Who needs no authorisation
The law targets “persons abroad”. The following, in particular, need no authorisation:
- Swiss citizens, wherever they live,
- nationals of the European Union and EFTA who have their legal and actual residence in Switzerland,
- nationals of other countries holding a settlement permit (C permit).
The decisive criterion is therefore residence far more than nationality. A French citizen living in Geneva is not treated like a French citizen living in Paris.
Main residence, second home, holiday home
A foreigner resident in Switzerland without a C permit may acquire, without authorisation, the home that serves as their main residence, in the place where they live.
A cross-border worker who is a national of the European Union or EFTA may, without authorisation, acquire a second home in the region where they work.
The holiday home of a person living abroad is the most restricted case: it requires an authorisation, only in the municipalities designated by the cantons and within annual quotas. The canton of Geneva authorises neither second homes — cross-border workers aside — nor holiday homes.
A law under revision
On 15 April 2026, the Federal Council opened a consultation on tightening the Lex Koller: making the purchase of a main residence by third-country nationals subject to authorisation, with an obligation to sell on departure, and further restricting holiday homes. The consultation closed on 15 July 2026; nothing is in force to date. For a project that spans three years, it is a factor to monitor from the purchase of the land onwards.
“The decisive criterion is residence, far more than nationality.”
What the law does not settle
The Lex Koller says who may buy, not what may be built. Buildability is a matter of cantonal law — the LCI in Geneva, the LATC in the canton of Vaud — and of municipal regulations. Land acquired entirely legally can turn out to be far less buildable than hoped.
Then there is the second homes act, known as the Lex Weber, which caps the share of second homes at 20% per municipality. It weighs mainly on mountain municipalities.
The other shore
For a family living outside Switzerland, the French shore of Lake Geneva, from Évian to Yvoire, imposes no restriction based on nationality or residence. The view of the lake and the Alps is the same, Geneva a few minutes away; the framework changes: municipal local plan, coastal law, RE2020. It is on this shore that we delivered our energy-positive villa on the Lake Geneva arc.
How we work
Before any project on the Swiss shore, we ask for the buyer’s status to be checked by a Swiss notary or lawyer. The answer shapes the whole structure — purchase in one’s own name, through a company, or the choice of the other shore — and we draw nothing before we know it. From early 2027, our Geneva office will handle these matters on site.
This note is general information, not legal advice: each situation depends on the permit, the residence and the acquisition structure.