Graubünden (GR) and Valais (VS) apply the same federal immigration law as every other canton, but with two features you will notice: the language of your procedure depends on where you live in the canton, and seasonal work in tourism, viticulture and mountain farming means the L short-term permit is used far more than elsewhere. Their migration offices are also smaller than those of the big city cantons. This page explains how both cantons work and where to find the right office.

In short

  • Language follows your address. In GR it is German, Italian or Romansh depending on your municipality; in VS it is German in Upper Valais and French in Lower Valais. You cannot simply choose.
  • Moving across the language border changes your procedure language, and possibly the language of the certificate you will need later.
  • Seasonal work usually means an L permit (Art. 32 FNIA), for contracts of about four to twelve months.
  • Offices: the Amt für Migration und Zivilrecht in Chur (GR) and the Service de la population et des migrations (SPoM) / Dienststelle für Bevölkerung und Migration (DBM) in VS.
  • Voting rights: none at cantonal level; at municipal level, only some Graubünden municipalities grant them.

Why these two cantons are grouped

Swiss immigration law is federal: the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration (FNIA, SR 142.20), the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201), the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0), the Asylum Act (AsylA, SR 142.31) and the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the EU (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681) with its implementing ordinance. The 26 cantons apply it, and regional patterns emerge.

  • Graubünden: around 200,000 inhabitants and three official languages, German, Italian and Romansh. The economy rests on tourism (Davos, St. Moritz, Lenzerheide, Arosa, the Engadine, Surselva), hotels, ski areas, mountain farming and some industry in the Chur Rhine valley.
  • Valais: around 360,000 inhabitants and two official languages, German (Upper Valais) and French (Lower Valais). The economy rests on tourism (Zermatt, Verbier, Crans-Montana, Saas-Fee, Leukerbad), wine (Chasselas/Fendant, Pinot Noir, Petite Arvine, Cornalin), aluminium (Steg, Sierre), pharmaceuticals (Lonza in Visp) and mountain farming.

Both cantons have no single administrative language, a high share of seasonal jobs, and smaller migration offices than Zurich, Geneva, Bern or Vaud. Smaller offices tend to mean more continuity in who handles your file and closer contact with municipalities, but replies can be slower during holidays because the staff pool is small.

Ticino is also an Alpine tourism canton but is covered separately: its procedures are only in Italian and it has its own cross-border worker rules with Italy. See Canton of Ticino.

Graubünden

The migration office

Your office is the Amt für Migration und Zivilrecht (Office for Migration and Civil Law) in Chur, part of the Departement für Justiz, Sicherheit und Gesundheit (DJSG, Department of Justice, Security and Health). For the current address, phone, email and opening hours, check the official page: https://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/djsg/afm/. The SEM also lists all cantonal migration offices: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/sem/kontakt/kantonale_behoerden.html

Three languages

The Graubünden constitution (Art. 3 of the cantonal constitution) makes German, Italian and Romansh equal official languages:

  • German is used in most municipalities (including the Chur Rhine valley, Davos, Prättigau and Heinzenberg) and is the main working language of the cantonal administration.
  • Italian is used in the southern valleys: Mesolcina (Misox), Calanca, Bregaglia (Bergell), Poschiavo and partly Val Müstair. You can apply in Italian there and receive decisions in Italian. Which language applies in each municipality follows the cantonal language act (BR 492.100).
  • Romansh is an official procedure language in Romansh-speaking municipalities in the Surselva, the Engadine and Val Müstair. In practice it is rarely used formally. Since 1982, the standard form Rumantsch Grischun has been used by the administration alongside the five main idioms (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Putèr, Vallader). Decisions are often issued in Romansh and German, few lawyers work in Romansh, and most applicants choose German or Italian. You can ask for a Romansh translation of a cantonal decision. If you want your procedure in Romansh, clarify it with the office and a lawyer first.

Advice centres

These offer free, low-threshold advice but not legal representation. Find their current contact details on their own websites:

  • Bündner Beratungsstelle für Asylsuchende (Chur): asylum, removal and provisional admission (F).
  • IG offenes Davos (Davos): local help with immigration and integration questions.
  • Caritas Graubünden (Chur): social advice with an immigration angle.
  • HEKS Graubünden (Chur): the relief organisation of the Protestant Churches, with legal advice on asylum.

For appeals, hardship applications or court cases, use a lawyer registered in Graubünden.

Seasonal work in Graubünden

The winter season runs from December to April and the summer season from July to September.

  • Hotels: contracts usually four to eight months (St. Moritz, Davos, Lenzerheide, the Engadine). The L permit under Art. 32 FNIA is the standard permit.
  • Ski areas and mountain railways: contracts of five to seven months, mainly in winter.
  • Restaurants outside ski resorts: often year-round contracts, where a B permit is possible. Seasonal businesses still use the L permit.
  • Alpine summer farming (May/June to September): herders, dairy workers and helpers on contracts of usually three to five months, as a rule on an L permit. Ask the canton about current practice and quotas.

An L permit can be extended under the conditions of Art. 32 para. 4 FNIA. Switching from L to B is possible, depending on your situation. See the L short-term permit.

Cross-border work with Italy

The double taxation agreement between Switzerland and Italy (SR 0.672.945.41) has a cross-border worker clause that matters mainly in Ticino and, less, in the southern valleys of Graubünden. It does not normally apply to hotel or ski seasonal work, because seasonal workers usually live on site, often in staff rooms. The cross-border workers agreement in force since 17.07.2023 is based on a home municipality near the border in Italy and a workplace near the border in Switzerland. So seasonal workers in Graubünden hold an L permit, not a G permit. In Mesolcina municipalities near the Italian border, such as San Vittore and Roveredo, G permit cases occasionally occur; check with the canton. See the G cross-border-worker permit.

Valais

The migration office

Your office is the Service de la population et des migrations (SPoM) in French, or the Dienststelle für Bevölkerung und Migration (DBM) in German. It sits within the cantonal security department. It has a main site in Sion and a contact point in Upper Valais (Brig area), so you do not necessarily have to travel to Lower Valais if you live in the German-speaking part. For addresses, phone, email, hours and which site handles what, check https://www.vs.ch/de/web/spm or the SEM directory above.

Two languages

The Valais constitution (Art. 12 of the cantonal constitution) makes German and French equal official languages:

  • Upper Valais (districts of Brig, Visp, Western Raron, Eastern Raron, Goms and Leuk): German.
  • Lower Valais (districts of Sion, Sierre, Hérens, Conthey, Martigny, Entremont, Saint-Maurice and Monthey): French.
  • The language border runs roughly at Sierre/Siders. Sierre is a bilingual municipality, and which language applies there can vary by procedure; ask the office.

East of Sierre the procedure language is generally German, west of it French. You cannot freely choose it: it follows your residence.

Advice centres

Again, these give advice but not legal representation; check their websites for contact details:

  • Centre Suisses-Immigrés (CSI) (Sion): French-speaking, advice in several languages.
  • Forum Migration Oberwallis (FMO) (Visp): German-speaking, also advises on integration and language courses.
  • Caritas Wallis / Caritas Valais (Sion and Visp): social advice with an immigration angle.
  • Partner organisations of the Swiss Refugee Council (OSAR/SFH) for asylum.

For more complex cases, use a lawyer registered in Valais (Ordre des avocats valaisans / Walliser Anwaltsverband).

Work and seasonal jobs in Valais

  • Tourism (Zermatt, Verbier, Crans-Montana, Saas-Fee, Leukerbad, Anzère, Champéry, Nendaz): winter and summer seasons, many L permits.
  • Wine: Valais is Switzerland's largest wine region, with several thousand hectares of vines. Hundreds of harvest workers come each September/October on contracts of typically four to eight weeks, often extendable. EU/EFTA nationals get an L permit under the AFMP, or use the notification procedure for up to 90 days. Third-country nationals need proof of need and an available quota (Art. 20 FNIA with Art. 19 OASA), which in practice is very restrictive. Practice varies by district and wine cooperative; ask the canton about the current seasonal quota.
  • Pharmaceuticals: the Lonza site in Visp, mostly B permits on open-ended contracts, a growing sector.
  • Aluminium: Steg and Sierre (Constellium and successors), a stable B permit workforce with many Italian and Portuguese employees.
  • Mountain farming: Alpine summer jobs, as in Graubünden.

Cross-border work

Valais borders Italy (across the Great St. Bernard and Simplon passes) and reaches France only via Vaud and Geneva. Cross-border work is rarer than in Ticino, Geneva or Basel:

  • Italy: the cross-border workers agreement of 23.12.2020, in force since 17.07.2023, under the Switzerland to Italy double taxation agreement (SR 0.672.945.41), applies if you live in the Italian border zone and work in the Swiss border zone. For workplaces right at the border, such as the Simplon area, a G permit may be possible. Check the exact border zone with the SPoM/DBM or the tax administration.
  • France: the Switzerland to France double taxation agreement (SR 0.672.934.91) rarely matters in Valais, which has no direct French border. See the Canton of Geneva and the Romandie standard-practice cluster.

Seasonal workers in tourism and wine normally live on site and hold an L permit, not a G permit.

Language proof and moving within the canton

You provide your language proof (Art. 58a FNIA with Art. 77d OASA) in the official language of your municipality. The level depends on the procedure: lower for some residence permits, higher for the early C permit and naturalisation. See proof of language.

  • GR, German or Italian areas: a fide certificate or equivalent in that language.
  • GR, Romansh areas: practice is not settled. German is partly accepted as a common language; if you want to use Romansh, ask the office.
  • Upper Valais: German (fide or equivalent).
  • Lower Valais: French (DELF/DALF or fide in French).

If you move within the canton across the language border, for example from Sion to Upper Valais or from Chur to a Mesolcina municipality:

  • any new procedure will be in the new language;
  • future language proofs (for renewals, a change of status or naturalisation) may be required in the new language;
  • certificates you already have remain valid in principle, but depending on the procedure you may need to take a test in the other language.

A move within the canton is not a change of canton under Art. 37 FNIA; instead, the registration duties under Art. 15 FNIA and the cantonal registration system apply. See change of canton.

Voting rights

Neither canton gives foreign nationals a vote at cantonal level. Valais has no foreigners' vote at municipal level either. In Graubünden, each municipality may introduce one (Art. 9 para. 4 of the cantonal constitution), so ask your municipality. Some French-speaking cantons, notably Neuchâtel and Jura, and some others at municipal level, such as Fribourg, give foreign nationals limited voting rights. See the Romandie standard-practice cluster.

Tax, briefly

Tax rates vary by municipality in both cantons; the cantonal tax administrations publish them. Tax level has no direct effect on your permit. It only becomes relevant if your civil domicile under Art. 23 of the Civil Code (CC, SR 210) is disputed, for example in a sham residence case.

  • Tax at source on seasonal work is levied and assessed by the canton. Above a gross salary of around CHF 120,000, an ordinary assessment afterwards normally applies.
  • Double taxation credits follow the relevant agreement, in particular the Italy agreement (SR 0.672.945.41) for the southern valleys of GR and the Valais border area.
  • Lump-sum taxation for wealthy people who do not work in Switzerland is governed by Art. 14 of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation (SR 642.11) and cantonal law.

For your own tax questions, ask a tax adviser or the cantonal tax administration.

Complaints about lawyers

  • Graubünden: the Anwaltsaufsichtsbehörde (lawyers' supervisory authority) at the Cantonal Court of Graubünden, https://www.kantonsgericht.gr.ch
  • Valais: the Chambre de surveillance des avocats / Aufsichtskommission über die Anwältinnen und Anwälte at the Cantonal Court of Valais, via https://www.vs.ch. It decides in German or French depending on the complaint and the lawyer.

Both take complaints about breaches of the professional rules in Art. 12 of the Lawyers Act (LLCA, SR 935.61), and both belong to the national Conference of Cantonal Supervisory Authorities for the Legal Profession.

Emergencies and violence

Services are multilingual, usually at least German and French, often Italian and English, with phone interpreters for other languages:

  • Police: 117
  • Ambulance: 144
  • Fire brigade: 118
  • General emergency number: 112
  • The Helping Hand (crisis support, around the clock): 143
  • Pro Juventute (children and young people, around the clock): 147
  • Victim support: the cantonal victim support centres under the Victim Support Act (SR 312.5); find the current number on the cantonal victim support website.

Both cantons have women's shelters at confidential addresses: Frauenhaus Graubünden (Chur area), and in Valais the Maison d'accueil for Central/Lower Valais and the Frauenhaus Oberwallis. Contact them through the cantonal victim support service, or the national umbrella organisation of women's shelters. If you are in immediate danger, call the police on 117 or 112.

If you are a foreign spouse leaving a marriage because of domestic violence, Art. 50 para. 2 FNIA (important personal reasons) may let you keep your permit, depending on your case. See divorce and the right of residence (Art. 50 FNIA) and domestic violence.

Asylum

Switzerland has six asylum regions, and GR and VS belong to different ones; check the current allocation with the SEM. There are no large federal asylum centres in either canton; the nearest ones are outside, for example in French-speaking Switzerland and in Eastern Switzerland or Ticino. Legal advice in the federal centres is regulated by federal law; once you are allocated to GR or VS, legal advice is organised locally. Both cantons follow the Asylum Act without special cantonal rules. See the N permit during the asylum procedure and the glossary on the Asylum Act.

Naturalisation

Both cantons apply the federal rules, from the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0) and the separate Citizenship Ordinance (SCO, SR 141.01), plus their own cantonal and municipal law:

  • Residence: 10 years in Switzerland, including 3 of the last 5 years, counting the year you apply (Art. 9 SCA).
  • Integration (Art. 12 SCA): respect for public security and order and for the values of the Federal Constitution, taking part in economic life or education, and supporting the integration of your family.
  • Language (Art. 6 SCO): spoken and written skills in a national language, with a higher level required for speaking than for writing. The language is German, Italian or Romansh in GR, and German or French in VS, depending on your municipality.
  • Cantonal residence: each canton sets its own minimum period in its citizenship law; check the official cantonal website.
  • Municipality: your municipality has a major say, and its rules differ; ask it directly.

See the glossary on the Citizenship Act and the path to naturalisation.

Processing times

These are estimates, not binding figures:

  • GR: a straightforward first B permit with a complete file takes a few weeks to a few months. Seasonal L permits are often fast-tracked before the season.
  • VS: a first B permit takes a few weeks to a few months, with possible differences between the Upper and Lower Valais sites.
  • Appeals to the cantonal court usually take several months to over a year. See the appeal pathway against rulings of the cantonal migration authorities.

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