat is the municipality where the company is registered. Its address is where it can be contacted. Its actual establishment concerns where people work and management decisions are made. These elements should form a coherent operating arrangement.

A registered office service may provide the address your company needs. It does not automatically provide a representative, work permit or sufficient tax presence. Before choosing a seat, describe where the premises, staff, services and management decisions will be located.

A permanent establishment includes, in particular, a fixed place of business through which an activity is carried on. Corporate tax residence is a separate question, especially where management is in another country. The current treaty and the actual facts must be considered together.

References: legal domicile, permanent establishment and tax residence.

For help arranging a suitable address, explore our Geneva registered office service. Distinguish address provision, representation and cross-border tax advice in the scope of the services agreed.

Which permits and authorisations do you need?

Own the company without working in it

Holding shares alone is not employment or self-employment in Switzerland. It does not, by itself, require a G permit. Once you personally perform management or operational work in Switzerland, work authorisation must be considered.

Work in Switzerland while living in France

For an EU/EFTA national regularly working in Switzerland while resident in an EU/EFTA country, the G permit is generally the relevant route. You must return to your main home abroad at least once a week. Border-zone restrictions no longer apply under that EU/EFTA regime.

Short activities may qualify for a notification procedure, but the conditions differ between Swiss employment and cross-border service provision. Do not start work on the assumption that commercial register entry is sufficient.

Reference: SEM — G EU/EFTA permit.

Self-employment and regulated professions

For personal self-employed activity, the authorities may ask for evidence that the business is genuine. The compensation office determines OASI/AHV status. A business label or commercial register entry alone does not establish that status.

Check whether the profession requires recognised qualifications or a specific authorisation. Incorporating a company does not replace those steps. Third-country nationality requires a separate immigration assessment.

References: SME portal — cross-border commuters and third-country nationals, OASI/AHV and State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.

Which taxes apply in Switzerland and France?

Calculate company tax separately from the owner’s personal taxes. Forming a Swiss company does not automatically move your personal tax residence to Switzerland.

The company’s profits

Company profits are distinct from money you receive personally. Activity or management in France may trigger a French tax analysis even when the statutory seat is Swiss. The chosen canton and its headline tax rate are therefore insufficient to calculate the total cost of the arrangement.

Your salary

Salary taxation depends on work location, canton, return-home conditions and treaty rules. Pay for work physically performed in Geneva is generally taxed at source in Switzerland and declared in France, with treaty relief against double taxation.

In the eight cantons covered by the 1983 cross-border agreement—Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Jura, Bern, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Solothurn—qualifying salary may be taxable in France. A G permit does not establish tax eligibility on its own. Directors’ fees and other remuneration for a board mandate require an analysis separate from ordinary operational salary.

References: French tax administration — cross-border workers and France–Switzerland tax treaty.

Your dividends

A dividend paid to an individual who is tax resident in France must be addressed in the French tax return. Swiss dividend withholding tax is generally 35%. Under the treaty, Swiss tax is generally limited to 15% of the gross dividend for an eligible beneficial owner resident in France; the excess is reclaimed through the relevant procedure.

French reporting and the treaty tax credit have their own conditions. Do not simply add all headline rates together or assume that the whole 35% is refundable in every case. French social levies also require a review of the individual’s affiliation and circumstances.

References: Swiss and French tax administrations — dividends.

Your French tax returns

A French tax resident must report the relevant foreign income, generally using form 2047 and the corresponding entries in the main return. Treaty relief against double taxation does not remove reporting obligations. Profits from personal self-employment have their own treatment, distinct from salary or dividends paid by an LLC.

References: French tax administration — foreign income and self-employment in Switzerland.

Social insurance and remote work: two separate assessments

Share ownership does not determine social insurance affiliation. For personal work, identify the employment status and competent country. A founder working for their own LLC or corporation should not assume they are self-employed simply because they own it: under Swiss rules, remunerated work for the company generally falls within employment.

If you work in both countries, the employer’s Swiss seat does not automatically establish Swiss social insurance coverage. Obtain a determination from the competent institution and an A1 certificate where required. Disclose any combination of employment in France and work in Switzerland.

The permanent telework tax provisions of the France–Switzerland treaty amendment apply from 1 January 2026. The mutual agreement of 29 April 2026 clarifies their application. The 40% tax threshold and the social insurance threshold of less than 50% address different questions.

References: CLEISS and the Federal Social Insurance Office, State Secretariat for International Finance — treaty amendment and 2026 mutual agreement.

Health insurance

A cross-border worker subject to the Swiss system may, if eligible, have a right to choose between French and Swiss health insurance. The deadline is generally three months from the triggering event. Formalise the choice with the competent authorities. It does not by itself change the competent country for other social insurance branches.

Reference: Federal Office of Public Health — cross-border workers’ health insurance.

How should you prepare the company formation?

1. Describe your activity and role. Identify work locations, target customers, management decisions made in each country and any other professional activities.
2. Validate the organisation. Choose the legal form, registered seat, representation and signing powers. Identify authorisations and the tax and social insurance treatment.
3. Prepare the bank and notary documents. Confirm what evidence is required before fixing a launch date.
4. Incorporate the company. For cash formation, pay the capital into the capital payment account, execute the public deed and file the commercial register application.
5. Organise the start of operations. Arrange capital release after registration, accounting, insurance, payroll, VAT and the required filings in each country.

Prepare identity documents, address evidence, information about shareholders and beneficial owners, the origin of funds, planned activity, registered office and representation. Exact documents and certification formalities depend on the bank, notary and circumstances. Bank acceptance and processing times should not be assumed to be guaranteed.

What should you budget?

Separate contributed capital, formation costs and recurring expenses. Capital is an asset of the company. Once released, it can fund the company’s activity; it does not become personal money that the owner may freely withdraw.

For the ordinary incorporation steps, read our article on forming a Swiss LLC. Cross-border activity may require advice beyond the standard formation file.

VAT and accounting after incorporation

Ordinary Swiss VAT liability depends on relevant worldwide turnover from supplies not exempt without credit, among other factors. The general threshold is CHF 100,000, and turnover should already be forecast at launch. Swiss rates are 8.1% standard, 2.6% reduced and 3.8% for qualifying accommodation. The customer’s address alone does not determine an invoice’s VAT treatment: the type and place of supply matter too.

Reference: Federal Tax Administration — VAT.

LLCs and corporations must keep full accounts. A sole proprietorship below CHF 500,000 annual turnover can use simplified records of income, expenses and assets; at or above that threshold, full accounting is required. Our article on Swiss business accounting explains the requirements. Arrange the company’s accounting and, where relevant, payroll administration. Have cross-border transactions and VAT compliance reviewed separately.

Three practical examples

These fictional examples illustrate the checks to make; they are not determinations of individual tax or permit positions.

Claire invests from Paris without working in the company

Claire wants to own an LLC operated in Switzerland by a local team. Her main issue is not a G permit. She needs Swiss representation and a plan for the taxation of her shareholding and distributions. If she later starts working for the company, review the position again.

Thomas opens a Geneva workshop and lives in Annemasse

Thomas works in his Swiss LLC’s workshop and returns home to France. Separate his share ownership, employment and the company’s Swiss-resident representation. He needs the appropriate work authorisation, insurance and cross-border salary treatment. Holding a G permit does not make him a representative resident in Switzerland.

Nadia combines work in Switzerland with working from home in France

Nadia plans three days in Switzerland and two at home during a five-day week: 40% in this simplified example. She must check the annual measurement and tax conditions, then separately address social insurance and the A1 application. That schedule alone does not establish eligibility, especially if she has another activity in France or management duties that raise corporate tax-presence questions.