If you move your residence to Switzerland, your car crosses the border as relocation goods free of duties and taxes – provided you used it yourself for at least six months before the move and continue to use it afterwards. And since 1 February 2026 there is one thing less to worry about at registration: for vehicles without EU approval that are imported for own use, proof of electromagnetic immunity is not to be demanded.
When your car counts as relocation goods
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) ties the duty-free import to three conditions:
- Change of residence: you are moving your residence to Switzerland. This is the decisive condition – without it your vehicle does not count as relocation goods.
- Six months of use: you used the vehicle personally for at least six months before the move.
- Continued use: you carry on using the vehicle yourself after the import.
What counts is the use, not the purchase date alone. A car you bought two months before the move does not meet the second condition, even if it is registered in your name.
If you are moving from an EU or EFTA country, you do not need to present an assurance of a residence permit. In that case you prove the change of residence by other means – an employment contract, a tenancy agreement, or the deregistration confirmation from the country you are leaving.
Form 18.44 and the customs assessment
At the border you present the completed application form 18.44 «Zollveranlagung von Übersiedlungsgut» together with the supporting documents to the customs office of entry. Two points are regularly underestimated:
- Opening hours: the assessment has to take place during the customs office’s opening hours for commercial goods. Crossing in the evening or at the weekend will not do.
- Advance check: you can send your relocation file to the customs office at least two working days before crossing, which speeds up clearance. Only the customs offices Mendrisiotto (Stabio-Confine crossing), Vedeggio and Chiasso-Strada offer this – and you then have to cross the border at exactly the office that handled your file.
We are happy to prepare the customs papers and plan the timing for you; the assessment itself is always made by customs.
Duty-free does not mean inspection-free
The exemption concerns the duties and taxes only. The technical side of the import carries on regardless: at customs clearance your vehicle receives its Stammnummer, after which you need proof of insurance, the vehicle inspection (MFK) and registration in your canton of residence. Whether a CO₂ levy applies to your vehicle depends on the individual case – we clarify that for you in advance.
EMC proof: no immunity proof since 1 February 2026
A vehicle from the USA – or from Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom – usually has no EU approval. It is precisely these vehicles that the Swiss Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) had in mind when its new directive on proof of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) came into force on 1 February 2026. It distinguishes two kinds of proof, and that distinction is what matters:
- Immunity is dropped. For vehicles without EU approval that are imported for own use and belong to class M1 (passenger cars) or N1 (light commercial vehicles), proof of electromagnetic immunity is not to be demanded for registration.
- Emissions are still required, but easier. Test reports from foreign test houses notified to the UNECE for the relevant tests need no additional conformity certification by a recognised Swiss test house. And no accompanying test report is to be demanded alongside a manufacturer’s declaration of conformity – although one can be requested afterwards if something is unclear.
Own use means that the vehicle is registered in the name of the importer declared in the customs assessment. Selling it on later and registering it to a different keeper remains possible. When you move to Switzerland this condition is met almost by definition: you import the vehicle yourself and register it in your own name.
All other registration requirements are untouched, in particular those on road and product safety. The directive does not replace the MFK.
If the road traffic office asks for an immunity proof anyway, you can present the ASTRA directive on EMC proof (in German) – the PDF is on the ASTRA website and can be printed and taken along.
Please note: this is our own experience from ongoing cases, not legal advice. Practice can differ between road traffic offices and between the people handling your file, and we cannot guarantee that your vehicle will be treated the same way.
What this means for your import
Plan the move early enough for the six-month period to be complete when you cross the border, and match the crossing to the customs office’s opening hours. Take the ASTRA directive along for the registration – at best it saves you hunting for a document that does not exist for your vehicle.
Not sure whether your vehicle qualifies as relocation goods? Get in touch with your planned moving date, the vehicle documents, the date of first registration and the mileage – we will check it for you before the import.