Relocating to Valais: tax, health premiums, rent and naturalisation

Tax

Income and wealth tax in Valais

Total federal, cantonal and communal tax per year for each tracked commune in Valais, tax year 2026, computed with the official ESTV calculator. No church tax is included.

Standard profiles: gross employment income with the calculator's standard deductions. Single: one adult aged 35. Married: couple aged 40 and 38, one earner, two children aged 10 and 8. The asset profile adds net taxable wealth to the married profile.

Health insurance

Health insurance premiums in Valais

Federal Office of Public Health, premium year 2027: adult aged 26 or over, accident cover included, standard model, CHF 300 deductible, CHF per month.

Housing and safety

Rent and safety in Valais

Rent: Federal Statistical Office structural survey, 2024, net rent excluding service and heating charges. Safety: police crime statistics, 2025; rates in cantons with large city centres reflect visitors and commuters as well as residents.

Cantonal rules

Inheritance, lump-sum taxation, schools and family in Valais

Inheritance tax for children

Valais does not levy inheritance tax on direct-line blood relatives, the spouse not legally separated, or adopted children.
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Inheritance tax for spouses

Valais exempts the spouse who is not legally separated from inheritance and gift tax.
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Gift tax

The same exemption in Valais covers gifts to direct-line relatives and the spouse.
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Lump-sum taxation

Valais applies expenditure-based taxation in place of income tax.
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Lump-sum minimum tax base

The Valais minimum base for income tax on an expenditure basis is CHF 250,000, or higher if seven times rent or three times board price is greater.
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Wealth tax

Valais's cantonal wealth tax rises to 3.0 per mille for wealth above CHF 1,900,000.
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Bilingual public schooling

Valais lists a bilingual gymnasial maturity French-German at Ella-Maillard in Sion and French-English at St-Maurice.
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International schools

Verbier International School offers IB programmes and shows the SGIS logo on its own page.
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Family allowance per child

Valais child allowance is CHF 327 per month for the first two children and CHF 435 from the third, with training allowance CHF 477 and CHF 585.
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Naturalisation

Becoming Swiss in Valais

Federal law sets the national minimum. The canton and the commune add their own residence periods, language levels and tests, and they decide on cantonal and communal citizenship.

Residence in the canton

Valais requires five years of domicile in the canton.
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Residence in the commune

Valais requires three years of domicile in the commune where the application is filed, met also by three years in total across two Valais communes.
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Spoken language

French or German at B1 oral is required.
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Written language

French or German at A2 written is required.
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Knowledge test

The guide describes a communal hearing that checks knowledge of Switzerland rather than a formal written test; a questionnaire is linked on the canton page.
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Interview

The commune hears the applicant for about 15 to 30 minutes, and a sub-commission of the Grand Council committee hears every candidate before the cantonal preavis.
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Who decides

In Valais ordinary naturalisation is a decision of the Grand Conseil after communal, cantonal and federal stages.
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Cantonal and communal fees

The canton page lists a cantonal fee of CHF 600 for a single person and CHF 1,000 for a family, plus a CHF 55 health stamp.
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Social assistance

Social assistance received in the three years before filing or during the procedure generally makes a Valais application inadmissible.
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All 26 cantonal requirements compared

Move comparisons

Moves to and from Valais

Back to all 26 cantons · Methodology and sources

Questions

Living in Valais: common questions