Swiss Abroad Forced To Pay Up To CHF100 For Their Votes To Arrive

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Swiss citizens abroad sometimes have to pay high postage costs to ensure their votes reach Switzerland on time. Our survey shows where voting from abroad costs the most – and when participation becomes prohibitively expensive. This content was published on May 9, 2026 - 10:00 7 minutes

I write about political developments and social issues that are relevant for the Swiss Abroad. As part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation's "dialogue" project, I further aim to encourage multilingual debates between the Swiss Abroad and people living in Switzerland. After graduating from the MAZ School of Journalism, I worked as a program director at a local radio station in Basel and reported on political, economic, social and cultural topics. I have been working for SWI swissinfo since 2023.

More from this aut German Departm

Deutsch de Auslandschweizer bezahlen bis zu 60 Franken, damit ihre Stimme ankommt Original Read more: Auslandschweizer bezahlen bis zu 60 Franken, damit ihre Stimme an Français fr Les Suisses de l'étranger paient jusqu'à 60 francs pour que leur vote compte Read more: Les Suisses de l'étranger paient jusqu'à 60 francs pour que leur vote c Italiano it Fino a 60 franchi per esercitare il proprio diritto di voto in Svizzera quando si abita all'estero Read more: Fino a 60 franchi per esercitare il proprio diritto di voto in Svizzera quando si abita all'e 日本語 ja 郵送頼みの在外投票、最もお金がかかる国は? Read more: 郵送頼みの在外投票、最もお金がか

“Dear Swiss Abroad in Denmark, has anyone already received their voting documents for the referendum on March 8?” asked a user in February on SwissCommunity, a platform for the Swiss Abroad.

The background to the enquiry was that these were the first voting documents from Switzerland no longer delivered in Denmark by the state postal company PostNord.

Denmark is considered a pioneer in digitalisation. At the end of 2025, it became the first European country to discontinue public letter delivery and remove all red letterboxes. Since the beginning of the year, letters – including voting envelopes from Switzerland – have been delivered by the private company DaoExternal link.

For the Swiss Abroad, the March votes were therefore a test of the new system.“I've read that late receipt of voting documents is a recurring problem for Swiss citizens abroad. But this is the first time it has happened to me here in Denmark,” Alice el-Wakil, who has lived in the Nordic country since 2022, told Swissinfo. As a political scientist specialising in participation and representation, el-Wakil is particularly sensitive to even small disruptions to democratic processes.

Read our article on delayed voting mail for the Swiss Abroad:

More More Swiss Abroad Why can't voting papers be sent to the Swiss Abroad earlier?

This content was published on May 25, 2021 A quarter of Swiss citizens who live abroad struggle to return their voting papers in time. Unfortunately the obvious solutions are also illegal.

Read more: Why can't voting papers be sent to the Swiss Abroad ear

MENAFN09052026000210011054ID1111090674