Arriving in Switzerland: registering with the residents' office within 14 days, B permit, health insurance

Settling in

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25 Oct 2026

Arriving in Switzerland: registering with the residents' office within 14 days, B permit, health insurance

Arrived in Switzerland on a D visa to study or join your family? Registering with the residents' office (or the OCPM in Geneva) within 14 days, biometrics, B permit, health insurance within 3 months, the Serafe fee, student work and the yearly permit renewal.

Espero AKPOLI

Founder · Compatri, the social network for diasporas

Information checked on 25 October 2026.

You are arriving in Switzerland with a D visa to study or to join your family. Three steps matter from the very first days: register with the residents' office within 14 days (in Geneva, with the Cantonal Population and Migration Office, OCPM), take out health insurance within 3 months, then attend the biometric appointment that comes before your B permit. The student permit is then renewed every year. The D visa only opens the door: registering is what sets the residence permit in motion.

The principle: the D visa opens the door, the canton issues the permit

Any foreign national staying in Switzerland for more than three months needs a residence permit. For a national of a country outside the European Union, the decision belongs to the migration office of the canton of residence, which gave its approval before the embassy issued the visa. Once in Switzerland, that green light still has to become a residence document: the B permit, a residence permit of limited duration.

The basic rules are federal, but each canton organises its counters in its own way. In Geneva, everything goes through the Cantonal Population and Migration Office (OCPM). In the canton of Vaud, you go to the residents' office of your municipality (in Lausanne, the contrôle des habitants counter), which then passes your file to the Population Service. The deadlines and documents below are those published by these administrations; for another canton, check your municipality's website.

If you are still preparing to leave, our guide to studying in Switzerland from Africa covers admission, the D visa and the financial means each canton requires.

First week: register within 14 days

The federal Ordinance on Admission, Period of Stay and Employment (OASA, article 10) sets the rule: a foreign national who enters Switzerland for more than three months without gainful employment, holding an entry authorisation, declares their arrival within fourteen days of entry, with the office designated by the canton. Geneva and Lausanne apply this 14-day deadline.

In Lausanne, arrivals from abroad are handled in person, at the counter, by appointment. The City asks in particular for:

an identity document (your passport with the visa);
a passport-format photo;
your lease or a housing certificate;
a document explaining the purpose of your stay, for example a final enrolment certificate from a school or university;
for a minor child arriving from abroad, a legalised official document on custody, and if needed the written, legalised consent of the other parent, translated if necessary.

Fees are charged at the counter (cash, card or Twint), according to the municipality's price list. EPFL advises its non-European students to budget about CHF 200 for permit fees, and notes that some municipalities also charge a monthly residence tax.

In Geneva, you register your new residence with the OCPM within 14 days. If you do not yet have a permanent address, the OCPM accepts a temporary one (hotel, short-term rental); you then report your permanent address as soon as you know it.

Do not put this appointment off: slots fill up quickly in September, and this registration triggers everything else (the permit, but also the health insurance and broadcasting fee invoices).

Next: biometrics, then the residence card

Nationals of countries outside the EU and EFTA receive a biometric residence card. Its chip holds a facial image and two fingerprints. They are captured at the canton's biometrics centre:

in Geneva, the OCPM summons you by letter once your application is accepted, and the cantonal biometrics centre only receives people by appointment;
in the canton of Vaud, after registering you receive a letter inviting you to the biometrics centre in Lausanne.

The canton then produces the card. Allow plenty of time: EPFL warns that it takes several months to receive the permit. Keep every document handed to you at the counter. Before leaving Switzerland during this wait (holidays, a trip home), ask the migration office what will allow you to come back.

Within three months: health insurance (LAMal)

In Switzerland, basic health insurance is compulsory for everyone resident, and it does not come through your employer or university: you choose a health insurer yourself. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) sets the deadline: take out insurance no later than three months after taking up residence.

Within the deadline, cover starts on the date of your arrival. You pay premiums from that date, but care received in the meantime is covered.
After the deadline, cover only starts on the day you join, earlier costs are not reimbursed, and a premium surcharge is due if the delay is not excusable.

Compare premiums on the Confederation's official calculator, priminfo.admin.ch. They vary by canton, age, deductible and the model chosen.

Students: an exemption is possible. A student from a country outside the EU and EFTA can be exempted from Swiss insurance if they have private insurance with equivalent cover. The exemption is granted for three years, extendable by three years at most; after that, Swiss insurance becomes compulsory. You apply to the competent cantonal authority (in Geneva, the Health Insurance Service). Do it without delay, with your insurance contract: until the exemption is granted, the obligation to insure runs.

Families: no student exemption. A spouse and children arriving through family reunification must each be insured within three months. Cantons grant premium reductions to insured people on modest incomes: ask the cantonal service as soon as you arrive.

The radio and television fee (Serafe)

Each private household pays an annual fee of CHF 335, reduced to CHF 312 from 1 January 2027 according to the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). You have nothing to do: municipalities and cantons pass residents' data to Serafe, which sends the invoice. The fee is due per household, not per person. It mostly surprises newcomers who were not expecting it: include it in your first-year budget.

The bank account

A Swiss account will be useful for rent, insurance premiums and any salary. Banks set their own conditions: they usually ask for your passport and proof of address or residence in Switzerland. Ask your bank whether the certificate you received when registering is enough while you wait for the residence card. If you had to block funds to prove your financial means, check with the migration office how to present them at renewal.

Working while you study

The student permit does not allow you to work freely. According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), a student from a non-EU country may take a side job of at most 15 hours a week during term, and no earlier than six months after the start of their studies. The school must confirm that the work does not delay the studies, and the application is filed before the job starts. In Geneva, the limit rises to 40 hours a week during holidays, and you must wait for the OCPM's decision before starting. In the canton of Vaud, you apply with form 1350, a copy of the employment contract and written confirmation from the school.

Working without authorisation puts the renewal of your permit at risk. After graduating, the SEM grants six months to look for a job matching your qualification.

Family reunification: what is different on arrival

A spouse and children go through the same first steps: registration within 14 days, biometrics, B permit, health insurance for each person within three months. A few points are specific to them:

minor children: the municipality may ask for legalised custody or parental authority documents, and the consent of the other parent who stayed in the home country;
language: for the spouse of a B permit holder, the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA, article 44) requires the ability to communicate in the national language of the place of residence; enrolling in a language course can be enough to obtain the permit, and the canton may check progress at the first renewal. Unmarried children under 18 are not concerned;
work: the spouse and children of a B or C permit holder may work, without a separate work permit; this right remains tied to the permit of the person they joined;
living together: the reunification permit rests on living together. Report any change of address to the residents' office.

Every year: renewing the student permit

For studies lasting several years, the permit is issued for one year, then renewed each year until the end of the studies. Geneva in principle admits programmes of eight years at most.

In Geneva, the renewal application is sent by post, no later than 15 days before the permit expires, with form E, a copy of your identity document, the enrolment certificate for the current year, and proof of your financial means (or a guarantee of support, form O). A cover letter is required if you change programme. An invoice follows by post.
In the canton of Vaud, EPFL says the authorities send a letter after one year explaining the extension, with new proof of means.

Any change of school or study plan must be reported immediately: it requires a new permit. And a stay outside Switzerland of more than six months automatically cancels the B permit.

Summary: step, deadline, where, what

Step	Deadline	Where / how	What to bring, or the risk
Registering your arrival	Within 14 days	Municipal residents' office; OCPM in Geneva; in person by appointment (Lausanne)	Passport with visa, photo, lease, study certificate or reunification documents, fees
Biometrics	When summoned, after registering	Cantonal biometrics centre	Passport, summons letter
Health insurance	No later than 3 months after taking up residence	Health insurer of your choice; student exemption from the cantonal service	If late: cover only from joining, plus a premium surcharge
Serafe fee	Invoice sent automatically	Nothing to do	CHF 335 per household in 2026, CHF 312 from 2027
Bank account	Once registered	Bank of your choice	Passport, proof of address or residence
Student work	Not before 6 months of study	Employer's application or cantonal form, before starting	Without authorisation: renewal at risk
Renewing the student permit	Every year; in Geneva, no later than 15 days before expiry	Letter to the cantonal office (form E in Geneva)	Enrolment certificate, financial means

For the general method (filing documents, keeping a calendar of deadlines), also read administrative steps on arrival: where to start. To compare with France, Belgium, Germany, Italy or Spain, see our page on steps on arrival in Europe with a long-stay visa, country by country.

Finding your compatriots in Switzerland

The first appointment at the counter, choosing a health insurer, the area to look for a studio: those who arrived a year before you know these details. On Compatri, you find them in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, or through the page of cities in Switzerland. Cameroonians in Switzerland and Moroccans in Switzerland already have their page. You can even join your community before you leave. Compatri does not carry out any procedure for you: for your file, your contact remains your canton's migration office.

Official sources

Swiss National DayAugust 1

Settling in Newcomers Visa and residence permit Students Families Geneva

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How soon must you register with the municipality after arriving in Switzerland?

The federal OASA ordinance (article 10) requires you to declare your arrival within 14 days of entering Switzerland, for a stay of more than three months without gainful employment. In Lausanne, arrivals from abroad are handled in person at the residents' office counter, by appointment. In Geneva, you register with the OCPM, the cantonal population and migration office.

What is the deadline for Swiss health insurance (LAMal), and what happens if you are late?

According to the FOPH, you must take out health insurance no later than three months after taking up residence. Within that deadline, cover goes back to your arrival date, premiums included. After it, cover only starts when you join, earlier costs are yours to pay and a premium surcharge is due if the delay is not excusable.

Can a foreign student be exempted from Swiss health insurance?

Yes. A student from a country outside the EU and EFTA can be exempted if they have private insurance with equivalent cover. The exemption lasts three years, extendable by three years at most, after which Swiss insurance becomes compulsory. You apply to the cantonal authority, in Geneva the Health Insurance Service; a spouse and children do not benefit from this student exemption.

How many hours can a foreign student work in Switzerland?

According to the SEM, a student from a non-EU country may work at most 15 hours a week during term, and no earlier than six months after the start of their studies. The school must confirm that the work does not delay the studies. In Geneva, the limit rises to 40 hours a week during holidays, and you must wait for the OCPM's decision before starting.

When must you renew your student B permit?

For studies lasting several years, the permit is issued for one year and renewed every year until the end of the studies. In Geneva, the application goes by post no later than 15 days before expiry, with form E, the current year's enrolment certificate and proof of financial means. Any change of school or study plan requires a new permit.

Do you have to sign up to pay the Serafe fee?

No. Municipalities and cantons pass residents' data to Serafe, which sends the invoice to the household. According to OFCOM, the fee is CHF 335 a year per private household, falling to CHF 312 from 1 January 2027. It is due per household, not per person.