From 1 January 2018, becoming Swiss will get more difficult. The key change is the types of qualifying residence permits – only C-permit holders will be able to apply. In addition, years spent in Switzerland on N (asylum) and F (provisional) permits will not count. There is some good news. Those with C-permits will only […]
Jet-skis not welcome on Lake Geneva
Tribune de Genève. A Swiss-French commission has demanded a jet-ski ban on Lake Geneva. Requests to have a ban put into law have been sent to Paris and Bern, according to Tribune de Genève. The government of the canton of Vaud says jet-skis pose a danger to lake animals, in particular some birds. Safety is […]
Swiss VAT rate to fall in 2018
The current rate of 8% is set to drop on 1 January 2018. Temporarily increased by 0.4% in 2011 to shore up funding for disability welfare, the rate will revert to 7.7%. The 0.1% difference between the new rate and pre 2011 rate of 7.6% is a new increase that will be used to help […]
Swiss fact: forests expanded 9% in Switzerland since 1990
In 1990, Switzerland had 11,510 sq. km. of forest. By 2015, it was up by 9% at 12,540 sq. km. This is 30% of the nation’s land area, slightly less that the global average of 31%. Globally forests are in decline. Since 1990 they shrank 3%, a modest figure that masks the real damage. Planting […]
My Swiss story – Lake Geneva is never too cold
Everyone has a story. My Swiss Story is a series that looks at lives in Switzerland. We recently met Sergio Bianchini. His passion is long-distance swimming – for himself and for others. As well as swimming all year round in Lake Geneva, he has crossed the straits of Gibraltar and swum from Salvation’s Islands to the South […]
Top 5 Christmas songs in Switzerland
Music streamer Spotify provides data on Christmas music streaming trends. Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is you” is the clear global favourite, followed by the Wham! hit “Last Christmas”, Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas”, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me”. […]
Switzerland joins 127 other nations condemning Donald Trump’s Jerusalem decision
Yesterday, 128 countries voted in favour of a United Nation’s General Assembly resolution demanding Washington rescind its 6 December recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Switzerland was among them. A clear majority was in favour (74%) – 128 voted for, 9 against, with 35 abstentions. US-friendly countries voting in favour included Germany, France, Britain and […]
A high-speed pod that could one day get you from Zurich to Geneva in 15 minutes
A bunch of brainy students at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (Einstein was a student there) designed a prototype of a passenger pod that might one day carry commuters through a vacuum tube in magnetically levitating cars at more than 1,000 km/h. At this speed a trip between Zürich and Geneva could take 15 […]
World’s biggest space cake lands in Zurich train station
On Sunday, the company Zuya unveiled a 15-metre cake at Zurich’s main train station, described by the company as the world’s biggest space cake. The company said more than 2,000 people turned out to see and eat their cake. According to 20 minuten, there were only 1,850 slices, so some might have missed out on […]
Swimming in winter water – Geneva’s Christmas cup
For the last 79 years swimmers have thrown themselves into Lake Geneva’s icy waters roughly a week before Christmas to complete a 120m sprint. The event started in 1934 after local swimmer Monsieur Doria was inspired by a similar race he saw in the river Seine in Paris. The water temperature was around 6 degrees for […]
