A guide to relocating to Switzerland, from relocation agencies and permit specialists to movers, schools, and insurance brokers. See who does what before you start the paperwork.

Everything you need to move to Switzerland, in one place

Relocation Guide is a directory of the services people actually use when they move to Switzerland: relocation agencies, permit specialists, home search help, removal companies, tax advisors, international schools, and insurance. Every listing here is chosen by hand and ranked by quality, not by who paid for the spot. Moving across a border feels overwhelming until you see what it really is: a stack of paperwork that has to happen in the right order. Get the order right and the rest follows.

How we choose and rank the listings

We only list real businesses with a working website that you can check yourself. We read what each company says about its services, its languages, and the cantons it covers, then write an honest summary instead of repeating marketing copy. The order on each page reflects the quality of each listing, judged from how it performs and how relevant it is to the niche, combined with an editorial weight we set. Payment never moves anyone up. If a listing stops being useful or its site goes dark, we take it off.

The rough order of a move to Switzerland

Most moves follow the same path, and doing the steps out of sequence is where people lose weeks.

First comes the job and the permit. Your right to live here usually hinges on a work contract, and the permit type depends on your nationality. EU and EFTA citizens have it easier; everyone else faces quotas and a slower process. Start this early, because nothing else can be finalised without it.

Next, find a flat. The Swiss rental market is tight, especially in Zurich, Geneva, Zug, and Basel, and landlords expect a dossier: proof of income, a debt-collection extract once you have one, and references. Expect to put down a deposit of up to three months’ rent, held in a blocked account in your name.

Once you have an address, register at your local commune (the Gemeinde or commune) within the first days of arrival. This registration is the key that opens almost everything else.

Then sort health insurance. Basic coverage is mandatory, and you have three months from your arrival date to sign up. Miss that window and the authorities can assign you a plan, backdated, so you pay anyway with less choice.

Finally, open a bank account. You will need it for salary, rent, and bills, and most banks want your permit and your registration confirmation before they open one.

A few practical tips

Begin the permit process before you do anything else, since it gates the whole timeline. Mark the three-month insurance deadline on your calendar the day you land. When you apply for a flat, have the full dossier ready as a single PDF so you can send it within the hour; the good apartments go to whoever replies first and replies completely. And budget for the deposit on top of the first month, because both are usually due before you get the keys.

Suggest a listing

Run a service that belongs here, or know one we have missed? You can submit a listing for review. Every suggestion is checked by hand before it goes live.

A quick note

We list and describe these services, we don’t run them and we aren’t affiliated with any of them. Rules, quotas, deadlines, and fees change from canton to canton and year to year, so treat what you read here as a starting point and confirm the current details with the official source: the cantonal migration office, your commune, your insurer, or the company itself.