The languages of immigration: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Russian

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Geneva’s linguistic landscape is not confined to the three languages examined so far. In 2024, Portuguese was the main language of 9.7 per cent of the canton’s inhabitants and Spanish of 7.8 per cent, ahead of Italian, German, Arabic and Russian.¹ These languages of immigration, carried by communities settled for decades, constitute a resource for the financial centre. Portuguese opens up Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, markets for commodity trading and wealth management; Spanish opens up Latin America and Spain; Italian links Geneva to Ticino, to Italy and to a historic Italian clientele; Arabic and Russian correspond to significant private clienteles, whose relationship with the financial centre has been transformed by the sanctions and compliance requirements described in Part H.

Geneva institutions draw on these communities for their advisers, analysts and compliance staff for the corresponding markets. A Portuguese-speaking relationship manager, born in Geneva to Portuguese parents, trained at the University of Geneva and bilingual in French and Portuguese, is a sought-after profile for the Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking African clientele. The linguistic diversity of Geneva’s population, often presented as a challenge for schools and social cohesion, is for the financial centre a competitive advantage that monolingual centres do not have.

Notes

Université Laval, “Suisse : canton de Genève”, axl.cefan.ulaval.ca (accessed September 2026), 2024 data: French 80.0%, English 12.1%, Portuguese 9.7%, Spanish 7.8%; 41.5% foreign residents. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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The languages of immigration: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Russian

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?