Your first weeks come down to a few steps in a set order: find a home, register in person with your commune within days, wait for your permit card, open a bank account, and take out health insurance within three months. Registration comes first because almost everything else depends on it. The exact rules depend on your nationality, permit and canton.

In short

  • Address first: you cannot register without one.
  • Register at your commune in your first days: the deadline is short and set by law.
  • Permit card: the migration office posts it after registration, usually within several weeks.
  • Health insurance within three months for every household member, with cover backdated to your arrival.
  • Bank, phone, utilities: your registration confirmation usually works until the card arrives.

Before you arrive

Keep originals and a few certified copies of these in your hand luggage, plus digital scans:

  • a valid passport (or national ID card for EU/EFTA nationals);
  • your visa or entry confirmation, if you needed one;
  • your employment contract or other proof of why you are moving;
  • birth and, where relevant, marriage certificates, with any apostille or certified translation your canton asks for;
  • the address where you will live.

The official portal ch.ch has current guidance from federal, cantonal and communal authorities.

If you have no home yet, make it your priority: you need the address for registration, the bank and utilities. Prepare an application file (proof of income, references, your contract) for landlords.

Register at your commune

Register in person at the residents' office of your commune: the Einwohnerkontrolle in German-speaking areas, the contrôle des habitants in French-speaking ones and the controllo abitanti in Italian-speaking ones. The legal deadline is short, so do it in your first days.

It also starts your permit process. Bring your passport or ID, rental contract or proof of address, passport photos and your family's civil-status documents. Adult family members usually come in person; parents register minor children. If you cannot get an appointment in time, contact the office before the deadline passes.

Your permit card

Most people with a job or a longer stay receive a B residence permit; shorter stays often get an L permit, and cross-border commuters a G permit. The migration office posts the card, usually within several weeks depending on the canton. Until then, your registration confirmation normally serves as proof of status for banks, insurers and employers.

See the B permit guide, or use the permit finder if you are unsure which permit fits.

Health insurance

Basic health insurance is compulsory. You must take it out within three months of arrival, and cover applies back to the day you took up residence. If you miss the deadline, the canton assigns you an insurer and you still owe premiums from your arrival date. The rule applies to every household member, children included. You choose the insurer, and every insurer must accept you for basic cover.

Bank account

Banks usually ask for your passport, your permit card or registration confirmation, and proof of address. If rent and a deposit fall due before your first salary, ask your employer when you will be paid and keep enough money available.

Phone, internet and household

  • Mobile number: get one early; many bank and government services use it for two-factor login. Prepaid SIMs work immediately; contracts need an ID check.
  • Electricity and water: arranged through your commune or local utility; ask at registration.
  • Internet: activation takes a few days, so order early.
  • Radio and TV fee (Serafe): every household pays it, billed automatically after registration.
  • Waste: many communes charge for rubbish bags; recycling is mostly free.

Old-age insurance (AHV/AVS)

Almost everyone living or working here pays into the old-age and survivors' insurance. If you are employed, your employer registers you, and above certain thresholds also with a pension fund. You receive a social security number that you will quote often. If you are self-employed, you register yourself with a compensation office.

See the social insurance and permit guide and the federal compensation office at eak.admin.ch.

Week-by-week checklist

  • Before arrival: prepare and certify documents; secure a home.
  • Week 1: register in person at your commune; keep the confirmation.
  • Weeks 1 to 2: open a bank account, get a mobile number, order internet, set up utilities.
  • Weeks 2 to 4: watch for your permit card; check your employer has registered you for AHV.
  • Within 3 months: take out health insurance; register children for school or childcare; start a course in the local language.

For the full picture, see the complete moving-to-Switzerland checklist.