Expat Resources for Switzerland: Communities, Official Services and Practical Guides
The communities, official services and practical resources we recommend to families settling in Switzerland — from permits, registration and finding a home to health insurance, schools and employing someone at home.
Settling into Switzerland means assembling a lot of small pieces at once — a residence permit, registering with your commune, somewhere to live, compulsory health insurance, schools, and eventually the practical business of running a household. This page follows roughly that sequence: the resources we most often recommend to families arriving in Switzerland, alongside the official sources you will deal with directly. Everything listed here is something we would send a family to ourselves.
Expat communities and directories
The fastest way to shortcut a problem in a new country is usually to find someone who solved it last year. These are the established communities and directories covering Switzerland.
- English Forum Switzerland — the largest English-speaking community in Switzerland, with active threads on permits, housing, taxes, health and daily life.
- Expat.com — Switzerland — a large international network with a Switzerland section covering housing, formalities and day-to-day questions, plus a business directory.
- Expatica Switzerland — editorial guides on Swiss bureaucracy, banking, insurance and healthcare, with a service directory.
- InterNations Switzerland — networking events and local groups in Zürich, Geneva, Basel, Zug and beyond.
Permits, registration and official services
These are the primary sources. Forums are great for orientation, but for anything with legal or financial consequences, check the official site — rules vary by canton and change over time. A few things come first because almost everything else depends on them: your permit, registering with your commune, and social security.
- ch.ch — the official Swiss authorities portal, and the best plain-language starting point for permits, moving and everyday admin.
- State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) — the federal authority for residence permits (B, L, C). Applications themselves are handled by your cantonal migration office.
- Your commune (Einwohnerkontrolle / contrôle des habitants) — you must register your address in person within 14 days of arriving. This unlocks almost everything else, including health insurance and utilities.
- AHV/AVS — old-age and survivors' insurance (social security). Directly relevant if you employ someone at home: domestic work is subject to contributions from the very first franc.
Finding a home
Most families sort housing early — and in the tighter city markets it moves fast. You will usually be asked for a residence permit, recent pay slips and an extract from the debt-collection register (Betreibungsauszug / extrait des poursuites). Deposits are typically up to three months' rent, held in a blocked tenant account in your name. The main portals:
- Homegate — one of the two largest property portals, for both rentals and sales.
- ImmoScout24 — the other heavyweight, with strong photos, floor plans and virtual tours.
- Comparis — aggregates listings from the major portals into one search, handy for casting a wide net.
- Flatfox — a newer portal, often good value and with direct-to-landlord listings.
In competitive markets (Zürich, Geneva, Zug, Lausanne) set up saved searches with alerts on more than one portal and be ready to apply the same day. A relocation agent can save time if your search window is short.
Once you have a home, keeping it running — cleaning, laundry, cooking, childcare or elderly care — is usually the next thing on the list. That is where the rest of this page comes in.
Health insurance
Basic health insurance (KVG / LAMal) is compulsory: everyone resident in Switzerland must take out their own policy within three months of arriving, and each family member — adult or child — is insured individually. Cover is backdated to your arrival date, so premiums are due even if you sign up late. Basic cover is standardised by law, but premiums vary a lot by insurer, canton and model, so it pays to compare.
- Priminfo — the federal premium comparison tool.
- Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) — who must insure, deadlines and how the obligation works.
Schools and childcare
Public schools are run by the cantons, are free, and teach in the local language (German, French or Italian, depending on where you live) — an immersion that works well for younger children. Private and international schools run their own admissions and waiting lists, so start early. For younger children, day care (Kita / crèche) is in high demand in the cities and worth arranging well ahead. Your childcare situation — and whether you want help with the school run, meals or after-school care — also shapes the kind of household help you look for later.
Everyday admin
The smaller pieces that make daily life work:
- Bank account — you'll generally need your permit and proof of address; both traditional Swiss banks and digital options work.
- Mobile and utilities — electricity and internet are quick to arrange once you have a lease and are registered; in many flats the landlord arranges water and heating through the service charges (Nebenkosten).
- Driving licence — you may drive on a foreign licence for 12 months from the day you register as a resident. After that you must exchange it through your cantonal road-traffic office (Strassenverkehrsamt / service des automobiles): EU/EEA licences exchange without a test, and several other countries need only a control drive.
Employing someone in your home
This is the part newcomers most often get wrong, usually with good intentions. Employing domestic staff in Switzerland is regulated, and the obligations fall on you as the employer, not on the person you hire. Our guide on how to legally hire a housekeeper in Switzerland walks through the sequence end to end.
Three things are worth understanding before you hire rather than after:
- Social security applies from the first franc. Regular domestic work is subject to AHV/AVS and related contributions with no lower threshold — you register the employment with your cantonal compensation office. Clino is a Swiss service that handles the payroll, declarations and contributions for household employers, which removes most of the paperwork.
- Accident insurance is mandatory. Even a few hours a week require valid accident cover (UVG / LAA) for the person working in your home.
- A standard contract sets minimum pay. A federal standard employment contract (NAV) for the domestic economy sets a minimum wage for household staff, and several cantons add their own rules. What to put in writing is covered in what to include in a housekeeper employment contract.
If you are hiring someone who is not Swiss, check they are authorised to work before they start — this is the employer's responsibility. See hiring an international housekeeper. To weigh the real monthly cost including contributions, see what housekeepers earn and take home; and if you are still deciding on the shape of the role, live-in versus live-out and how many hours you actually need are the place to start. Hiring safely and avoiding scams is covered in is it safe to hire a housekeeper in Switzerland.
Domestyca guides for families
Written for families hiring domestic help in Switzerland — including internationals navigating an unfamiliar system.
- All guides for families — interviews, contracts, permits, rates and expectations.
- Cost calculators — work out the real monthly cost of employing someone, including contributions.
- Downloadable templates and checklists — interview questions, trial-period checklists and contract starting points.
Finding household help
Domestyca connects families directly with housekeepers and domestic staff across Switzerland, without an agency in the middle. Browsing profiles is free, and profiles show which languages each candidate speaks — useful in Zürich, Geneva, Basel and Zug. Profiles can be identity-verified, and families leave reviews after working with someone.
Run a service that belongs on this page, or think something is missing? Write to us — we update this list as things change, and we remove anything that stops being useful.
FAQ
Do I need a permit and to register before I can hire someone at home?
You should be registered with your commune and have your own status sorted first, and you must check that anyone you hire is authorised to work in Switzerland. Registration with your commune is required within 14 days of arrival, and it unlocks most other steps.
Is health insurance really compulsory for my whole family?
Yes. Basic health insurance (KVG/LAMal) is mandatory for everyone resident in Switzerland within three months of arriving, and each person is insured individually. Cover is backdated to your arrival date. Compare premiums on the federal Priminfo tool.
Do I have to pay social security for a weekly cleaner?
Regular domestic work is subject to AHV/AVS contributions from the very first franc, with no lower threshold, and accident insurance is mandatory. You register the employment with your cantonal compensation office; services such as Clino handle the payroll and declarations for household employers.
Can I find English-speaking household help in Switzerland?
Yes. Profiles on Domestyca show which languages each candidate speaks, and you can filter by language — useful in Zürich, Geneva, Basel, Zug and other areas with large international communities.