Every Relocation Service in Switzerland, in One Place

Relocation support services in Switzerland, organised by stage

We group our relocation support services in Switzerland around the natural sequence of a move: securing the right to live and work here, finding somewhere to live, handling the administrative registrations that follow, settling family members in, moving belongings, and eventually organising a departure. The cards on this page link to a dedicated page for each service, with the practical detail, typical timelines and pitfalls to avoid.

You do not need every service. Some clients ask us to manage a single work permit application; others hand us the whole move from the day an offer letter is signed to the day the last box is unpacked. Both approaches are common, and the sections below explain where each service adds the most value.

Permits and immigration

Before anything else, you need the legal right to live and work in Switzerland. The process differs sharply depending on whether you hold an EU/EFTA passport or come from a non-EU country, and it differs again by canton, since permits are issued and administered at cantonal level within a federal framework.

We prepare and file permit applications, liaise with cantonal migration offices and employers, and handle renewals, changes of canton or changes of status once you are already in the country. For non-EU nationals, this typically includes coordinating the quota and labour-market checks that come before a work permit is granted.

• •EU/EFTA permit applications and registrations
• •Non-EU work permit applications and quota coordination
• •Permit renewals and changes of canton
• •Legitimation cards for staff of international organisations and diplomatic missions
• •Status changes, such as moving from a short-term to a long-term permit

Housing

Housing is consistently the part of a Swiss relocation that surprises people most, particularly in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, where rental demand is high and landlords expect a complete, well-prepared file within days of a viewing. Arriving without local references or a Swiss employment contract in hand can put you at a disadvantage against other applicants.

We manage the search itself, prepare your application file, accompany you to viewings, and review the lease before you sign it. For clients who need somewhere to stay immediately, we also arrange temporary or furnished housing while the permanent search is under way, and we carry out the entry and exit inventory reports that Swiss tenancy practice expects.

• •Permanent housing search and viewing accompaniment
• •Tenant file preparation and lease review
• •Temporary and furnished housing on arrival
• •Entry and exit property inventory reports

Settling in and administrative procedures

Once a permit is in hand and housing is secured, a list of local registrations follows, each with its own office, form and deadline: commune registration, health insurance, opening a bank account, and setting up telecom and utility contracts. None of these steps is complicated on its own, but together they take real time to complete correctly, particularly in a language you may not yet speak.

For health insurance, Switzerland requires everyone resident in the country to take out basic coverage, and the choice between insurers and coverage levels has consequences that last well beyond the first year. Our consultants explain how the system works and coordinate with qualified insurance specialists; we do not recommend a specific insurer as the right one for you, since that depends on your personal situation.

• •Commune (municipality) registration on arrival
• •Health insurance: system overview and coordination with specialists
• •Bank account opening
• •Telecom, internet and utility set-up

Family and education

A move affects every member of a family differently, and schooling is usually the item that needs to be settled earliest, since places in some schools and programmes fill up well ahead of the academic year. We help you compare public and private schooling options, understand enrolment procedures, and apply within the right windows.

We also support accompanying partners with orientation to their new city, from finding a place in early-years childcare to pointing them toward local networks and services relevant to their own plans.

• •School enrolment: public and private options
• •Daycare and early-years childcare search
• •Orientation for accompanying spouses and partners

Logistics and transport

Moving household goods internationally, importing a vehicle, or relocating a pet each involve their own customs rules and paperwork, separate from the immigration and housing process. We coordinate these logistics so they land on the right day, once housing is confirmed, rather than in storage while a lease is still being finalised.

Executive relocations often add a further layer, such as coordinating a move across multiple countries or aligning the family's arrival with a fixed start date at a new employer; this is an area where our executive relocation service is built specifically to manage several moving parts at once.

• •International household goods moving, coordinated with your removal company
• •Vehicle import procedures
• •Pet relocation formalities
• •Executive relocation for senior hires and their families

Leaving Switzerland

A move out of Switzerland has its own checklist: notifying the commune, closing or transferring insurance and bank arrangements, handling pension contributions, and returning the rented property in the condition your lease requires. Skipping a step here can generate paperwork or costs that surface months after you have already left.

We prepare a departure plan that sequences these steps in the right order and flags the ones with fixed deadlines, so nothing is left open once you have gone.

How companies and HR teams use these services

For employers and global mobility managers, the same services can be delivered for one relocating employee or for a recurring stream of hires, coordinated with your HR calendar rather than treated as a one-off request. We work directly with HR teams to plan permit timelines around start dates, brief incoming employees and their families, and provide the kind of intercultural training that shortens the adjustment period for staff moving into a Swiss office for the first time.

Because we cover 26 cantons, we can support hires moving to different parts of Switzerland through a single point of contact, rather than requiring HR to manage a different local provider for each city.