Part-time Swiss Abroad: the challenges of working in two countries 

More and more Swiss now have a hybrid life, working part of the year in Switzerland and part of the year abroad. But international mobility can lead to issues with taxes, social security, and social life. Melanie Marquez works in sunny Cuba for several months a year during the Swiss winter. She and her associate Cyrilla Duforêt own a tourism and sports company which organises vacations on the Caribbean island; they also run a gym in Bern. At first, they spontaneously seized business opportunities as they arose, but “after a somewhat uncertain phase, we realised it was important to clarify things administratively,” Marquez says. Determining tax residence When you work in two countries, one of the first questions to ask yourself is where to declare your income and pay taxes. If, as a Swiss resident, you work abroad for a Swiss company that has no local branch office, your income is only taxable in Switzerland – as long as you are not in the foreign country for more than 183 days per ...