Must a foreign company appoint a representative in Switzerland?
By Advisorn · updated on 25 October 2026 · Art. 3, 14-15 FADP, Art. 27 GDPR
In short
A controller based abroad must designate a representative in Switzerland if it processes personal data of people in Switzerland and the processing is connected with offering goods or services in Switzerland or with monitoring their behaviour, is carried out on a large scale, is regular and involves a high risk (Art. 14 FADP). All four conditions must be met.
What the representative does
It is the point of contact in Switzerland for data subjects and for the FDPIC (Art. 15 FADP). It keeps a record of the controller's processing activities and provides it to the FDPIC on request. Its name and address must be published.
The representative does not take the controller's place: the duties of the law remain with the foreign business.
The mirror rule of the EU
A Swiss business to which the GDPR applies must as a rule designate a representative in the EU (Art. 27 GDPR), unless it processes data only occasionally and without a high risk.
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