Switzerland Votes for Digital ID: Freedom Lost or Lesser Evil?
On Monday this week we woke up to the headline: “Switzerland votes for digital ID.”
For many, it was a gut-punch. A country long held up as a bastion of neutrality and liberty, now embracing the same digital leash that Brussels, London, and even Hanoi are rolling out.
For many of my clients, mostly Germans and Austrians who dream of Switzerland as a safe haven, the message stings: If even the Swiss surrender to digital ID, where is freedom left?
The Shock of the Swiss Vote
The numbers are razor-thin: 50.4% voted in favor. Just four years ago, in 2021, the Swiss people crushed the same idea with 64% voting no. Back then, they smelled the danger: datasharing between corporations and government, creeping surveillance, the erosion of neutrality.
So what changed? This time, the government promised: “Don’t worry, only the state will hold your data. No companies, no sharing.” In other words: a softer leash. Enough to sway just enough voters.
But here’s the real game: the salami tactic. You don’t swallow the whole control system at once. You slice it thin. First, a digital ID that’s “just a passport on your phone.” Later, step by step, functions creep in: banking, taxes, health records, mobility tracking. Until one day, your entire life is toggled by a QR code.
The Global March Toward Digital Control
Switzerland isn’t alone.
UK says it needs digital ID “to fight illegal immigration.” A joke—Britain already has digital share codes for landlords and employers.
Asia leads: Vietnam and Thailand are already locking bank accounts to digital IDs. No ID? No money.
India perfected the model: Aadhaar links your ID, your tax number, and your bank account. One database, one kill switch.
This is the holy trinity of the new global “digital public infrastructure”:
Digital currency (CBDCs like the digital euro or franc).
Digital ID (your gateway to everything).
Data sharing (between companies and state, enforced by AI).
Put them together, and you have the skeleton of a 21st-century surveillance state.
Why It Matters for You
If you’re a HNWI dreaming of potentially moving Switzerland, here’s the catch: the fantasy of absolute Swiss independence is fading.
Neutrality?
Eroding. Switzerland openly sides in geopolitical conflicts today.
Sovereignty? Negotiated away in a new EU treaty package that will give more power to Brussels.
Freedom?
Shrinking, one digital “upgrade” at a time.
Yes, Switzerland is still outside the EU. Yes, it still offers advantages: lower taxes, no inheritance tax, tax-free capital gains on shares, strong banking. But the cracks are showing.
Digital ID and the Hidden Risks
Here’s why digital ID isn’t just “modern convenience”:
Link it to your bank account, and your money can be frozen in seconds.
Link it to your passport, and travel becomes conditional.
Link it to your health data, and insurance becomes surveillance.
Link it to your “carbon footprint,” and every purchase, every mile driven, every steak eaten becomes taxable.
You may laugh now. But in Vietnam, millions of bank accounts were frozen overnight when people failed to link them to their digital ID. In Germany, the Passgesetz already allows your passport to be revoked if you owe taxes or refuse military service. Combine that with digital ID and CBDCs, and it’s checkmate.
The real risk isn’t what Switzerland does today. It’s what they can do tomorrow once everyone is enrolled.
Switzerland as the Lesser Evil
And yet—here comes the paradox.
The digital ID in Switzerland is voluntary. In Germany, it won’t be.
The Swiss version is limited—for now. In the EU, integration with banking and taxation is inevitable.
In Switzerland, you still get a vote. In Brussels, you don’t.
So yes, it’s bad. But compared to the EU, it’s the lesser evil.
If you must live with digital ID—and let’s be honest, you won’t escape it forever—better in Zürich than in Berlin.
Manipulation, Swiss Style
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Swiss government is no saint. It has a long record of scaring voters into compliance.
In past referenda on gold, they warned that rejecting the government’s plan would mean “no money for schools.”
This time, they obsessed over alcohol purchases—yes, alcohol—as the great benefit of digital ID. Easier age checks at the checkout.
This is how manipulation works in Switzerland: dress control as convenience, sell fear of isolation.
“If we don’t adopt E-ID, we’ll fall behind the EU.”
“If we don’t align with Brussels, we’ll be isolated like Brexit Britain.”
The irony? Switzerland has always thrived precisely because it was different.
The Bigger Picture
The deeper tragedy is cultural. Older Swiss remember when neutrality meant shooting down any foreign plane that crossed their skies—German or American. Today, neutrality is mocked as weakness.
Younger Swiss are seduced by EU integration, by the myth of safety in numbers. Self-confidence has been replaced with submission.
That’s why the referendum squeaked through: half the country still resists, half already surrendered. Switzerland is split down the middle.
Should You Still Move to Switzerland?
Here’s the uncomfortable answer: Yes—with caution.
Because despite all these concerns, Switzerland still beats the EU.
Residency is easy for EU citizens.
Taxes are lighter.
Asset protection is stronger.
You start the clock ticking on exit taxes and inheritance tax exposure (eg in Germany or Spain)
You buy time, literally, to decide your next step.
Think of Switzerland not as the final destination, but as a staging ground. A place to regroup outside the EU while you build your longer-term Plan B—whether that’s Dubai, Asia, or Latin America.
The Inevitable: You Will Have a Digital ID
Let’s face it: digital ID is coming for everyone. There’s no escape, only choices:
Which jurisdiction issues it?
Which rules govern it?
How tightly is it tied to your money and mobility?
And here’s the brutal truth: sometimes freedom is choosing the least unfree option.
Better a voluntary Swiss E-ID with limits than a mandatory EU version hardwired into your bank account.
The Lesson
No, Switzerland isn’t paradise anymore. But paradise was never on the table. The real choice is always between degrees of control.
And in that grim reality, Switzerland—at least for now—remains the lesser evil.
For international HNWIs seeking escape from the EU, it’s still a rational first step. But don’t fool yourself: this is only a pause. The real fight for sovereignty continues beyond.
Consultation: Protect Your Freedom Before the Digital Net Tightens
Switzerland’s vote for a digital ID is a warning shot. The age of paper freedom is over. IDs, banking, taxation, even mobility are being wired into one system—and when that switch flips, your independence can vanish overnight.
The good news: you don’t have to face it unprepared.
In a personal consultation, we’ll work through:
Relocation strategies: how to use Switzerland as a first step out of the EU—and when to go further.
Asset protection: where to place banking, brokerage, and metals outside the EU’s reach.
Residency & passports: building a layered safety net with second residencies and citizenships.
Tax positioning: reducing your exposure legally while preserving access to strong markets.
Crisis-proofing: ensuring you still have access to funds, documents, and freedom—even if digital controls tighten.
👉 Book your consultation today. Together, we’ll design your Plan B—so that when Bern, Berlin, or Brussels tighten the screws, you already have the keys to step outside the cage.
