Can a French national set up a company in Switzerland without living there?

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Yes, as a French national you can found and own a Sàrl (limited liability company) or an SA (public limited company) without living in Switzerland: no nationality requirement or residence permit is needed simply to be a partner or shareholder. The main condition to bear in mind concerns representation: your company must be capable of being represented by at least one person domiciled in Switzerland, under Article 814 CO for the Sàrl and Article 718 para. 4 CO for the SA.

That condition does not, however, cover all the formalities to plan for. Owning the company is one thing; incorporating it and running it day to day is another. You will also need a registered office in Switzerland, articles of association in the form of a public deed, the deposit of the capital and registration with the commercial register. Then, depending on how you actually carry on your business, obligations may apply in terms of VAT, social insurance and personal taxation.

Residence in France and registered office in Switzerland: two different things

Your place of residence and the company’s registered office are two distinct concepts. You can remain a French tax resident and hold 100% of the capital of a company whose registered office is in Switzerland. Your personal residence therefore does not, in itself, prevent such ownership.

Your place of residence can, on the other hand, have consequences if you actually run the company from France. The place of its effective management is a tax connecting factor: the canton of Vaud, for example, takes into account the company’s registered office or place of effective management.

In other words, owning a Swiss company while living in France is possible. But actually running it from France raises separate tax questions, in particular the company’s tax residence and, depending on the circumstances, the existence of a permanent establishment.

How does this differ from a self-employed cross-border worker in Switzerland?

A cross-border worker can carry on a self-employed activity in Switzerland in the form of a sole proprietorship (raison individuelle). No start-up capital is required. Registration with the commercial register becomes mandatory as soon as annual turnover from a commercial activity reaches 100,000 CHF, and the entrepreneur is liable for the debts with their personal assets.

If your self-employed activity has its place of business in Switzerland, for example in Geneva, and you keep your main home in France, you must:

• hold a G permit (the EU/EFTA cross-border permit),
• and return to France at least once a week.

If you move to Switzerland to run your business there, the G permit is no longer suitable: depending on how long you stay, you will have to apply for an EU/EFTA residence permit (generally a B permit for a long-term move or an L permit for a shorter stay).

If you wish to work regularly on both sides of the border, the steps to become a self-employed cross-border worker are subject to specific rules on permits, AVS and taxation.

Which legal form should you choose as a French national?

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The main structures to consider for a French entrepreneur are the sole proprietorship (also known as raison individuelle), the Sàrl, the SA and, where a French company already exists, the branch. Other forms exist under Swiss law, such as the general partnership or the cooperative.

The choice of structure depends above all on your project: liability, number of partners, governance, social security status and actual presence must all be examined together. For an entrepreneur who wants to create a separate legal entity, the Sàrl and the SA remain the two benchmark forms.

The Sàrl: the most accessible form for a French national

The limited liability company requires minimum capital of 20,000 CHF, fully paid up on incorporation (in cash or through contributions in kind). A single partner is enough, but the Sàrl can also have several partners, whether individuals or legal entities.

Their liability is in principle limited: it is the company’s assets that answer for its debts, not the partners’ personal assets. The Sàrl must be capable of being represented by a managing officer or a director domiciled in Switzerland.

The SA: for raising funds or bringing in investors

The public limited company requires share capital of at least 100,000 CHF. On incorporation, at least 20% of the capital must be paid up, with a minimum of 50,000 CHF. If the capital is only partly paid up, the shareholder remains liable to pay in the subscribed portion that has not yet been paid. A single shareholder is enough.

The SA must also be capable of being represented by at least one person domiciled in Switzerland, who may be a member of the board of directors or a director (source: SME Portal of the Swiss Confederation).

Shares in an SA are today, in principle, registered shares. Bearer shares have no longer been freely permitted since 2019 and remain only in cases provided for by law (in particular certain listed companies or shares issued as intermediated securities). Those that no longer met the criteria were converted by operation of law into registered shares in 2021.

Comparison: sole proprietorship, Sàrl, SA or branch

To help you compare these different options, here are their main features in terms of capital, liability, governance and formalities.

The practical steps to set up your company from France

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To open a company in Switzerland as a French national, you need to follow five steps.

Step 1: choose the legal form and the canton

Do not choose a canton solely for its tax rate. The choice must also take into account:

1. the reality of your presence, in particular where your clients and your market, your premises and your professional network are,
2. geographical proximity, for example in Geneva or another border canton.

Step 2: organise representation in Switzerland

Your Sàrl or your SA must be capable of being represented by at least one person domiciled in Switzerland:

• For a Sàrl, this may be a managing officer or a director.
• For an SA, a member of the board of directors or a director.

This person may be a partner or a director living in Switzerland, or act under a fiduciary mandate, provided they actually hold the required function and have the necessary power of representation. A simple domiciliation or advisory contract is therefore not enough to meet this requirement.

Step 3: draw up the articles of association and deposit the capital

For a Sàrl or an SA, the incorporation and the articles of association must be drawn up as a public deed, before a notary. The capital must be paid in cash into a blocked capital account (where the funds will be frozen), before registration with the commercial register.

After registration, the funds are released to your company and can be transferred to its current account to finance its activity.

Step 4: registration with the commercial register

You must then send the incorporation file for an SA or a Sàrl to the cantonal commercial register office with the required documents. This formality is generally handled by the notary or the service provider assisting you with the incorporation of your company.

Once registration has taken place, the legal information is published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC). The company also receives a business identification number (UID). Its main data can be consulted on Zefix, the Swiss central business name register.

Step 5: post-incorporation formalities (VAT, social insurance, accounting)

VAT registration becomes mandatory, in principle, from 100,000 CHF of annual turnover derived, in Switzerland and abroad, from services that are not excluded from the scope of the tax. This threshold therefore does not take into account only your Swiss sales. The company then applies the rate corresponding to its taxable transactions:

• 8.1% at the standard rate,
• 2.6% at the reduced rate,
• or 3.8% for certain accommodation services.

If the company employs you or other staff, it must also manage payroll (in particular the salary paid to the director) and the applicable social insurance schemes, in particular:

1. AVS/AI/APG (old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance and loss-of-earnings compensation),
2. accident insurance and,
3. where the conditions are met, the LPP occupational pension scheme.

The company must also keep its accounts in accordance with the Code of Obligations.

Finally, once the business is up and running, you will need to organise the company’s financial flows, in particular the conversion of the Swiss francs received into its euro accounts.

If you live or work from France: permanent establishment, remote working and social security

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This is a key point to anticipate. Setting up a company in Switzerland does not mean that all of your activity will automatically be taxed in Switzerland if you manage it or work from France. Three aspects must then be examined separately.

Permanent establishment and effective management

Running a Swiss company from your home in France can raise two distinct tax questions:

1. The first concerns the place where the company is actually managed, its place of effective management (also referred to as effective administration): this can influence its tax residence.
2. The second concerns the possible existence of a permanent establishment in France. If the Swiss company has one, the profits attributable to it may be taxed in France and give rise to tax obligations there.

In case of doubt, the “permanent establishment” ruling allows a foreign company to ask the French tax authorities to confirm that it does not have a permanent establishment in France within the meaning of the applicable treaty. This step is particularly useful if you actually run your Swiss company from your French home.

Social security and cross-border remote working

For certain employees of a Swiss employer, the European framework agreement allows them to work remotely from their State of residence up to 49.9% of their working time, while remaining affiliated to the social insurance schemes of the State where the employer is located.

This arrangement is subject to certain criteria and requires an A1 certificate, applied for by the employer from the AVS compensation fund. It can be issued for a maximum of three years and renewed. Self-employed workers are expressly excluded from this agreement (source: Federal Social Insurance Office).

Taxation of French-Swiss remote working in 2026

On the tax side, the French-Swiss protocol of 27 June 2023, which entered into force on 24 July 2025 and has applied since 1 January 2026, allows, up to 40% of working time per calendar year, remuneration relating to remote working to remain taxable in the State where the employer is located. A mutual agreement concluded on 29 April 2026 sets out how it is applied.

These rules concern salaried employment. They do not automatically apply to the profits of a self-employed person or to all remuneration received as a director or member of a corporate body. If you run your own Swiss company while living in France, your situation must be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Taxation of a Swiss company owned by a French national: what you need to know

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Bear in mind one essential distinction: the company and its shareholder are two separate taxpayers. Tax on profit is paid by the company and is not credited against your personal tax in France.

Four situations must therefore be distinguished: the company’s taxation, the director’s salary, dividends and self-employed activity.

What tax rates apply by canton in 2026?

In 2026, the average rate of tax on corporate profits stands at 14.43%, according to KPMG’s Swiss Tax Report 2026. Differences between cantons remain significant, but relying on a single rate per canton can be misleading: the effective tax burden also depends on the municipality, the level of profit and, in some cases, special regimes.

The chart below shows the differences in rates between several Swiss cantons in 2026.

These rates illustrate the differences between cantons. Geneva is around 14.7% in 2026 and is therefore not among the lowest-taxed cantons. In Vaud, the rate also varies depending on the level of profit and the municipality. Before choosing where to set up, compare cantons on the same profit assumption, taking into account the municipality you have in mind in each of them.

By way of comparison, the standard rate of corporate income tax is 25% in France, with a reduced rate possible for certain SMEs.

France-Switzerland tax treaty: how to avoid double taxation?

The 1966 French-Swiss tax treaty, as amended by the 2023 protocol, sets out how double taxation is eliminated. The rules differ depending on the income concerned: profits, salaries or dividends.

That is why the shortcut “15% in Switzerland + 30% flat tax in France” is misleading. In 2026, the French flat-rate taxation of investment income reaches 31.4% under the ordinary regime, and the treaty provides for a tax credit to avoid double taxation.

Dividends paid by the Sàrl or the SA

On dividends paid out, Switzerland first levies a withholding tax of 35% of the gross amount. For an individual who is a French tax resident and meets the conditions of the French-Swiss treaty, the Swiss tax burden is, however, limited in principle to 15% of the gross dividend. The difference, i.e. 20 percentage points, can therefore be reclaimed from the Swiss authorities (source: Federal Tax Administration).

In France, these dividends are also taxed. Under the ordinary regime applicable in 2026, they are subject to 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social levies, i.e. 31.4% in total. To prevent the same dividends from being taxed a second time without adjustment, the tax definitively paid in Switzerland gives rise in principle to a tax credit in France. This credit reduces the French tax due on those dividends, without being able to exceed the amount of that tax (source: impots.gouv.fr).

Profit, taxed at company level

If you set up a company in Switzerland, its profit is taxed at company level, not directly in your name. The tax paid by the company therefore does not reduce your personal tax in France, even if you are a shareholder.

On the other hand, if you actually run the company from France or if it has a permanent establishment there, part of its profits may also be taxed there.

The case of the self-employed worker

The situation of a self-employed worker is different from that of a director of a Sàrl or an SA. If you live in France and carry on a self-employed activity registered in Switzerland, your profits are taxable in Switzerland but must also be declared in France. Double taxation is eliminated by a tax credit equal to the French tax corresponding to those profits.

In practice, the declaration goes through form 2047, then form 2042-C-PRO. If the profit has actually been taxed in Switzerland, it must also be reported in box 8TK of form 2042. The cross-border workers’ tax regime does not apply to the self-employed: it concerns employees only.

Given how Swiss and French taxation interact, have your situation validated by a French-Swiss tax specialist before you start.

How much does it cost a French national to set up a company in Switzerland?

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Capital to contribute or set-up costs: don’t confuse the two

First distinction to bear in mind: the capital contributed to the company, which forms its equity, is not part of the set-up costs. After registration, the paid-up funds can be used by the company to finance its activity, but the partner cannot freely take them back personally.

Alongside this capital come the actual incorporation and operating costs: notary, commercial register, representation, accounting and social insurance.

The table below will help you clearly distinguish expenses from the company’s equity.

Managing CHF/EUR flows between your company and your accounts in France

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Once your company has been set up, you will also have to manage flows between Switzerland and France. If your company receives payments in Swiss francs but some expenses or income are in euros, every conversion costs you money. That cost depends on:

1. the rate applied,
2. the gap with the market rate (the “spread”),
3. and any fixed fees.

To compare one currency exchange offer with another, use the same amount, at the same time, on the same CHF/EUR pair, then compare the net amount actually received.

Alternatives to setting up a company: what to know before you start

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Two alternatives are open to you if you do not yet want to set up your own company:

1. Swiss umbrella company employment (portage salarial): this allows you to work in Switzerland as an employee of an umbrella company, without creating a legal entity. In a cross-border situation, however, this solution must be checked on a case-by-case basis, in particular with regard to the work permit, social security and taxation.
2. If you already have a French company, you can establish a presence in Switzerland through a branch, without creating a new legal entity.

Both options are worth examining with a French-Swiss legal or tax professional, depending on your activity and your situation.

Frequently asked questions about setting up a company in Switzerland as a French national