Doing business in Switzerland as a Croatian entrepreneur: which questions to clarify first

Residence and work: what applies since 2026

Croatia has been a member of the EU since 2013. For a long time, transitional rules and quotas applied to access to the Swiss labour market. Since the beginning of 2026, these have been lifted: Croatian nationals have the same rights as other EU citizens.

• Self-employed in Switzerland: you receive a residence permit if you can show genuine self-employment, for example with a business plan, an entry in the commercial register or your first contracts.
• Living in Croatia with contracts in Switzerland: services are possible for up to 90 working days per calendar year without a permit, under the so-called notification procedure. The notification must be made at least eight days before work starts. In sectors such as construction, landscaping, cleaning or hospitality, this applies from the first working day; in the other sectors only once work exceeds eight days per year.
• Posting employees from Croatia to Switzerland: the notification procedure also applies here, together with the Swiss minimum requirements on pay and working hours.

Which structure fits?

From Croatia

• Your d.o.o. carries out contracts in Switzerland
• Notification procedure up to 90 days a year
• No Swiss registered office
• Risk of a permanent establishment with longer activity

Structure⇄

In Switzerland

• Branch of your d.o.o. or your own GmbH or AG
• Entry in the commercial register
• Tax liability and accounting in Switzerland
• Representation by a person resident in Switzerland

For individual projects, it is often sufficient for your Croatian company to carry out the work directly. If you work in Switzerland regularly, have a fixed place of work or a construction site over a longer period, however, you quickly create a permanent establishment. The profit attributable to the activity in Switzerland is then taxable here, with accounting and a tax return in Switzerland.

A branch is entered in the commercial register and legally remains part of your Croatian company. Your own GmbH or AG is an independent Swiss company, often the clearer solution for a permanent business. In both cases, a person resident in Switzerland who can represent the branch or company is needed.

Tax and VAT

Switzerland and Croatia have had a double taxation agreement since 1999. It determines which country may tax profits, salaries and dividends and prevents the same income from being taxed twice in full. For this to work, the accounting and tax returns in both countries must be consistent.

• Profit: what is attributable to a Swiss permanent establishment or company is taxed in Switzerland, the rest in Croatia.
• VAT: foreign businesses that provide services in Switzerland may become liable for VAT here. The threshold is worldwide turnover of CHF 100,000. The standard rate is 8.1 percent.
• Dividends: if a Swiss company pays a dividend to you in Croatia, 35 percent withholding tax applies. You can reclaim part of it under the agreement.
• Salary: if you work in Switzerland yourself, your salary is in principle taxed here, and if you live in Croatia usually at source.

Social security

The European rules on the coordination of social security apply between Switzerland and Croatia. In principle, you are insured where you work. Employees posted to Switzerland for a temporary assignment remain insured in Croatia for up to 24 months with an A1 certificate. Anyone who works permanently in Switzerland or is active in both countries must check carefully which system applies.

The first questions to clarify

1. How long and how regularly will you or your employees work in Switzerland?
2. Is the notification procedure sufficient, or is a permit or a structure of your own needed?
3. Is a permanent establishment created, and which profit would be attributable to it?
4. Will your business become liable for VAT in Switzerland?
5. Where are you and your employees covered by social security?
6. Who represents your business in Switzerland, and who keeps the accounts here?
7. How do your Croatian accountant or tax adviser and your adviser in Switzerland coordinate?

Working together across the border

Most problems do not arise because the rules are unclear, but because each adviser only sees their own country. The Swiss accounts do not know the Croatian figures, and the Croatian accountant knows nothing about Swiss VAT. A clear division has proven itself: your adviser in Croatia remains responsible for the Croatian company, I take care of the Swiss side, and we coordinate on the annual accounts and taxes.

I advise in German, English and Croatian. For you, this means one point of contact in Switzerland who speaks your language, knows the Swiss rules and can communicate directly with your adviser in Croatia.

This article gives a general overview and does not replace advice in an individual case. Your adviser in Croatia is responsible for Croatian law and Croatian taxes.