A Swiss company can hold the French, Italian and Hungarian domains in its own name, along with the Danish, Taiwanese and Turkish ones, and not the European one. The rules follow treaties, not geography.
.fr, .it and .hu each name Switzerland in their eligible area, .dk, .tw and .tr are open to anyone, and seven more are open with a condition, such as .de. The exception people do not expect is .eu, which stops at the EEA, so a company established only in Switzerland needs an EEA entity or a trustee for it.
Every restricted domain, for a Swiss company
| Domain | For a company based in Switzerland | Why | Trustees |
|---|---|---|---|
 .de | Directly, with a condition | Open worldwide. A holder abroad must name an authorised recipient in Germany if DENIC asks. | Compare |
 .eu | Trustee or local entity | Needs an EU or EEA establishment. An EU citizen can hold one personally. | Compare |
 .fr | Register directly | Afnic's eligible area is the EEA plus Switzerland. | Not needed |
 .no | Trustee or local entity | Needs a Norwegian organisation number or national ID. No exceptions. | Compare |
 .it | Register directly | Registro.it accepts the EEA plus Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City and the UK. | Not needed |
 .ca | Trustee or local entity | Needs Canadian presence. A registered Canadian trade mark gets you the matching name only. | Compare |
 .au | Trustee or local entity | Needs Australian presence: an ARBN or ABN, or an Australian trade mark for the exact-match name only. | Compare |
 .br | Trustee or local entity | Provisional only: a Brazilian legal representative, and a commitment to establish in Brazil within 12 months. | Compare |
 .cn | Directly, with a condition | Open to foreign applicants with real-name verification. Hosting in China needs an ICP filing. | Compare |
 .jp | Trustee or local entity | Needs a permanent postal address in Japan. | Compare |
 .sg | Directly, with a condition | Open to all, but a foreign applicant must appoint a local agent in Singapore as administrative contact. | Compare |
 .hu | Register directly | Switzerland is on the registry's list of eligible countries, as an EFTA and Council of Europe member. | Not needed |
 .us | Directly, with a condition | Needs a bona fide US presence (regular US business or a US office) or a US entity. Proxy and privacy registrations are banned, and no trustee service found. | Compare |
 .ie | Directly, with a condition | Open to any company or sole trader that can evidence sales, or a serious plan to sell, to customers on the island of Ireland. A non-resident individual cannot hold one. | Compare |
 .ae | Directly, with a condition | Plain .ae is open to any applicant. .co.ae needs a UAE trade licence, free-zone licence or UAE trade mark, and no trustee service exists. | Compare |
 .kr | Trustee or local entity | The registrant needs a Korean address, with no exception for EEA addresses or trade marks. A Korean branch or a trustee that becomes the registrant fills it. | Compare |
 .dk | Register directly | Open to any person or company. Punktum dk verifies identity and may ask for documents; no local presence needed. | Not needed |
 .hk | Directly, with a condition | Plain .hk is open to anyone. .com.hk needs a Hong Kong business registration or a registered overseas company. | Compare |
 .tw | Register directly | Plain .tw is open to anyone, and .com.tw accepts foreign companies registered under their home-country law. | Not needed |
 .tr | Register directly | Open to any applicant. .com.tr, .net.tr and .org.tr need no documents or Turkish entity; only nine zones such as .gov.tr and .av.tr need documents. | Not needed |
The seven that are open with a condition
.de is open worldwide, with a German contact point needed only if DENIC asks. .sg needs a local agent in Singapore as administrative contact. .cn needs real-name verification, and hosting in mainland China needs a separate ICP filing. .us needs a bona fide US presence or a US entity, and bans proxy registrations; see the .us page. .ie needs evidence of sales, or a serious plan to sell, to customers on the island of Ireland; see the .ie page. .ae is open to anyone, but .co.ae needs a UAE trade licence, free-zone licence or UAE trade mark; see the .ae page. .hk is open to anyone, but .com.hk needs a Hong Kong business registration or a registered overseas company; see the .hk page.
.dk, .tw and .tr are open to anyone, though Punktum dk verifies identity and may ask for documents. .kr is the exception: the registrant needs a Korean address.
Why .eu is closed to Switzerland
Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2019/517 limits .eu to EU citizens, to residents of the EU, and to undertakings and organisations established in the EU. EURid applies it to the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, the three EEA states outside the Union. Switzerland is in neither: it is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA.
Key point
Liechtenstein is on the other side of the line
Why .fr and .it are open
The national registries write their own eligibility rules, and several chose to include Switzerland.
For all three, the Swiss company is the holder of record, in its own name, with no trustee and no local contact. That is a better position than any trustee can offer, so check the rule on the extension's page before paying for a service you do not need.
Getting a .eu from Switzerland
- An individual with EU citizenship. An EU citizen can hold a .eu wherever they live, so a founder with an EU passport qualifies personally. The domain is then theirs, not the company's.
- An entity in the EEA. A subsidiary in Liechtenstein, Germany or elsewhere in the EEA can hold it. Costs are on the .eu company page.
- A trustee. Compared on the .eu trustees page, which also explains the EURid clause on proxy holders that most providers leave out.
For .no, the answer is the same as for anyone outside Norway: a Norwegian entity or a trustee. A Swiss resident can be general manager of a Norwegian AS, which makes the company route easier from Switzerland than from outside Europe.
Related
Common questions
Can a Swiss company register a .eu domain?
No. Switzerland is not in the EU or the EEA, and .eu is limited to organisations established in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. A Swiss company needs an entity in that area or a trustee.
Can a Swiss company register a .fr domain?
Yes. Afnic's eligible area is the EEA plus Switzerland, so a company established in Switzerland can hold a .fr in its own name.
Can a Swiss resident with an EU passport register a .eu?
Yes. EU citizens are eligible for .eu wherever they live. The domain is held by that person, not by their employer or company.
Is .ch open to foreign companies?
Yes. SWITCH accepts holders who are not Swiss and have no Swiss address or seat. A holder without a Swiss correspondence address must designate one within 30 days if a Swiss authority asks.
Sources
Last updated October 2026. Registry rules change. If you spot something out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.