0. Introduction
1. Why Switzerland?
2. What services could be expected in the UK?
3. The Law
4. The end-of-life Centres
5. Will you qualify?
6. Requirements
7. How does your life actually come to an end
8. Comparative figures
9. Most people join for the re-assurance
10. Planning your visit
11. Visits to the end-of-life Centres
12. Can a change be expected?
13. Opinions of the churches
14. Summary and conclusions
15. Appendix 1 – Relevant websites
16. Appendix 2 – Procedure on the day – the rules from Dignitas (excerpt from “How Dignitas works”)
17. Appendix 3 – Daniel Kahneman’s final letter
18. Terminology
Section 6.2
Requirements
The fees to be paid
“It is indeed expensive but Switzerland is an expensive place. They rely on medical professionals and are all run on a not-for-profit basis”
Prices below are all expressed in Swiss Francs (CHF) unless specified otherwise:
| DIGNITAS | PEGASOS | ATHANASIOS | LIFECIRCLE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation and assessment of your request. | 4,000 | 3,000 | 2,500 | 3,000 |
| Two personal medical consultations @ 500 CHF each | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Completion of medical procedure (i.e. the AVD itself) | 2,500 | 3,300 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| Swiss Registry Office fees (usually provided by the AVD provider) | 500 | 550 | 500 | 500 |
| Funeral director and cremation services | 2,500 | 2,150 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| TOTAL (net of VAT) | 10,500 | 10,000 | 9,500 | 10,000 |
| Swiss VAT @ 8.0% | 840 | 800 | 0 | 800 |
| TOTAL including VAT | 11,340 | 10,800 | 9,500 | 10,800 |
| Conversation to £ sterling 1.00 CHF = £0.91 26Apr25 | £10,320 | £9,830 | £8,650 | £9,830 |
| Conversion to $ US 1.00 CHF = $1.21 26Apr25 | £13,720 | £13,070 | £11,500 | £13,070 |
NOTES :
- For fairly understandable reasons, these costs and fees do need to be paid in advance. Payments by credit card are not welcomed. Electronic bank transfers are preferred.
- The similarity of these fee levels is deliberate and should not be taken to indicate a price-fixing cartel. The figures have been judged “fair” by a Swiss court in view of the work involved.
- You do not have to pay it all at once. Two of the AVD providers request an initial deposit, which includes all the “preparation and assessment” cost. At Dignitas, that deposit is CHF 4,000 and at Pegasos it is CHF 5,000. Initially, Athanasios require only the deposit of CHF 100 ; they then require a first payment of CHF 4,500 when a green light has been agreed.
- A number of visitors to this website have asked what will happen to their deposit payment if their application for an AVD is turned down. Pegasos will return CHD 3,800 (76%) in those circumstance. From Dignitas, any sum returned will depend upon the circumstances of the case.
- Each of the providers has their own rules concerning the return of payments in the event that the AVD itself needs to be cancelled. For Athanasios, for example, the fees paid will be repaid after a deduction of CHF 2,000 for a cancellation up to 72 hours before the AVD or a deduction of CHF 4,000 if the cancellation occurs within 72 hours of it.
- The costs and fees do include the issue of an International Death Certificate, the cremation and the transfer of your ashes back to your home country. Many deaths in the UK and USA are followed by expensive funeral and cremation fees so that element of the cost would have been incurred anyway.
- Lifecircle closed its membership in October 2022. They are therefore no longer taking AVD applications from non-members. Existing members are granted a substantial discount on the above numbers which varies according to the length of their membership.
- All the AVD providers work on a not-for-profit basis and are prepared to consider lower costs for applicants who really cannot afford their quoted rates. This is not an invitation to negotiate, however. You really do have to demonstrate why the normal fees cannot be paid.
Section 7
