Corporate relocation and global mobility in Switzerland

What a corporate relocation programme in Switzerland covers

A corporate relocation mandate can run from the moment an assignment is confirmed to the day the employee (and their family, where applicable) is settled and the paperwork is closed. In between sit a series of dependent steps: permit and immigration formalities, housing search, school enrolment for accompanying children, commune registration, and the practical setup of daily life such as banking, insurance introductions and utilities.

For companies, the value of coordinating these steps through a single relocation partner is not just convenience. It reduces the risk of a missed deadline delaying a start date, keeps HR informed through one point of contact instead of several, and gives the employee a calmer, more professional welcome, which shapes how they perceive the assignment and the company from day one.

• •EU/EFTA and non-EU work and residence permit support
• •Home finding tailored to the employee's budget, family situation and work location
• •School search and enrolment for accompanying children
• •Temporary housing while permanent accommodation is arranged
• •Settling-in support: commune registration, banking, insurance introductions, practical orientation
• •Departure assistance at the end of the assignment

Executive relocation and intercultural training

Executive and senior transfers typically involve tighter timelines, higher expectations around discretion, and often a spouse or partner who also needs to adjust professionally and socially. We handle these assignments with a dedicated consultant who acts as a single point of contact for the executive and for HR, coordinating housing, schooling and administrative steps in parallel rather than sequentially where the timeline allows it.

Intercultural training complements the practical relocation work. It prepares the employee, and where relevant their family or team, for the professional norms, communication style and social conventions of Swiss working life, which can differ noticeably from what an international hire is used to. This reduces friction in the first months on the job and supports faster integration into the local team.

Managing volume: relocation for multiple employees or recurring mobility

Some companies relocate a small number of executives per year; others manage a continuous flow of transfers across departments and cantons. For recurring or higher-volume mobility, we work as an extension of the HR or global mobility team, applying a consistent process to each case while adapting to individual circumstances such as family size, nationality, or the canton of destination.

A single point of contact and standardised reporting make it easier for HR to track progress across several ongoing relocations at once, compare timelines, and anticipate where a case may need extra attention, for example a non-EU permit application or a school enrolment during a period of high demand.

Working across Swiss cantons

Switzerland's cantons each administer their own permit processing, tax and registration procedures, and the practical realities of housing and schooling vary significantly between, for example, Geneva, Zurich and Zug. A relocation programme that assumes one canton works like another risks delays or misunderstandings, particularly for companies relocating employees to several regions at once.

We are active across the country, with offices in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich and consultants also working in Zug, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Basel, which lets us apply canton-specific knowledge to each case rather than a generic national process. Employees relocating to different cities within the same company can each receive guidance suited to where they are actually moving; our overview of settling in Switzerland and choosing a city outlines some of the differences worth considering before an assignment is finalised.

How the relocation process typically unfolds

While every assignment has its own timeline, most corporate relocations follow a similar sequence once the assignment is confirmed. Starting the process early, particularly the permit application, gives the most flexibility on housing and school choices later on.

Why companies choose an established relocation partner

My Swiss Relocation is a brand of Welcome Service Sàrl, an independent family company with more than 35 years of experience and over 10,000 relocation mandates handled since its founding in 1990. We cover 26 cantons through a team of more than 40 relocation consultants, which allows us to support companies with employees moving to different parts of Switzerland without losing consistency in how each case is handled.

As a founding member of SARA, the Swiss Association of Relocation Agents, and a member of EuRA, the European Relocation Association, we operate within the professional standards these bodies represent. Every engagement begins with a first contact without commitment, so HR teams can discuss scope and pricing before agreeing to a mandate, and we treat all employee and company information under professional secrecy.