diff --git a/cmd/switcher/namespace.go b/cmd/switcher/namespace.go
index 95beaa26..b3739af6 100644
--- a/cmd/switcher/namespace.go
+++ b/cmd/switcher/namespace.go
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	namespaceCommand = &cobra.Command{
+	checkExistence   bool = true
+	namespaceCommand      = &cobra.Command{
 		Use:     "namespace",
 		Aliases: []string{"ns"},
 		Short:   "Change the current namespace",
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ var (
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			if len(args) == 1 && len(args[0]) > 0 {
-				return ns.SwitchToNamespace(args[0], getKubeconfigPathFromFlag())
+				return ns.SwitchToNamespace(args[0], getKubeconfigPathFromFlag(), checkExistence)
 			}
 
 			return ns.SwitchNamespace(getKubeconfigPathFromFlag(), stateDirectory, noIndex)
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ var (
 			return nil, cobra.ShellCompDirectiveNoFileComp
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			return ns.SwitchToNamespace("default", getKubeconfigPathFromFlag())
+			return ns.SwitchToNamespace("default", getKubeconfigPathFromFlag(), false)
 		},
 		SilenceErrors: true,
 	}
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ var (
 
 func init() {
 	setCommonFlags(namespaceCommand)
+	namespaceCommand.Flags().BoolVar(&checkExistence, "check-existence", true, "Check if the namespace exists before switching to it (default true)")
 	rootCommand.AddCommand(namespaceCommand)
 	rootCommand.AddCommand(unsetNamespaceCommand)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/subcommands/ns/ns.go b/pkg/subcommands/ns/ns.go
index b23c73fe..a93a4465 100644
--- a/pkg/subcommands/ns/ns.go
+++ b/pkg/subcommands/ns/ns.go
@@ -54,26 +54,28 @@ var (
 )
 
 // SwitchToNamespace takes a target namespace and - given that the namespace exists - sets it on the current kubeconfig file
-func SwitchToNamespace(targetNamespace, kubeconfigPathFromFlag string) error {
+func SwitchToNamespace(targetNamespace, kubeconfigPathFromFlag string, checkExistence bool) error {
 	kubeconfigPath, err := getKubeconfigPath(kubeconfigPathFromFlag)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	c, err := getClient(kubeconfigPath)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to retrieve current namespaces: %v", err)
-	}
+	if checkExistence {
+		c, err := getClient(kubeconfigPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to retrieve current namespaces: %v", err)
+		}
 
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
-	defer cancel()
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
 
-	ns := corev1.Namespace{}
-	if err := c.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKey{Name: targetNamespace}, &ns); err != nil {
-		if apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("namespace %q not found", targetNamespace)
+		ns := corev1.Namespace{}
+		if err := c.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKey{Name: targetNamespace}, &ns); err != nil {
+			if apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
+				return fmt.Errorf("namespace %q not found", targetNamespace)
+			}
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to find namespace %q: %v", targetNamespace, err)
 		}
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to find namespace %q: %v", targetNamespace, err)
 	}
 
 	kubeconfig, err := kubeconfigutil.NewKubeconfigForPath(kubeconfigPath)