Hello W and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
For that length of stay you would probably be best getting a Half-Fare Card for CHF185 for 12 months. This is designed for residents rather than tourists but is still available to visitors if you show up at an SBB Ticket Office with identification. You might augment that with the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/on edaytravelpass/details) and bit.ly/2rkekat for longer journeys.
I was at one stage considering a 3 months stay on Switzerland and asked SBB if a foreign national was eligible. They said yes and provided the following advice:
You are eligible to purchase the domestic 1-year half-fare card on Swiss Pass if you’d like, with whatever address you prefer, but before you do so, please read the information below.
Travelcard and Tickets
For most tourists and short time visitors the separate offers (http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/internatio nal-guests.html) are better suited to their needs and they are generally valid with your Passport directly.
The Half Fare travelcard (http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelca rds-and-tickets/railpasses/hal f-fare-travelcard.html) is mainly for residents of Switzerland, frequent or longer stay visitors.
However you are absolutely free to purchase one of those if, even if none of that applies to you.
Online, postal or direct purchase
If you’re a first time customer without an existing SBB customer number an online travelcard order is only possible, if during the automated process, the Webshop can verify your First and Last Name, as well as Date of Birth with a valid government issued photo ID and the respective countries have provided a verification process of some sorts.
Currently the following countries provide the technological means to do so: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
If you have an ID or passport from a different country, the SwissPass Half Fare travelcard may be purchased only using these 2 options:
1) By post mail service: order form (including a copy of a valid government issued photo ID, as well a physical photo) and your handwritten original signature. It’s the same which is attached to this email.
2) Directly at any staffed SBB railway station ticket counter (payment in cash, Reka Checks or by credit card).
Notes:
For legal reasons we require your original handwritten signature, thus can’t accept email orders or the likes.
If during the purchase/order, the postal address of the contract partner is not in one of the above mentioned countries, the automatic renewal is deactivated by default and can’t be overridden and no SwissPass card is issued.
SwissPass System
If you purchase a half fare travelcard at a SBB train station ticket counter you do have the option afterwards to upload a digital photo at http://www.swisspass.ch/picture if you don’t have or want to use a physical photo.
Note: You’ll need to create free SwissPass-Login at https://www.swisspass.ch/auth/login?lang=en to do so.
With the same SwissPass-Login you can use:
http://www.swisspass.ch = to access your travelcards, contracts, personal data and services
http://www.sbb.ch/en Webshop = to buy tickets etc. online
http://www.sbb.ch/mobile SBB Mobile (iOS/Android/Windows) = to buy tickets etc. with your mobile device, check your schedule/connections etc.
Recommendation
My advice, if you’d like to have a Half Fare travelcard on the SwissPass, buy it directly at one of our train station ticket counters. All it takes is about 3 minutes.
That way there is no paper work, you just order, sign the contract, pay and are good to go right away.
It also allows you to upload the photo comfortably digitally, have any other questions you might have answered and also set up SBB Mobile for an easy to use, convenient travel experience.