Calculator · Absence

How long can you stay abroad?

After six months of uninterrupted absence, a B or C permit lapses by operation of law — no decision, no letter. This calculator shows your date.

Your absence

Choose your permit and enter the dates of your absence.

Residence permit BAnnual permit — the six-month rule also applies to EU/EFTA nationals.Settlement permit COpen-ended — still lapses on absence, but can be maintained on request.

Choose your permit first — the result will appear here.

All calculations run in your browser. Your dates are neither transmitted nor stored.

Absences also slow your C-permit and citizenship clocks — to the eligibility calculator

The legal position

The six-month rule, spelled out

Four things to know about lapse through absence — with the articles they come from.

The basic rule

6 months

If a foreign national leaves Switzerland without deregistering, the residence or settlement permit lapses after six months by operation of law — automatically, without a decision or notification.

AIG Art. 61 Abs. 2

Maintenance (C only)

up to 4 years

Anyone who must stay away longer (secondment, education, care) can request maintenance of the settlement permit for up to four years. The decisive point: the request must be filed before the six months expire — afterwards the permit is gone.

AIG Art. 61 Abs. 2

The trap: short trips home

no reset

A weekend in Switzerland every few months is not enough. Authorities and courts examine whether the actual centre of life stayed in Switzerland. If home, work and family move abroad, the clock keeps running despite brief visits.

AIG Art. 61 Abs. 2 (Praxis)

After the lapse

~2 years

A lapsed permit does not revive. A readmission request remains possible — with realistic prospects, in cantonal practice, mainly within about two years of the lapse.

VZAE Art. 49

Sources & status

Reviewed on 12.06.2026

General information, not lawyer-reviewed legal advice. The day counts come from the citation-verified deadline table; at the boundary, the calculator deliberately counts strictly and never states a return date later than the law allows. Special cases (deregistration, military service, particular agreements) may differ.

Legal sources

AIG Art. 61 Abs. 2VZAE Art. 49

Has your permit already lapsed — or is removal looming?

With a lapsed permit, every week counts. The crisis page shows the first steps and where to turn.

To the crisis page

Unsure how the rule applies to you?

Ask Clara a question — you get a cited answer from Swiss immigration law, free of charge.

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Clara is an AI and does not replace legal advice.