Among new laws being introduced in Switzerland in 2022, several are relevant in general to anyone living there. Here we list the most significant changes.
Postage prices rise
From 1st January 2022 and for the first time in 18 years, the price of 1st Class post rises from 1.00 to 1.10 CHF, and 2nd class from 0.85 to 0.9 CHF. The Coronavirus pandemic was cited as a major challenge and in 2020, the Swiss Post Group profit of 178 million CHF, was down 77 million CHF year-on-year.
Single sex marriages
From 1st July single sex marriages will be possible and existing partnerships can be converted to marriages. Foreign same sex marriages will be retrospectively, treated as marriages with property rights from the day they were originally agreed. By 2019 in Switzerland, a total of 11,551 same sex marriages were registered. Of these, 3’951 were female and 7’600 were male couples. Most same sex partnerships were recorded in Canton Zurich at 3’563 and the least in Canton Appenzell Innerrhoden with just 13.
Freedom of movement for Croatia.
From 1 January Croatians coming to Switzerland are treated the same as other EU/EFA members. There are no more restrictions on them. As of December 2020, more than 28,000 Croatian nationals were living in Switzerland, representing nearly 2% of the workforce of EU or EFTA nationals living in the country.
Data Privacy laws
Later in 2022, Swiss data privacy laws are due to be toughened in line with those of surrounding countries. In Switzerland, data protection is regulated the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (“Swiss DPA”) which guarantees that all personal data can only be processed lawfully. All personal data processing must also be proportionate and carried out with the best intentions. Article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution guarantees your right to privacy.
Foreign Online Shops
From 1st January foreign online shops will no longer be permitted to bar Swiss residents or force them to a Swiss specific website. Customers in Switzerland will not be permitted to be discriminated against by price or payment method. The online shops will however, not be required to deliver to Switzerland. The top 3 online shops sales in Switzerland in 2018 were:
- Zalando. 785,1 million euros.
- Digitec.ch. 774,9 million euros.
- Amazon. 466,4 million euros.
TV Advertising
In response from demands from TV broadcasters, the TV replay function will no longer be able to jump past adverts on online TV – unless an extra “premium” charge has been paid. This effectively inflates the price of the current service.
Recent Switzerland’s broadcast TV advertising revenues were reported by 62 channels which earned net revenues of 774 CHF million, a decrease of 17 million CHF over 2017. In comparison Netflix streaming revenues in Switzerland in 2020 reached nearly 109 million USD. In 2014 streaming revenue was 5.43 million USD.
eBikes
From 1st April 2022, all e-bikes will require daytime lights back and front, regardless whether they are speed-restricted a number-plated. Anyone found not displaying lights will be fined. In addition to this, e-bikes capable of reaching a speed of 45 km/hour must be equipped with speedometers from 1st April 2024. This rule is aimed at ensuring riders respect speed limits in 20 km/hour and 30 km/hour zones.
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Stephen Clothier has a background as a space physicist and military pilot. As a Charted Computer Science Engineer, he has four decades experience in developing solutions for financial institutions and Swiss banks, and in many other areas of aviation, medicine and defence.
His last 20 years has seen him specialising in financial, operational and legal aspects Swiss employment. Stephen is a director, and Head of IT and Business services for Accurity Group in Switzerland.
