Buying Property in Zug as a Foreign National: What Lex Koller Allows

For a foreign national who wants to buy a home in the canton of Zug, the position under Lex Koller is narrower than most people expect. In practice you need to be resident in Switzerland and hold a permit, and the property must be the home you actually live in. Zug is not a holiday-home canton, so the exemption that lets non-residents buy in Valais or Graubünden does not apply here at all.

A federal proposal published in 2026 would tighten the regime further. If you are considering a purchase, the current rules are worth understanding before the possible ones.

What Lex Koller is

The Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad — known as Lex Koller after the federal councillor who shaped it — restricts the acquisition of Swiss residential property by people domiciled abroad. Its stated purpose is to limit foreign ownership and speculation in a country with very little land.

It is a federal law applied cantonally, and the cantonal authority decides. It concerns residential property. Genuinely commercial property has historically sat outside it.

Where you stand, by status

Swiss citizens and holders of a C settlement permit are treated identically for these purposes. A C permit holder — including a third-country national — may buy a primary residence, a second home or an investment property without authorisation. In practice, the C permit removes the question entirely. Holders of a B residence permit, including third-country nationals, may buy a primary residence at their place of residence without authorisation. The condition is real: it must be the home you actually occupy, not an investment held alongside a rented flat. EU and EFTA nationals resident in Switzerland are in a comparable position and, with a C permit, have the same rights as Swiss citizens. Persons domiciled abroad, and foreign-controlled companies, need cantonal authorisation. Authorisations are largely confined to holiday homes in designated tourist cantons, under a national quota of roughly 1,500 permits a year, with a maximum net living space of around 200 m² per unit. This is the point that matters for Zug. The canton is not a designated tourist area and has no holiday-home quota. There is, in practice, no route for a non-resident foreign national to buy a home here. The answer is not "difficult". It is "not available".

The 2026 proposal

In 2026 the Federal Council opened a consultation on tightening Lex Koller substantially. The consultation period closed in mid-July 2026, and the Council will decide whether to put measures to Parliament.

As proposed, the changes would:

• require third-country nationals to obtain a permit even for a primary residence, and to sell within two years of leaving Switzerland
• tighten commercial property generally, leaving only premises used for the acquirer's own business operations permit-free, and prohibiting purchases held for rental or investment
• reduce cantonal holiday-home quotas, and count transfers between foreign owners against them
• prohibit acquisitions of shares in residential real estate companies and real-estate funds by persons abroad

None of this is law. It is a proposal at an early stage, and Swiss legislative processes are slow and frequently amended. But for a third-country national weighing a purchase in Zug, the direction of travel is one-way, and the two-year divestment obligation on departure is a material change to how a purchase should be structured.

What this means in practice

Three observations from working with buyers in this position.

Sequence matters more than it appears. Permit status determines what you may buy. Buyers who arrange the residence permit first, and the property second, have options. Buyers who do it the other way round frequently discover they have none. "Primary residence" is a factual test, not a label. It means the home you actually live in. Structures designed to look like occupation while functioning as investment are exactly what the law exists to prevent, and the current proposal would tighten the point further. This is a question for a Swiss lawyer or notary, not for us. We say that plainly because the consequences of getting it wrong are severe — an unauthorised acquisition can be unwound. Our role is to find the property, understand the market and manage the process. The legal assessment belongs with a specialist, and we will introduce you to one.

If you are planning a move to Zug and want to understand what is realistic in your circumstances, we are glad to talk it through.