The municipality of the dying village has received and approved two serious applications, and is currently considering three more
As reported by the portal Swissinfo.ch, the mountain jewel of the canton of Valais, the settlement of Albinen at an altitude of 1300 meters above the Rhone valley, had long suffered from an exodus of residents: over the past 80 years, their number had dwindled to about a hundred, with more than half of those remaining being elderly.
Many of the houses in Albinen had become vacation homes, visited by their owners only a few times a year, and the school closed ten years ago due to a lack of students. The remaining five school-age children now make a 20-minute bus trip to neighboring villages every day. If the school were to reopen, it would attract new families with children to take up permanent residence.
In November 2017, the villagers voted in favor of a package of "rescue measures." It proposed that, according to a settlement plan, any Swiss citizen or permanent resident of the country who decided to move to the village and buy, renovate, or build a home there would receive financial assistance in the form of 25,000 Swiss francs per adult, 50,000 francs per couple, and 10,000 francs per child.
Under the terms of the deal, candidates had to be under 45 years old, and the selected families committed to living in the village for at least ten years, with the money to be repaid if they moved away. Additionally, they had to invest a minimum of 200,000 francs of their own money in purchasing or constructing property in Albinen. Investment companies were not allowed to participate.
The news sparked a lively response from various countries. As reported by Swiss public television SRF, foreigners even arrived on the spot with suitcases, ready to stay forever.
The head of the municipality, Beat Jost, said he received an avalanche of phone calls. He had to persistently explain that the offer was only for those who already had a Swiss passport or a Swiss residence permit category C (permanent).
And Swiss living abroad also seriously considered moving. For example, residents of the canton of Valais, Verena Glauser and her husband, were just looking for property in the village. They needed an apartment for their adult daughter, who currently lives in Brazil but wanted to move with her family to Switzerland.
The municipality has received and approved two serious applications, and is currently considering three more. In early October, the first newcomers will arrive: a family from the canton of Aargau – they already have one child, and another is on the way. They bought a house in Albinen and will receive 70,000 Swiss francs.
The remaining candidates appear to be locals from the village itself. "The second approved application concerns a resident of Albinen who is currently carrying out major renovations on an old house," explained Beat Jost. "In addition, there are three specific projects from young people from Albinen who are expected to submit their applications for participation in the second half of the year."
The financial reward scheme is covered by a special fund, into which the municipality will pay 100,000 francs per year. The number of places is limited. The village aims to attract a maximum of 5-10 families of newcomers over the next five years.