Cash / Currency 🇨🇭 Switzerland
No declaration required but CHF 10,000+ may be questioned
Can I bring Cash / Currency into Switzerland?
No declaration required but CHF 10,000+ may be questioned
No mandatory threshold
- Purchase receipts
- Cash-declaration form (above threshold)
Required at the destination customs authority
Full details
Switzerland does not have a mandatory cash declaration requirement for incoming travelers (unlike the EU). However, customs officers may question travelers carrying large sums, and anti-money laundering laws require explanations for suspicious amounts. Swiss banking secrecy has been significantly reduced.
PENALTIES
- Fine: 100–50000 CHF
- Civil penalty only
Leaving Switzerland with cash / currency
Under the Ordinance on the Control of Cross-Border Cash Traffic (SR 631.052), there is no obligation to spontaneously declare cash when leaving Switzerland. However, travellers carrying CHF 10,000 or more (or equivalent in foreign currency or bearer securities) must provide truthful information about the amount, origin, and intended use when asked by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security. Providing false information is an offence, and customs may temporarily seize funds suspected of links to money laundering. Travellers continuing into the EU should note the separate EUR 10,000 EU declaration requirement on arrival.
Values at or above this threshold must be declared (CHF).
Declare cash / currency at customs on arrival in Switzerland and carry any documentation specified in the rule. Verify current requirements with Federal Customs Administration (Eidgenössische Zollverwaltung — EZV / Office fédéral de la douane et de la sécurité des frontières — BAZG) before travel.
No mandatory threshold
- Purchase receipts
- Cash-declaration form (above threshold)
Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA)
This page covers destination customs rules in Switzerland. Whether you can carry cash / currency through security, in carry-on, or in checked baggage depends on airline and screening rules — see air travel rules.
Related rules
Cash / Currency rules in other countries
Cash / Currency
🇺🇸 United States
Must declare cash or monetary instruments over USD 10,000 on arrival and departure.
Cash / Currency
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Must declare cash of GBP 10,000 or more when entering or leaving Great Britain.
Cash / Currency
🇩🇪 Germany
EU rule: declare EUR 10,000 or more when entering or leaving the EU.
Cash / Currency
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
Must declare cash of AED 60,000 or more (approx. USD 16,300) on arrival.
Cash / Currency
🇵🇭 Philippines
PHP 50,000 limit; foreign currency over USD 10,000 must be declared
Cash / Currency
🇻🇳 Vietnam
VND 15 million limit; USD 5,000 foreign currency