
Brexit represents one of the most important changes in the structure of the European Union and even if
Switzerland is not a state member, it has special agreements with the EU in respect to various operations of companies. This means that the UK now needs to enter its own treaties with the United Kingdom in order to for mutually beneficial relations to continue between the two countries.
Out of all players, business owners had suffered the most after UK’s leaving the EU, however, there are several things they can do in order minimize the negative effects of Brexit, and one of them is to relocate their companies.
It is possible to
relocate a UK company to Switzerland after Brexit with the help of our
local agents. Below, we explain all the steps one needs to complete.
Switzerland, the UK and EU negotiations
As mentioned above,
Switzerland is not an EU member state, which means that it already established several aspects related mostly to the
immigration regulations imposed on Swiss and British citizens and their rights to enter/leave and work in these two countries. For this purpose, the two countries have signed a bilateral agreement.
When it comes companies, things have not changed, however, it is worth noting that certain procedures could be more difficult when operating from UK to the EU, as Switzerland has its own agreements with the Union regarding trading processes.
This is one of the reasons why, relocation of a UK company to Switzerland after Brexit is a good choice.
Options for UK companies seeking to establish themselves in Switzerland
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to move their entire operations to Switzerland,
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to expand their activities through branches or subsidiaries.
No matter the choice, the process of incorporating a business in Switzerland is the key to the entire procedure.
Steps of moving a UK company to Switzerland after Brexit
When moving a British company to Switzerland after Brexit, the following steps are mandatory:
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deregistration of the British company with the UK Trade Register,
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incorporation of a new company with the Swiss Companies Registrar,
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obtaining tax identification and VAT numbers with the Swiss Tax Administration,
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applying for the necessary business licenses in Switzerland.
Important aspects that can be considered upon
moving a UK business to Switzerland no matter the reason is that the company registered here will be able to complete the same activities as it did before, however, it will have to comply with the Swiss regulations which also imply business licensing.
New agreements signed by Switzerland and the UK
In the light of Brexit,
Switzerland has reached the following new bilateral
agreements with the United
Kingdom:
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- an agreement on air services between the two states,
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- an agreement targeting international road transportation of goods and passengers,
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- an agreement on insurance and reinsurance policies,
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- a trade agreement,
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- an agreement on the rights of UK and Swiss citizens,
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- a cooperation agreement between the police forces of both states,
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- a service mobility agreement.
Under these agreements, UK companies will find it easy to relocate their operations to Switzerland and offer their services or sell their goods from here.
Apart from these, as Swiss-based companies, they will enjoy the benefits offered by Switzerland’s agreement with the EU.
Company formation services in Switzerland for British business owners
If you are a
British business owner and want to
relocate your
company to Switzerland after Brexit, our representatives are art your service. After you de-register your company in the UK, we will help with all the procedures related to incorporating a new one here. We will prepare the necessary documents and file them with the Trade Register. We will also handle
tax registration and business licensing.
Trading relations between Switzerland and the UK
According to the most recent statistics offered by
Trading Economics, Switzerland and UK have outstanding trading relations, as it follows:
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- in 2019, the value of imports of UK from Switzerland was 23.66 billion USD,
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- the same year, the value of exports of UK to Switzerland was 28.31 billion USD,
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- the most imported/exported goods were precious metals, coins and pharmaceutical products which totaled 22.38 billion USD.