A Swiss national residing in Dubai and married to a British
husband wanted to purchase two land parcels in the Canton of
Friborg for CHF 1.6 million. As the so-called Lex Koller regulating
the acquisition of land property in Switzerland applies only to
foreigners, Swiss nationals were so far not subject to the Lex
Koller. In line with this practice, the local land registry
authorities of the Canton of Fribourg ruled that the envisaged land
property was not subject to a Lex Koller approval.
The Swiss Federal Justice Agency supervising the local
implementation of the Lex Koller appealed against this decision
before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court by arguing in the specific
case constellation that a large part of the land purchase price was
financed by the foreign husband. The highest court in Switzerland
confirmed that Swiss expatriates along with Swiss nationals
residing in Switzerland are not subject to the Lex Koller as long
as the foreign financing ranges within the
