§ Audience 03 · Ci permit · Accompanying members
Strategic advisory for accompanying spouses, partners and dependants of accredited missions posted to Geneva. The Ci permit extends the diplomatic status into Swiss civil society on controlled terms. The bureau opens that perimeter without compromising the privileges granted to the principal of the mission.
Accompanying spouse on a Ci permit. Income enters Swiss tax law through the withholding at source. The Pillar 3a opens at 7,258 CHF a year and the household retains its diplomatic dimension. The annual rectification is where the refund is captured.
Diplomatic entrepreneur on a Ci permit. A Raison Individuelle or a Sàrl unlocks the full deduction toolbox: professional expenses, self-employed 3a ceiling at 36,288 CHF, structured invoicing under the mission's status. The legal transition is designed before the first invoice is issued.
Dependent student of an accredited mission. No Ci yet, no taxable income, but the coverage gap is easy to miss. A global student health plan, the right beneficiary clauses and an education portfolio cover the years before the next decision is taken.
Members of the accompanying cell occupy what the bureau calls a hybrid civil-diplomatic position. The principal of the mission carries a legitimation card, the accompanying spouse receives a Ci permit, and Switzerland applies a different rule to each. The household, in fiscal terms, is two parallel regimes running under the same accreditation.
That duality is precisely what makes the accompanying file so productive when it is structured under counsel. The Pillar 3a deduction, local entrepreneurship and professional expense write-offs become available, while the household preserves the diplomatic health and tax privileges granted to the mission. The two regimes are reconciled, never traded.
§ 01 · The hybrid reality
Once a local activity is undertaken, Switzerland looks at the accompanying spouse, not at the principal of the mission. The income enters ordinary tax law, generally through withholding at source. The household nevertheless retains its diplomatic dimension. The two realities coexist, and the bureau navigates them together rather than in isolation.
Guided handling of the Ci issuance, the documentation required by the canton, and the moment the income begins to be taxed at source.
Because the household keeps its diplomatic dimension, reclamation tools that ordinary residents lack remain available. The bureau files the annual rectification to recover what is recoverable.
Every financial decision is reviewed against both sides of the household, so the Ci side never undermines the privileges of the accredited principal.
§ 02 · Pillar 3a · The annual refund
A Ci permit confers the same Pillar 3a rights as those of any Swiss resident. With a maximum contribution of 7,258 CHF in 2026, the typical Geneva household captures an annual refund between 1,800 and 2,200 CHF. The 2026 reform opens a retroactive catch-up window that the bureau is actively using for accompanying spouses newly arrived in Geneva.
§ 03 · The diplomatic entrepreneur
A Ci permit authorises salaried work as well as the launch of a business. Many accompanying spouses find that a Raison Individuelle or a small Sàrl is the cleanest route to professional autonomy in Geneva. It frames the activity legally, structures the invoicing, and unlocks a much wider pool of deductions than a standard employment contract.
§ 04 · Refund estimator
What does the Swiss Confederation refund to a Ci-permit spouse who saves through the Pillar 3a? Enter the monthly gross salary and the intended contribution. The estimator returns a Geneva-calibrated refund figure. The exact computation is re-run on a real payslip during the first session.
Indicative figure based on the average Geneva marginal tax rate for a Ci holder. The final result depends on commune, deductions and household composition.
§ 05 · Frequently asked
§ Begin
A confidential session, included in our onboarding protocol, to map the Ci options, the Pillar 3a entitlement and, where relevant, the entrepreneurial route. Two working languages, three options, one written summary at the end.
Mandat Genève