1 Foundations and Organization, Public Charges » 11 Citizenship, Niederlassung, **Residence » 111 Establishment**, Aufenthalt (EMG)

Purpose

1 This Act governs the system of resident registration and personal documents, as well as the legally mandated exchange of personal data between resident registers and other official personal registers.

2 The purpose of the resident registration system is to make available to authorities and public offices the data of persons who are domiciled or residing in a municipality, which is necessary for the fulfillment of their statutory duties.

3 The harmonization of resident registers aims to ensure the completeness, accuracy, and up-to-dateness of the data and to facilitate data exchange.

Reservation

This Law applies to foreign persons insofar as nothing to the contrary is stipulated and insofar as their stay and establishment are not regulated by foreign and asylum legislation.

II. Competencies

Municipalities

1 Every municipality operates a Residents' Registration Office, which

a) receives notifications in accordance with this Act;

b) collects the necessary information about residents;

c) stores documents;

d) ensures the electronic management of the residents' register;

e) undertakes the legally stipulated electronic data exchange with the competent authorities and offices;

f) transfers the necessary residents' register data to authorised authorities, offices, and third parties;

g) ensures the protection of register data and its recoverability.

2 The Building Authority

a) collects and rectifies data for the federal building identifier (EGID) and the federal dwelling identifier (EWID);

b) electronically records the required data for new constructions and mutations and continuously makes them available to the Residents' Registration Office and other affected municipal and cantonal offices.

Canton

1 The Canton supervises the resident registration system.

2 It ensures the harmonization of resident registers and provides for the coordination and electronic data exchange between the cantonal and communal authorities that maintain official personal registers or process register data.

3 To this end, it may establish a central cantonal IT platform for the official personal registers maintained by the municipalities and the Canton.

Competent Department

The department designated by the Government Council

a) manages the cantonal coordination office for register harmonization according to

Art. 9 RHG, which is responsible for the coordination, implementation, and quality control

of register harmonization;

b) supervises the enforcement of regulations concerning the resident registration

system;

c) grants access authorization in the retrieval procedure according to § 21a.

III. Resident Register

Mandatory Content

1 The resident register must contain, for every person who has settled in or resides

in the municipality, the data pursuant to Art. 6 RHG.

2 The Government Council may, after consulting the municipalities, provide for the

recording of further data in the resident register, provided that a legal basis exists

therefor.

Optional Content

1. Municipalities may record email addresses and telephone numbers of individuals subject to reporting requirements in the residents' register for the fulfilment of their statutory duties.

2. They may record further data in the residents' register, provided there is a legal basis for doing so.

3. The Government Council may restrict the selection of optional data.

Data Exchange Between Resident Registers

When a person moves in or out, the competent resident registration offices must exchange the data electronically and encrypted in accordance with the specifications of Article 10 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the RHG, as per § 6.

Periodic Data Delivery to the Federal Office

The residents' registration offices periodically and free of charge provide the competent federal office with the data according to Art. 6 RHG, in accordance with the specifications of federal law.

Use of the OASI Insurance Number

1 The bodies and institutions specified in Article 153c paragraph 1 letters a numbers 3 and 4 of the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance of 20 December 1946 (OASI Act) may systematically use the OASI insurance number for the fulfillment of their statutory duties.

2 The Government Council may authorize further bodies and institutions to systematically use the OASI insurance number for the fulfillment of their statutory duties.

3 The Residents' Registration Office shall disclose the OASI insurance number free of charge to the authorized bodies and institutions.

IV. Reporting and Information Duties

Duty to Register

1 Within 14 days, anyone who

a) moves into or out of a municipality;

b) moves within the municipality or building, must register with the Residents' Office.

2 Changes in affiliation with a public-law religious community, as well as residence in a collective household within the meaning of Art. 2 of the Register Harmonisation Ordinance of 21 November 2007 (RHV), are also subject to the duty to register.

3 Exempt from the duty to register is anyone who stays in a municipality for no longer than three consecutive months or no longer than a total of three months within one year.

4 The duty and deadline for registration for foreign persons are governed by the Aliens and Asylum Legislation.

Duty to Cooperate

1 Registrants must truthfully provide the personal information necessary for the fulfillment of statutory duties.

2 They must present the required documents and evidence.

3 The Residents' Registration Office can, if necessary, summon registrants personally to collect data according to § 6.

Subsidiary Duty to Provide Information

If the duty to register or cooperate according to §§ 10 and 11 is not fulfilled, the following parties are obliged, upon request, to provide information

a) Lessors, landlords, and property management companies regarding tenants residing in, moving into, moving within, or moving out;

b) Employers regarding persons employed by them;

c) Providers of lodging regarding persons residing in their household.

Drittmeldepflichten

Third-Party Reporting Obligations

1 Municipal and publicly licensed electricity supply companies must report all arrivals, changes of address, and departures, as well as other necessary data for determining or updating the dwelling identifier.

2 Anyone who commercially accommodates guests for longer than three months must report them. The reporting obligation for accommodating foreign persons according to immigration law remains reserved.

3 The management of a collective household must record all reportable residents at the end of each quarter and report them by the 15th of the following month.

4 The judicial authorities and the child and adult protection authority must report changes in the allocation of parental custody or changes to the right of determination of residence of the parents or guardian.

5 Reports must be made to the competent residents' registration office within 14 days of knowledge of the reportable event. Paragraph 3 remains reserved.

6 The residents' registration office shall ensure a simple reporting procedure.

V. Schriften

V. Documents

Heimatausweis, Aufenthaltsausweis

1 Every Swiss citizen is entitled to a Heimatausweis if they reside in another municipality for longer than three months.

2 With the Heimatausweis, the Residents' Registration Office of the municipality of principal residence certifies that the person is registered there for principal residence. If an electronic registration by the municipality of principal residence is possible, a Heimatausweis is generally not issued.

3 The Heimatausweis is electronically deposited with the municipality of temporary residence. Persons not principally resident in Switzerland must otherwise prove their principal residence abroad for the purpose of establishing temporary residence.

4 With the Aufenthaltsausweis, the Residents' Registration Office of the municipality of temporary residence certifies the deposit of the Heimatausweis.

Confirmation of Residence

1 With the confirmation of residence, the Residents' Registration Office certifies upon request that the holder is registered in the municipality.

2 The allocation or establishment of a residence according to the Aliens and Asylum Act remains reserved.

Validity, Renewal

1 The residence permit is limited to the validity period of the deposited identity card, for a maximum of two years. It can be renewed.

2 In the event of changes to names and civil status, the identity documents must be renewed.

### Return of Documents

1. Anyone who deregisters from a municipality is entitled to the return of physically deposited identification documents.

2. Passport and document blocking in criminal proceedings as well as under other legal provisions remain reserved.

### VI. Data Protection

Principle

The processing, procurement, and disclosure of official personal data are governed by the Law on Public Access to Administration and Data Protection of May 23, 2007 (ÖDSG), unless this Law provides otherwise.

### Administrative Assistance

The authorities and offices of the Canton and the municipalities are obliged to provide the Resident Records Office with the data necessary for maintaining the resident register.

Disclosure of Resident Register Data

1 The Residents' Registration Office is entitled and obliged to transmit ongoing data to authorities, agencies, and public corporations that they require for the fulfillment of their duties.

2 Municipal or publicly licensed electricity supply companies receive data concerning names, first names, addresses, move-ins, changes of address, and move-outs.

3 The Residents' Registration Office may disclose personal data to third parties in accordance with § 12 of the Public Data Protection Act (ÖDSG).

Retrieval Procedure

1 The disclosure of resident register data, including particularly sensitive personal data in accordance with § 4 lit. d ÖDSG, can be carried out through the retrieval procedure within the scope of the granted access authorization (§ 5 lit. c).

2 The Government Council shall regulate in the implementing provisions within the meaning of § 16 para. 1 ÖDSG the conditions for granting access authorization and its scope.

Data Blocking

1 Anyone who credibly demonstrates a legitimate interest can, with a written and reasoned request to a body designated by the municipality, demand that the disclosure of certain data from the resident register to third parties be blocked.

2 The data blocking will be refused or, after hearing the person concerned, lifted if

a) a legal provision prescribes the disclosure, or

b) public or private interests outweigh the interest of the person concerned.

3 Blocking notices in the resident register must be observed when data is transferred to other authorities or official bodies, or transferred to other official personal registers.

VII. Fees

Fees

The Government Council designates the activities subject to fees and determines

the fee rates.

VIII. Legal Protection and Sanctions

Justice System

The procedure before the Residents' Registration Office is governed by the Administrative Justice Act.

Penal Provisions

Whoever fails to comply with the duty to register, provide information, cooperate, or tell the truth under this Act, or fails to deposit documents despite being requested to do so, shall be punished with a fine.

**IX. Final Provisions**

Repeal of Existing Law

With the entry into force of this Ordinance, the Ordinance on the Establishment and

Residence of Swiss Nationals of 14 May 1987 is repealed.

Amendment of Decrees

The following decrees are amended as follows

a) Law on the Public Nature of Administration and Data Protection of 23 May 2007

Section 12 Para. 2

2 Upon request, the Residents' Registration Office may disclose, in addition to the data mentioned in Para. 1, the place of origin or nationality, date and place of arrival and departure of an individual or a plurality of persons, if a legitimate interest is credibly demonstrated.

b) Cantonal Law on the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration and the Asylum Act (Migration Act) of 21 May 2008

Section 10

1 Foreign nationals who wish to stay in Switzerland for more than three months shall submit an application to the Residents' Registration Office of the municipality to regulate their stay.

2 Foreign nationals who move to another municipality, another canton, or abroad shall deregister with the Residents' Registration Office of the municipality (Art. 12 – 15 AuG).

3 The Residents' Registration Offices of the municipalities shall forward applications for residence as well as registrations and deregistrations to the competent cantonal office.

Referendum, Publication, Entry into Force

1 This Act is subject to a referendum in accordance with §§ 34 or 35 of the Cantonal

Constitution.

2 It shall be published in the Official Gazette and, after its entry into force, shall be included in the

collection of laws.

3 The Government Council is entrusted with its implementation. It shall determine the date of

entry into force.

1 This Act was enacted as an ordinance subject to an optional referendum: GS

22-54 with amendments from December 17, 2013 (GC Decision adapting to the new Cantonal Constitution,

GS 23-97), from February 12, 2014 (GS 24-4), from March 25, 2015 (Judiciary Act, GS 24-30a),

from October 25, 2017 (GC Decision updating the judiciary legislation and optimizing the organization

of the law enforcement authorities, GS 25-9b) and from May 21, 2025 (GS 27-65).

2 SR 831.10.

3 SR 831.10.

4 Preamble as amended on May 21, 2025.

5 Sub-para. c newly inserted on February 12, 2014.

6 Margin title as amended on and para. 2 newly inserted on February 12, 2014.

7 Paras. 1 and 2 as amended on, para. 3 newly inserted on May 21, 2025, previous para. 2

becomes para. 3.

8 Para. 1 as amended on May 21, 2025.

9 SR 831.10.

10 Para. 1 as amended on May 21, 2025.

11 SR 431.021.

12 SR 142.20 (FMIA); SR 142.31 (Asylum Act).

13 Para. 4 newly inserted on October 25, 2017, previous paras. 4 and 5 become paras. 5 and 6;

Paras. 3 and 4 as amended on May 21, 2025.

14 SR 142.20.

15 Repealed on May 21, 2025.

16 Paras. 2 and 3 as amended on May 21, 2025.

17 Para. 1 repealed on May 21, 2025, previous paras. 2 and 3 become paras. 1 and 2.

18 Para. 2 as amended on March 25, 2015; Para. 1 as amended on May 21, 2025.

19 Version of February 12, 2014.

20 SRSZ 140.410.

21 Para. 2 repealed on February 12, 2014, previous paras. 3 and 4 become paras. 2 and 3.

22 Newly inserted on February 12, 2014.

23 Para. 2 as amended on and para. 3 repealed on February 12, 2014, previous para. 4

becomes para. 3; Para. 1 as amended on May 21, 2025.

24 Version of December 17, 2013.

25 SRSZ 234.110.

26 GS 17-659; SRSZ 111.110.

27 GS 21-153; SRSZ 140.410.

28 GS 22-8; SRSZ 111.210.

29 Margin title, paras. 1 and 3 as amended on December 17, 2013.

30 Entered into force on January 1, 2009 (Official Gazette 2009 307); amendments from December 17, 2013 on January 1, 2014

(Official Gazette 2013 2974), from February 12, 2014 on November 1, 2014 (Official Gazette 2014 2232), from March 25, 2015 on July 1, 2015 (Official Gazette 2015 1366), from October 25, 2017 on February 1, 2018 (Official Gazette 2018 83) and from May 21, 2025 on January 1, 2026 (Official Gazette 2025 2370).