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Destination  Switzerland

First 30 days in Switzerland – every step in the order that actually works

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

Moving to Switzerland starts two clocks: 14 days to register with your commune and three months to take out health insurance. Here is the order that gets your first 30 days done – from permit and registration to bank, phone and the deadlines that run for longer.

Woman with a suitcase waiting on a platform as a train passes in Geneva
Photo: No-Te/Adobe Stock

If you are moving to Switzerland in 2026, the ground rules have just been confirmed rather than changed. On 14 June 2026 voters rejected the 'No 10-million Switzerland' initiative, with 45.2 per cent voting yes, so free movement with the EU continues. Croatian nationals have had full free movement since January 2026. The EU–Switzerland package, Bilaterals III, was signed on 2 March 2026 but is a bill before Parliament, not law.

The Swiss e-ID is not available yet either. Voters approved it on 28 September 2025, but on 30 June 2026 the launch was postponed with no new date. Your first month runs on original documents and personal visits.

Before you travel: do you need a permit first?

As an EU or EFTA citizen you can move first. You register with your commune within 14 days of arrival and before you start work, showing a valid ID or passport and written confirmation of employment, and the permit follows. A Swiss job of up to three months needs no permit; your employer files an online notification at least one day before you start.

Everyone else, including UK citizens since 1 January 2021, needs the permit settled before starting work. Your employer applies to the canton, SEM (State Secretariat for Migration) gives final approval, and the canton authorises your visa. SEM says to expect six to eight weeks. Part 2 explains every permit.

You areBefore you travelAfter you arrive
EU/EFTA citizen with a jobWritten confirmation of employmentRegister within 14 days, before starting work
EU/EFTA citizen, job of up to three monthsEmployer's online notificationNo permit needed
Non-EU or UK workerEmployer applies; SEM approves; canton authorises the visaRegister within 14 days of entry; work only after registering
Non-EU student or retireeApply for the permit, and a visa if neededRegister within 14 days of entry
Swiss citizen returningNo permit neededRegister within 14 days

Source: State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), the federal authorities' portal and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, read 23 September 2026.

What is the right order for your first 30 days in Switzerland?

Almost everything hangs on registering with the Einwohnerkontrolle / contrôle des habitants (residents' office) of your commune: that is where your address becomes official and your permit process starts. Take Anna, an illustrative engineer from Germany starting a job in Zurich. She moves in, registers before her first working day, then chooses a health insurer within three months, with cover backdated to her arrival.

StepWhatWhereDeadline
1Move in – in the City of Zurich you can register only from the actual move-in dateYour new homeBefore registering
2Register your arrival, with every family memberResidents' officeWithin 14 days, before starting work
3Provide a photo and biometric data for your permit cardCanton of residenceWhen invited
4Take out basic health insurance for each personAn insurer of your choiceWithin three months
5Open a payment accountA bank or PostFinanceOnce registered
6Get a SIM cardAny mobile providerAny time, with ID
7Exchange your driving licenceCantonal road traffic officeWithin 12 months

Source: the federal authorities' portal, SEM, the City of Zurich and the Federal Office of Public Health, read 23 September 2026.

Week one: registering with your commune

Federal law obliges every canton to make you register within 14 days of moving. The procedure is local. In the City of Zurich, arrivals from abroad register in person at the Personenmeldeamt Zürich Süd, by appointment only, and all family members attend. In Basel-Stadt you register with the Einwohneramt within 14 days – your online booking date counts – for CHF 25 per person. The City of Lausanne wants you at the counter in person, by appointment.

Watch Geneva: the canton's French page gives everyone 14 days to report to the OCPM (cantonal population and migration office), while its English page gives EU citizens three months. Register within 14 days and check with the canton.

Bring your passport (in the City of Zurich an ID card is enough for EU/EFTA citizens), lease, employment contract or proof of studies, any permit assurance, and original marriage and birth certificates. Part 3 has the details.

Weeks two to four: health insurance, money and phone

Health insurance (KVG/LAMal)

Basic health insurance is compulsory. You have three months from taking up residence; sign up in time and your cover – and premiums – start from the day you arrived. Insurers must accept you for basic insurance whatever your age or health. Miss the deadline and cover starts only when you enrol, a surcharge may apply, and the canton can assign you an insurer.

The 2027 premiums had not been published when we checked, so these are 2026 averages across all deductibles and models. If you work more than eight hours a week, your employer insures you against accidents. Part 8 has more.

CantonAverage monthly premium 2026, all agesAdults aged 26 and over
ZurichCHF 382.50CHF 451.60
BernCHF 399.30CHF 470.30
VaudCHF 441.50CHF 527.10
Basel-StadtCHF 470.10CHF 545.10
GenevaCHF 489.80CHF 586.00
Switzerland (up 4.4 per cent on 2025)CHF 393.30CHF 465.30

Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), cantonal average premiums 2025/2026, read 23 September 2026.

Bank, phone and the fees that find you

Swiss Post must provide a nationwide basic payment service, including a franc account for residents, and PostFinance delivers it. You must be of legal age and live here; you can open the account online in about ten minutes, with an identity check at a branch or by video chat, in a banking package from CHF 5 a month. Landlords and banks often ask for a debt enforcement register extract: CHF 17 plus postage.

Since 1 January 2024 every mobile SIM, prepaid included, requires a valid passport, ID card or Swiss permit card. The radio and TV fee needs no action: your commune passes your household to Serafe, which bills CHF 335 for 2026 and CHF 312 from 1 January 2027. Your AHV number (social security number) is normally created when you settle and printed on your health insurance card.

Which deadlines run beyond your first month?

DeadlineWhatRule
14 daysRegister with your communeAgain after every move to another commune
Three monthsTake out basic health insuranceCover is backdated if you are on time
12 monthsExchange a foreign driving licenceEU/EEA licences without a test; over CHF 100, varying by canton
Two yearsImport household goods duty-freeGoods used by you for at least six months
30 NovemberSwitch health insurer for 1 JanuaryYour letter must reach the insurer by then
31 March of the following yearRequest a tax return if taxed at sourceAutomatic from CHF 120,000 gross salary a year

Source: the federal authorities' portal, the Federal Office of Public Health and Fedlex (Withholding Tax Ordinance), read 23 September 2026.

Driving on motorways? The 2026 vignette costs CHF 40 and is valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027. In the City of Zurich, compulsory schooling normally starts at four with kindergarten, and the Welcome Desk in the Stadthaus gives newcomers free advice without an appointment.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check your permit route (part 2)Before you book the move
2Non-EU and UK: wait for the visa authorisationAllow six to eight weeks
3Sign a lease; gather original civil-status documentsBefore you travel
4Register with your communeWithin 14 days, before starting work
5Insure every family memberWithin three months
6Open an account, get a SIM, note your AHV numberOnce registered
7Note the licence deadline and 30 November in your diaryIn your first month

Source: SEM, the federal authorities' portal and the Federal Office of Public Health, 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.