Living in Zug and Cham on a Temporary Basis: A Guide for Professionals
Moving to the canton of Zug for a few weeks or months brings a familiar problem: a conventional flat is hard to find, and a hotel room becomes impractical and expensive fast. That gap is exactly what serviced apartments fill, and few Swiss regions need them as urgently as Zug and Cham.
Julian Tacke7 min readWhy Zug?
Switzerland taxes at three levels, federal, cantonal and municipal, which means your tax burden depends heavily on where you live. The canton of Zug has been one of the country's most attractive locations for decades. Together with Lucerne and Nidwalden it forms the core of the low-tax region of Central Switzerland, an advantage that has drawn international companies here since the 1960s and produced an unusually high density of corporate headquarters.
Roche Diagnostics, Glencore, Siemens Smart Infrastructure, Landis+Gyr, V-Zug, Johnson & Johnson and Partners Group all maintain headquarters or major offices in the canton. Add the fintech and blockchain cluster around Bitcoin Suisse and the Ethereum Foundation, which earned the region its nickname "Crypto Valley".
This economic pull shapes the population. Zug has been growing for years, primarily through people arriving from other cantons and from abroad rather than through births. Year after year, more people move into the canton than leave it.
The arithmetic that follows is simple: anyone moving to the canton needs somewhere to live before the search for a permanent flat is finished. And on fixed-term projects, the question of a permanent flat never arises at all.
Cham: a quieter neighbour with its own character
Cham sits on the northern shore of Lake Zug, at the point where the river Lorze leaves the lake and continues towards the Reuss. With around 18,000 residents it is the canton's third-largest municipality: big enough for complete infrastructure, small enough for the quiet that many people miss in the town of Zug. The cantonal capital is a few minutes away.
The most interesting development is the Papieri site, the grounds of a former paper mill. Across roughly eleven hectares, a completely new mixed-use quarter is being built in six phases: around 1,000 flats and a similar number of workplaces, with its own restaurants and cafés, open space along the Lorze and a central square. The first phase was occupied at the end of 2022, and completion is planned for 2035. A large part of the listed industrial buildings is being preserved, which gives the quarter its character.
CITY STAY operates around 50 serviced apartments at Papieri-Ring, directly inside this new quarter.
Zurich stays within commuting distance
For anyone living in Zug or Cham with regular business in Zurich, the rail connection is a strong argument. Long-distance trains run directly from Zug station to Zurich main station. The fastest services take a little over twenty minutes, with a daily average of just under thirty. Cham station also offers direct connections towards Zurich, Zug and Lucerne.
That puts the commute in the same range as some journeys within the city of Zurich itself, at a noticeably lower tax burden and, as a rule, in a quieter residential setting. Current timetables are available from SBB, the Swiss federal railways.
One of the tightest housing markets in Switzerland
Finding a conventional rental flat in the canton of Zug takes patience and luck. The canton has reported one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country for years, consistently well below one per cent. That counts as a housing shortage.
In practice: every advertised flat attracts numerous applications, listings disappear from the market within days, and many flats are taken before a viewing can even be arranged. If you arrive without a Swiss salary certificate, without a debt-collection register extract and without local references, you are at the back of that queue.
A furnished serviced apartment closes exactly this gap. You move in without a credit check, without a deposit worth several months' rent and without buying furniture. And you can search for a permanent home calmly and from here, rather than under time pressure from abroad.
Current figures: the vacancy rate is surveyed annually on 1 June and published in late summer. The applicable values are available from the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zug.
Don't forget to register
Anyone taking up residence in Switzerland must register with their municipality within 14 days. This deadline is set by law and applies whether you arrive from abroad or from another canton.
Nationals of EU/EFTA states and of third countries also need a residence permit. Responsibility lies with the cantonal migration office. Usually the process runs through the municipal residents' registration office, which forwards your registration to the migration office, though the exact sequence varies by municipality and permit type.
You will normally need your passport or identity card, proof of your residential address and proof of health insurance.
Important for short stays: not every stay establishes residence. If you are working in Switzerland for only a few weeks, a simple notification procedure often applies instead of a permit requirement, and you may not need to register with the municipality at all. What applies in your case depends on your nationality, the length of your stay and your employment. The federal portal ch.ch gives a reliable overview. When in doubt, your municipality will advise you directly.
CITY STAY at a glance
CITY STAY has operated serviced apartments in Zurich since 2012 and today runs nine locations with 257 apartments in the city of Zurich, Oberengstringen, Brüttisellen and Cham near Zug. All apartments are fully furnished and have a fully equipped kitchen. Utilities, internet and weekly cleaning are included in the price, and there is no credit check. Any length of stay from one night to a year can be booked; the nightly rate falls as the stay gets longer. Stays of up to 90 nights can be booked directly on citystay.com with no deposit. From 91 nights a stay counts as long-term: at the lowest rate across all locations, with monthly payment and a deposit equal to 30 nights, and you can register at the address with the municipality. Self check-in is available around the clock. For long-term and corporate enquiries, email reservation@citystay.com.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a CITY STAY apartment as my registered address?
Yes, for stays of 91 nights or more. Your booking confirmation serves as proof of residence for the municipality. For shorter stays, registration at our address is not possible; whether you need to register at all in that case depends on the length and purpose of your stay. We know how the authorities at each of our locations handle it, so get in touch.
How long can I stay in Zug or Cham?
Any length from one night to a year. Stays of up to 90 nights can be booked directly online, and from 91 nights the lowest rate applies.
Does Zug or Cham make sense if I work in Zurich every day?
For many people, yes. Rail services from Zug are frequent and direct, and the journey time is comparable to a longer cross-city commute in Zurich, with lower taxes and a quieter place to live.
What is included in the price?
At CITY STAY, furnishing, utilities, internet and weekly cleaning are included. Current conditions for each location are listed on our location pages.
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You may also like Where to stay in Zurich, a neighbourhood guide, if you are weighing up Zug against Zurich.
