Basically it's a given that none of us expats ever want to find ourselves in the strafregister for the fear of issues with permits.
It is also well known that minor offences such as small speeding tickets do not end up on the strafregister.
My question is what does end up there. The official FAQ document states:
The Swiss Register of Criminal Records lists persons who have legally binding convictions against them in Switzerland, as well as Swiss citizens who have legally binding convictions against them abroad. The records cover:
1)Convictions for felonies or misdemeanours, provided a penalty was imposed
2) Convictions for contraventions of the law, provided:
• A fine of more than 5,000 Swiss francs was imposed or the person concerned was sentenced to more than 180 hours of community service
• The convicting authority is expressly authorized or obliged by the relevant federal legislation to impose a certain minimum fine, or a further monetary penalty or custodial sentence in addition to a fine if the offence is repeated
• A ban on certain types of activity, or a contact prohibition and exclusion order was imposed, or
• They form part of a judgment which must be entered in the Register
The definitions above are super vague to say the least especially the whole item (1) and the last item under (2) which basically says that what must be entered into the register is entered into the register.
As an example - I had a super silly fine one time in the past for driving with my mobile phone fixed to the windshield as a navigator (you are only allowed to have it fixed on the side and not in the middle of the windshield (who knew!). This was reviewed by the city prosecutor and involved and extremely scary looking official mail, however, no entries to the strafregister have been made.
Is it a good rule of thumb that unless you appeared in court, were sent to prison or paid more then 5000CHF, no entry is made?