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AHV number and commune registration in Switzerland – what to do in your first 14 days

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Registering with your commune makes your move official, and it brings your AHV number – the 13-digit Swiss social security number you keep for life. Here is who must register, where and with which documents, and how to find and use your AHV number.

Woman going over documents with a receptionist at an office front desk
Photo: bnenin/Adobe Stock

Two things turn a newcomer into a resident of Switzerland: an entry in your commune's residents' register and an AHV number (Swiss social security number). The first you arrange within 14 days; the second usually arrives on its own. Both still happen the traditional way: voters approved the Swiss e-ID on 28 September 2025, but its launch was postponed on 30 June 2026 with no new date.

Who must register with the commune, and by when?

Everyone who moves, Swiss or foreign. The Register Harmonisation Act obliges the cantons to require registration within 14 days of a move. The Foreign Nationals and Integration Act adds that anyone who needs an L, B or C permit must register before the permit-free stay ends or before starting work.

Your situationMust you register?Deadline
EU/EFTA citizen working more than three monthsYesWithin 14 days of arrival and before starting work
Non-EU worker with an entry authorisationYes – no work before registeringWithin 14 days of entry
Not working, staying more than three monthsYesWithin 14 days of entry
Up to three months within six months, not workingNo–
Weekly resident, more than three months a yearYes, at your weekly place of residenceWithin 14 days
Swiss citizen returning from abroadYesWithin 14 days; the canton sets the deadline

Source: Fedlex (Register Harmonisation Act, FNIA and VZAE) and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, read 23 September 2026.

Registration is your job even where others report you too. In the City of Lausanne, landlords must report tenants moving in and out, but that does not replace your own registration, and federal law lets the register ask employers and landlords for information when someone fails to register.

Where do you register? Residents' offices in five cities

The office is usually called the Einwohnerkontrolle / contrôle des habitants (residents' office), though names vary, and each canton and commune sets its own procedure.

Commune or cantonOfficeHow it works
City of ZurichPersonenmeldeamt Zürich SüdIn person, by appointment only; all family members attend; only from your actual move-in date
Basel-StadtEinwohneramt, Spiegelgasse 6Within 14 days (the online booking date counts); CHF 25 per person; fingerprints and photo for arrivals from abroad
City of BernEinwohnerdienste, Migration und Fremdenpolizei, Predigergasse 5Non-EU arrivals send the form, entry authorisation, passport and lease within 14 days; +41 31 321 53 00
Canton of GenevaOCPM (cantonal population and migration office), route de Chancy 88, Onex14 days on the French page, three months for EU citizens on the English page – register within 14 days and check; appointments only
City of LausanneService du contrôle des habitants, Rue du Port-Franc 18Within 14 days; arrivals from abroad or another canton come in person, by appointment

Source: City of Zurich, Canton of Basel-Stadt, City of Bern, Canton of Geneva and City of Lausanne, read 23 September 2026.

Later moves within Switzerland can often be registered online through eMovingCH (eUmzugCH) in participating communes if you are 18 or over – but not when you arrive from abroad, as the City of Bern points out.

What documents do you need to register?

Checklists differ by commune, but the City of Zurich's list for arrivals from abroad is typical.

DocumentNote
PassportFor EU/EFTA citizens an identity card is enough (City of Zurich)
Rental or sublet contractProof of your address
Permit assurance and visa authorisationIf you have them – mainly non-EU citizens
Employment contract or proof of studiesShows the purpose of your stay
Original civil-status documentsMarriage certificate, children's birth certificates
Health insurance card or proof of coverOn the federal portal's list for in-person registration
Passport photoRequired by the City of Lausanne
Migration Office feesOn the City of Zurich list; billed separately in Basel-Stadt

Source: City of Zurich, City of Lausanne, Canton of Basel-Stadt and the federal authorities' portal, read 23 September 2026.

Basel-Stadt wants documents in German but accepts civil-status certificates in French, Italian or English or as international CIEC certificates; other languages need a certified translation. Newcomers there who are entitled to a B permit receive, at the Einwohneramt's welcome interview, a voucher for a free 80-lesson German course worth CHF 1,300.

After registration: permit card, fees and moving again

Non-EU citizens receive a biometric permit card with a chip holding two fingerprints and a facial image, captured by the canton. EU/EFTA citizens get a card without a chip, yet in the Canton of Zurich they still need a Migration Office biometrics appointment for photo and signature, booked via the commune. In the Canton of Geneva, biometrics appointments took two to four weeks in figures published on 21 September 2026.

Federal rules cap cantonal fees at CHF 95 for granting a permit, CHF 75 for an extension, CHF 22 for a biometric card and CHF 20 for capturing biometric data – and at CHF 65 in total for EU/EFTA citizens.

EventWhat you doDeadline or cap
Move to another communeRegister at the new one, deregister at the old oneWithin 14 days
Non-EU L or B holder moving cantonApply for a permit from the new cantonBefore moving; EU/EFTA permits stay valid
Move abroadDeregisterAt the latest 14 days before leaving
Permit about to expireApply for renewalBetween three months and two weeks before expiry
Permit lost or stolenReport to the police, then request a duplicateFee capped at CHF 40
Address change without a new cardRecorded by the cantonFee capped at CHF 30

Source: Fedlex (VZAE, FNIA and fee ordinance) and the federal authorities' portal, read 23 September 2026.

Leave without deregistering and your permit lapses anyway: an L permit after three months, a B or C permit after six.

What is the AHV number and how do you get it?

The AHV/AVS number, named after the old-age and survivors' insurance, is your 13-digit Swiss social security number. It starts with 756, is randomly generated and anonymous, is allocated once and stays the same for life, even if you marry. For foreign nationals the migration services normally create it when you settle. If you work and have none, your employer's compensation office requests it; universities request one for foreign students. Residents' registers must record it.

It has been printed on Swiss health insurance cards since 1 February 2010. The physical AHV card has not been compulsory since 2016 and is no longer issued automatically; you can still order one, and a replacement keeps the same number. Not knowing your number should not hold up health insurance registration or family allowances – opening an electronic patient record is the exception. Some services behind AGOV, the government login, require one.

You areAsk for your AHV number at
EmployedYour employer
Self-employedYour AHV compensation office
Living in Switzerland, not workingYour commune of residence
A studentYour educational institution

Source: Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO), read 23 September 2026.

Contributions come out of every salary. Employees pay AHV/IV/EO contributions – old-age, disability and income-compensation insurance – of 10.6 per cent of salary, split equally: 5.3 per cent deducted from your pay, 5.3 per cent paid by your employer, with no upper income limit. People not in work pay from 1 January after their 20th birthday, at least CHF 530 a year in 2026. Each missing year cuts your pension by about 2.3 per cent, and gaps can be filled only within five years. Part 9 covers pensions.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Book your residents' office appointment – Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva work by appointmentAs soon as you know your move-in date
2Gather originals: passport, lease, contract, civil-status documentsBefore the appointment
3Register every family memberWithin 14 days of arrival, before starting work
4Attend the biometrics appointment if invitedWhen the canton schedules it
5Find your AHV number on your health insurance card, or ask your employerIn your first month
6Report every later move to both communesWithin 14 days

Source: the federal authorities' portal, Fedlex and the Federal Social Insurance Office, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.