University: equal tuition fees for Swiss and EU students (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• The Council of States approves equal treatment for Swiss and EU students
• Two polytechnics: from 730 to 2.190 CHF per semester
• The Confederation should cover the bill for four years
• For students from third countries, fees at least three times higher

Key facts

• Decision → Council of States
• Rule → same fee for Swiss and EU citizens
• Example from 2025 → from 730 to 2.190 CHF per semester
• Coverage → Confederation for four years
• Third countries → at least three times the Swiss fee

The Bern vote

The Council of States approved on Wednesday the amendments to the law introducing equal treatment between Swiss students and citizens of the European Union. The decision concerns university fees and follows the outcome of negotiations between Bern and Brussels. For those arriving from the EU, the principle stated is clear: studying in Switzerland must not cost more than it does for a Swiss student.

The rule does not concern universities alone. The text provides that Swiss universities of applied sciences should also return to applying the same fees to the two groups. The return to the same fee comes after a period during which several universities had increased tuition fees, but the amount indicated by the source remains an example referring to the two federal institutes of technology.

The increase had a precise financial reason. Several Swiss universities had raised their fees to cope with growing deficits, while cuts to federal contributions are planned from 2027. The clearest example concerns the two federal institutes of technology: from 2025, they tripled fees for foreign students, raising them from 730 to 2.190 francs per semester.

Under the new arrangement, the bill for the lower revenues should be assumed by the Confederation. Full coverage is planned for four years for the Cantons concerned and their universities. For the reader who is calculating the costo della vita in Svizzera, the decisive distinction is therefore between Swiss or EU citizenship and coming from a third country.

The rule for the latter group remains different: fees will have to continue to be at least three times higher than those applied to Swiss students. The vote in the Council of States thus establishes a clear separation between equal treatment for Swiss and EU citizens and distinct treatment for students from third countries. The negotiating package therefore changes the situation compared with the period of increases: on the one hand, equal treatment; on the other, a different threshold for those arriving from third countries.

Operational details

The difference between the categories

The comparison that matters

The practical effect of the vote can be understood by comparing the categories indicated in the text. It is therefore not enough to focus on the word foreigner, used to describe the increase at the two federal institutes of technology from 2025: the new negotiated package distinguishes EU citizens from students coming from third countries. For a family planning studies in Switzerland, the first check is the category applied to the fee.

| Category | Treatment indicated | | Swiss students | basis of comparison for fees | | EU citizens | same fee as Swiss students | | Students from third countries | at least three times the fee for Swiss students | | Two federal institutes of technology, from 2025 | fees from 730 to 2.190 CHF per semester |

The table does not authorize turning 2.190 francs into a general rate. The source presents that figure as an example referring to the two federal institutes of technology and links it to foreign students. The negotiated rule, however, has a broader scope: universities and universities of applied sciences will have to apply equal treatment to Swiss and EU citizens.

The party absorbing the financial effect also changes. The student sees the rule on the fee; the affected cantons and their universities face lower revenues, which the Confederation should cover in full for four years. This separates the price charged to the student from the public compensation mechanism described in the source. The cuts to federal contributions planned from 2027 remain the reason why the higher education institutions had sought additional revenue, but the new negotiated package changes the framework.

The operational point, therefore, is not to automatically apply the latest available amount, but to read the institution, category and period indicated together. The source provides a rule of equal treatment and an example of an increase; it does not present a single fee schedule for all institutions.

For a personal assessment, it is advisable to keep three figures separate: the fee charged by the institution, the Swiss reference figure and, only for third countries, the threshold of at least three times that amount. Anyone who needs to compare amounts expressed in francs with a family budget can place the comparatore CHF/EUR alongside them, without confusing currency conversion with the rule of equal treatment. The text focuses the measure on university fees.

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Key points

How to carry out the check

Three steps before the budget

The new approach can be translated into a practical check without adding rules that the source does not indicate. The first step is to identify the type of institution: equal treatment applies to Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences. The second is to place the student in the correct category: Swiss citizen, EU citizen or person from a third country.

The third step is to use the right reference point. For Swiss and EU citizens, the fee must be the same. For third countries, the principle remains that the fee must be at least three times higher than the Swiss one. If the comparison starts from the example of the two federal institutes of technology, both figures must be noted: 730 francs per semester before the indicated increase and 2.190 francs from 2025. This figure serves to interpret the increase cited by the source, not to replace the fee charged by each university.

Separating tuition and funding

The fourth check concerns public funding. The four years of full coverage described in the negotiating package concern the lower revenues of the affected Cantons and their universities. In the individual budget, this figure must be kept separate from tuition: the source presents the Confederation as the entity that should cover the bill, not as an item to be added to the student's payment.

A separate check helps avoid mixing different aspects. The increase at the two federal institutes of technology is linked to growing deficits and cuts to federal contributions planned from 2027; equal treatment for EU citizens, on the other hand, derives from the new negotiating package with Brussels, approved by the Council of States. They are two elements of the same matter, but not the same calculation.

Anyone preparing an estimate can finally list on a single sheet the institution, student category, stated semester fee and comparison with the Swiss rate. To compare study-related expenses with overall financial resources, the final step is to use the calcolatore stipendio/imposte.

Source: tio.ch