Author: switzerlandtimes.ch
Becoming a Swiss citizen is a lengthy and sometimes arduous process. For those with an EU passport 10 years of residency is required before applying. In addition, there are language requirements, general knowledge tests, proof of not having received welfare recently and of having paid taxes, along with typically significant fees, depending on the canton. Some of the naturalisation process is managed at the federal level, with key elements done at municipal and cantonal levels. This means some cantons and municipalities are more difficult than others. The elements of the process that trip people up tend to be at the…
A recently published survey shows 23% of employees in Switzerland reported a risk to safety or health due to their work in 2021, compared to a European average of 34%. In 2021, 23% of employees in Switzerland identified a risk to safety or health due to their work. The rate across Europe this was significantly higher at 34%. Key areas of concern in Switzerland were work related strain on the musculoskeletal system (55%) and stress from a high work pace (59%). Although, the proportion of employees with health complaints such as muscle pain in the shoulders, back pain and headaches…
ALL YEAR ROUND The Alps are synonymous with skiing but alpine geothermal springs and spas are sometimes overlooked. If the thought of lugging skis, poles and person to the ski lift to spend a day risking life and limb on snow isn’t appealing, or the sun has gone into hiding, then why not head to a mountain spa instead? For inspiration, here are our five favourites in French-speaking Switzerland or Suisse romande. No. 1 Bains de la Gruyère This is the newest of the spas on our list so it is still shiny and fresh. The setting is amazing and…
On 10 November 2022, Switzerland and the UK, two nations outside the EU, signed an agreement deepening the relationship between the two nations’ research and innovation communities. The agreement was signed by UK Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, George Freeman MP, alongside Federal Councillor Parmelin, Head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, at a ceremony in London. According to the UK government, the two nations together have 10 or Europe’s top 20 research universities. In addition, Switzerland has a number of world class research laboratories and companies such as Roche and Novartis, and…
On 18 June 2023, citizens of Geneva voted on whether to boost the rate of wealth tax applied to assets above CHF 3 million over the next decade – an extra CHF 44 to 49 per 1,000 would be levied on wealth above CHF 3 million for 10 years. 55.12% of voters rejected the idea. Only the four communes of Geneva (51.65% yes), Carouge (51.56%), Vernier (52.37%) and Avully (52.46%) had majorities in favour of the plan. The other 41 communes voted against it. The idea dates from the pandemic when government budgets were stretched and the canton was struggling…
At 37% of the total, one-person households are now the most common way to live in Switzerland, according to recently published data by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The data from 2022, show that 37% of households contained one person, followed by the 32% that contained two, 13% that contained three, 12% with four and 5% with five or more. This does of course not mean that 37% of the population lived alone. Households of five or more members might have make up a relatively small proportion of total households (5%), but they contain five or more individuals living with…
Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel is a key link between northern and southern Switzerland. During the summer holiday season it becomes a major traffic choke point. On Sunday 16 July 2023, traffic queues north of the tunnel stretched as far as 15 kilometres, according to SRF. The waiting time to get to the tunnel was as long as two and a half hours according to the TCS traffic service. Queues and waiting times were not as long on the southern side. There, the queue reached 5 kilometres with waiting times as long as 50 minutes. The Gotthard Road Tunnel runs between Göschenen…
Home rent could rise 15% in Switzerland by 2026, according to Martin Tschirren, the head of Switzerland’s federal housing office, reported RTS this week. Tschirren thinks the rental reference rate could rise again over the coming year or two – the rental reference rate is an officially computed figure that reflects average mortgage rates. It is used to set rent levels in many rental contracts in Switzerland. It is reviewed quarterly and the latest rate was announced on 1 September 2023, when it was left unchanged at 1.5%. If the rental reference rate rises 0.25 percentage points it lifts rent…
A popular initiative has been launched in Switzerland to vote on partially nationalising the UBS Group. For a popular initiative to reach the voting stage 100,000 signatures need to be collected within 18 months. The banks initiative aims to change the Swiss constitution to require large banks and insurance companies of systemic importance to be managed as joint stock companies with the federal government as majority shareholder, a set up described as a mixed-economy stock corporation. UBS Group would fall into this category. Switzerland has long been home to a banking sector with assets far larger than its economy. UBS’s…
Here is a list online museums and a concert below for everyone in lock down. Enjoy! ONLINE MUSEUMS: Pinacoteca di Brera – Milano Galleria degli Uffizi – Firenze Musei Vaticani – Roma Museo Archeologico – Athens Prado – Madrid Louvre – Paris British Museum – London Metropolitan Museum – New York Hermitage – Saint Petersburg […]