A loan for foreigners in Switzerland: your financing with a residence permit.
Yes, the loan for foreigners exists, and we find it for you.
A common misconception: anyone without a Swiss passport cannot get a loan in Switzerland. That is not the case. For a loan for foreigners, what matters is not your nationality but your creditworthiness, namely a stable income in Switzerland, a registered place of residence, and a clean credit record. Many Swiss banks grant a personal loan to foreigners who hold a valid residence permit, and the requirements are transparent and easy to follow.
This page is the overview for everyone looking for a loan in Switzerland as a foreigner. The permit you hold mainly changes what the banks look at in addition: with the fixed-term B residence permit, the remaining validity counts; with the permanent C settlement permit, you are generally treated like a Swiss national. You will find the details on the pages about the loan with a B permit and the loan with a C permit, and for cross-border commuters with a place of residence abroad, on the page about the loan for cross-border commuters. In every case, the loan is granted after an individual assessment. This is exactly where privatkredit.ch comes in: we compare for you the providers that finance a loan for foreigners, and we show you which personal loan fits your situation.
What you need to bring as a foreigner for the loan
These six points are what the banks assess before they grant a loan for foreigners. The more clearly you meet them, the better the terms of your personal loan, and the more precisely we compare the right offers for you.
Valid residence permit
The foreigner's permit is the basis for your loan for foreigners: it confirms your lawful residence in Switzerland. With a permanent C settlement permit you are treated like a Swiss national; with a fixed-term B residence permit the banks additionally look at the remaining validity. If the permit is about to expire, renew it first.
Place of residence in Switzerland
For a loan for foreigners, a registered place of residence in Switzerland is mandatory. This is what sets this case apart from the cross-border commuter with a G permit, who lives in a neighboring country and is subject to separate rules.
Regular income in Switzerland
A stable income in CHF, evidenced by your last three payslips, forms the basis of your creditworthiness. For the self-employed, the tax returns and the financial statements for the last two years take its place. On this basis the banks assess which loan for foreigners they will grant you.
Permanent employment contract
A valid, ideally open-ended employment contract with several months at the same employer confirms your stable working situation. For the personal loan for foreigners it is just as important as the residence permit itself.
Swiss bank account
A private account at a Swiss bank is required for the loan for foreigners: the payout and the payment of the installments run through this account.
Clean credit record
For the loan for foreigners, the ZEK register is checked. Open debt collections, wage garnishments, or a negative ZEK entry affect the decision. Other obligations such as existing loans, leasing, or maintenance payments are also taken into account.
Three steps to your loan as a foreigner
Complete the online request
Calculate the installment for your loan as a foreigner, fill in the short application, and upload your ID, residence permit, and payslips right away, securely and encrypted.
Receive your offer
Once your documents are complete, you receive your personal offer for the personal loan for foreigners within 24 hours.
Payout to your account
After you sign the contract and the 14-day withdrawal period has passed, the amount is transferred directly to your Swiss bank account.
Three things to keep in mind with the loan for foreigners
Remaining validity with permit B
With a fixed-term B residence permit, the banks look at the remaining validity. If your B permit expires within the next 12 months, renew it before applying for the loan, and the loan term should not exceed the remaining validity of the permit. With the permanent C settlement permit, this restriction does not apply.
Creditworthiness beats residence status
The interest rate for your loan for foreigners depends above all on your overall creditworthiness, not on the permit alone. A clean ZEK record and debt collection extract therefore matter more than the type of permit. With a stable income you get terms close to those of a Swiss national.
Unsecured loan, no guarantor
The loan for foreigners arranged through privatkredit.ch is an unsecured loan, that is, without collateral and without a guarantor. A co-applicant with Swiss citizenship or a C permit can, however, strengthen the application and improve the chances of better terms.
Loan for foreigners: the most common questions
- Autor
- privatkredit.ch editorial team, Specialist editorial team for consumer credit
- Fachliche Prüfung
- Redaktionsinterne Gegenprüfung durch Kreditfachleute
- Zuletzt aktualisiert
- 8 June 2026, Inhalte werden laufend aktualisiert
- Unabhängigkeit
- Unabhängige Recherche, ausschliesslich offizielle Schweizer Quellen
- 1Federal Act on Consumer Credit (CCA), SR 221.214.1. Fedlex, the publication platform of Swiss federal law. fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2002/593/de
- 2Residence and settlement of foreign nationals (permits B and C). State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). sem.admin.ch
- 3Central Office for Credit Information (ZEK). ZEK, Zurich. zek.ch
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