Re: This would tend to lower the crime rate
Appledog
wrote:
>
> > I was merely trying to remain lighthearted speculating now that the
> > European Commission has a constitution in place (the Lisbon Treaty was
> > signed into law on December 1st IIRC) we may see a slew of new laws
> > allowing Europeans to relocate anywhere they want due to corporate
> > concerns - which would be all the loophole you would need.
>
> Nope. You can re-locate all you like, that's not an issue. Buying real estate is a different matter.
Mmm.
> > What did you hear from your lawyer (if you don't mind me asking here)
> > on the existing laws regarding international corporations? For
> > example, McDonald's. I find it difficult to believe their
> > international headquarters, located in Geneva, is owned entirely by
> > Swiss nationals... Here's a relevant quote from the Guardian: "The
> > company's European president, Denis Hennequin, who until now has split
> > his time between London and Paris, will be among the executives making
> > the move to Geneva."*
>
> You mean international corporations buying Swiss property, as opposed to individuals?
What does the Lex Koller Really Say about Foreigners Buying Homes in
Switzerland?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Article four, section twenty seven sums it up in one simple questrion:
"Are you black?" No, no! Just kidding!
But seriously folks. I did in fact take a second look at this because
of this discussion, and and it seems in the Lex Koller, "Persons
abroad" can be legal entities as well as individuals. As there are
already many corporations which own real estate in Switzerland, one
would (at least at first) assume that there would be a way for people
like you and me to also own a home there.
But reading further is what interested me the most. It seems that the
Lex Koller defines individual persons abroad as being either
foreigners domiciled abroad, or foreigners that are in fact domiciled
in Switzerland but are neither nationals of EU/EFTA member states nor
holders of a valid settlement permit (autorisation d'etablissement/
Niederlassungsbewilligung or so-called C permit).
This means that nationals of EU/EFTA member states domiciled in
Switzerland (in particular EU/EFTA nationals with a residence permit
EU-EFTA (autorisation de séjour/Aufenthaltsbewilligung or so called B
permit) or a settlement permit EU-EFTA or, possibly, with a short
residence permit EU-EFTA) as well as nationals of other foreign
countries who are holders of a valid settlement permit (C permit) and
are actually domiciled in Switzerland, and MOST CERTAINLY any EU
citizern with a CE permit, which apparently you can get without
actually living in Switzerland for any length of time, are not subject
to the "Lex Koller".
Needless to say, with respect to the acquisition of real estate their
position would be equal to that of a Swiss citizen.
Yet obviously this answer is so simple that there must be some sort of
loophole that I have overlooked which you and your team of
international lawyers found immediately. Probably that the swiss are
fondue.. err, fond.. of changing their laws at the local level as they
see fit, to keep out the foreigners. As you mentioned. Hmm.
The really weird thing, is that - APPARENTLY (gotta keep an eye out on
those law-changing Swiss) - Apparently, according to Swiss Law, no
permit whatsoever is needed for the purchase of real estate for the
purposes of any business, such as a doctor's office, nor is any
authorization required to buy real estate for the purpose of creating
a permanent establishment for a distribution, manufacturing or other
type of commercial business, for a workshop or for the practice of a
liberal profession (e.g. law offices, a bank... etc). This law has
actually been around since 2002; and has been interpreted in the past
to allow the purchaser to acquire the property as a mere capital
investment and to then rent or lease it to somebody else for the
pursuit of an economic activity (in other words, use as a permanent
business establishment). Moreover, the participation by foreign
investors in business enterprises does not require permission, not
even if the company premises of these enterprises consist of a
considerable amount of land.
> That issue was never addressed, but I'd assume similar restricions apply, and if they don't, the
> Swiss will find a way to change it or reappropriate.
Indeed - those krafty Swiss.
Yet, for what it's worth, check out http://geneva.angloinfo.com/countries/switzerland/housebuy.asp
- it outlines everything I've said above. I mean, it certainly seems
that many non-Swiss nationals enjoy the fruits of Swiss land
ownership. Maybe there is something you can dig up, in the form of
successful cases, by talking to those pepole.
Then again I wouldn't want to give any false home. Err, hope, where
none exists.
Another Route to Swiss Nationalism:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, you could always look at it from another angle. You could always
become a Swiss national. If you've lived there for 5 years, OR if you
can get a bunch of locals to vote for you (I think they take a poll in
whatever town you've been living for the time) you're in. It's called
a Class C residency permit, and it's the first step before full-blown
A... ERR!!! oops, I mean, full blown Swiss Citizenship.
http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/residency/faq/eu/index.html
Or as I said previously, if you were a EU citizen, a CE residency
permit. http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/residency/faq/ce-permit.html
Although I do admit that I am not aware of how authoritative that
website is, as I was on about before, it certainly does seem easy to
get a citizenship somewhere in the EU, then breeze to a class CE Swiss
residency permit, which allows you to buy real estate. And, given the
length of time this law has been around and the number of people and
businesses which have used it quite successfully...
But tell you the truth, I shouldn't get my hopes up on this either.
Oh, fie! It will be years before I can coax enough money out of my job
to get a home in Switzerland :<
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