Moving to Switzerland: First-Week Setup, Shipping, and Banking

Reader, before you start: this guide is for people who already have the right to live in Switzerland — a permit approval and a Swiss address lined up — and are now arriving. If you’re still working out whether you can move at all, start with how to move to Switzerland long-term. This is the on-the-ground part.

What this guide covers

The move itself is logistics, and two deadlines decide whether your first month goes smoothly or expensively. Get the order right and everything else follows.

• The 14-day registration deadline — and why it’s stricter for you than for EU citizens
• The 3-month health-insurance rule, and why you pay from day one anyway
• Shipping your belongings into Switzerland duty-free
• Opening a bank account (with the part Americans need to know)
• The smaller setup tasks: SIM, transport, the bill nobody warns you about

Last verified: June 8, 2026. Fees, premiums, and cantonal rules change. Confirm with your commune and canton before you act.

Do these in order

Almost everything in your first week hangs off one action: registering at your commune. Register first, and the documents you get unlock the rest.

1. Register at your commune (within 14 days)
2. Take out health insurance (within 3 months, but do it now)
3. Open a bank account (you need it for salary and rent)
4. Sort the small stuff (SIM, transport card, utilities)

Two bills then arrive on their own — your radio/TV fee and your first electricity bill — whether you chase them or not.

Step 1: Register at your commune

On arrival you must register in person at your commune’s residents’ office within 14 days, and before you start work (ch.ch). The office is called the Einwohnerkontrolle in German cantons, the contrôle des habitants in French ones, the controllo abitanti in Italian.

One correction worth making, because it trips people up: a lot of “moving to Switzerland” advice says you have three months to register. That’s the rule for EU/EFTA citizens. If you hold a US, UK, Canadian, or Australian passport, your deadline is 14 days. Don’t borrow the EU timeline.

Bring, for each family member:

• Passport
• Your visa or residence-permit approval (the work authorization already secured)
• Signed employment contract
• Rental lease, or a landlord’s attestation
• A passport-sized photo
• Marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates, translated if needed
• Proof you’ve arranged health insurance (some cantons, like Zurich, check this at registration)

You walk out with a registration confirmation (Anmeldebestätigung, attestation de domicile). Keep it — it’s your proof of address, and banks and insurers accept it. Registration also starts the residence-permit card process. Fees are set by each commune, not nationally; budget a few hundred francs per person and let the office tell you the exact amount.

Your permit card

After the canton approves your stay, you get an invitation to a biometrics appointment — two fingerprints, a photo, and a signature for the chip in the card (State Secretariat for Migration). The physical card is produced centrally and mailed to your Swiss address, typically within a few weeks. The fee is cantonal, so check your canton’s migration office.

Step 2: Get health insurance

This is the rule that costs people money. Basic health insurance is compulsory for every resident, and you must take out a policy within three months of taking up residence (Federal Office of Public Health).

Here’s the catch. When you enroll, coverage backdates to your arrival date — and so do the premiums. The three months is time to choose, not three free months. You pay from day one no matter when you sign. Your travel or home-country insurance does not satisfy the requirement.

Miss the deadline and the canton assigns you an insurer, with no regard for price, and adds a surcharge. You still pay from day one. So there is nothing to gain by waiting and a choice to lose. Do it in your first week.

What you’re actually choosing

Basic coverage (called KVG or LAMal) is defined by law and identical across every insurer. You’re not shopping for better coverage — you’re shopping on price, service, and your deductible (the franchise). The franchise runs from CHF 300 to CHF 2,500; a higher deductible means a lower monthly premium. Children must be insured too.

Premiums vary a lot by canton. For 2026 they rose about 4.4% on average. Rough monthly figures for an adult on standard coverage:

	Monthly premium (2026, adult)
National average (all ages)	~CHF 393
Adult standard	~CHF 465
Cheaper cantons (e.g. Zug)	~CHF 317
Most expensive (Geneva)	~CHF 562

Budget CHF 300–500+ per adult per month, depending on canton and deductible. Compare offers on the federal premium calculator before you pick.

Step 3: Open a bank account

You need a Swiss account to receive your salary — employers pay by Swiss bank transfer — and to pay rent by standing order. To open one, you generally need your residence permit, or your commune registration confirmation while the card is still in the post, plus a Swiss address.

Option	Reality for new arrivals
PostFinance	The most inclusive. A public-service mandate means it offers accounts to legal residents. Easiest first account.
Cantonal banks (ZKB, BCGE…)	Solid, branch-based; want your permit and address. Good for salary, rent, and the deposit account.
UBS	Open to residents; more paperwork and package fees.
Neon (app)	Needs you to be exclusively tax-resident in Switzerland. Zero fees.
Yuh (app)	Accepts foreign nationals with a valid permit. Zero fees.

You can often open with the registration confirmation before the physical permit arrives — PostFinance and several banks accept it as proof of legal residence. The app-only banks are stricter and usually want the permit itself.

If you’re American: the FATCA problem

US citizens hit a wall other movers don’t. Because of FATCA reporting rules, some Swiss banks simply decline “US persons” to avoid the paperwork. The reliable openers are PostFinance, UBS, and the cantonal banks, which accept US citizens who are resident in Switzerland — you’ll sign a W-9. Don’t take a rejection from one bank as the whole market; move to a US-friendly one.

The rental deposit

When you sign a lease, the landlord can ask for a deposit of up to three months’ rent — and no more. That cap is law (Code of Obligations, Art. 257e), and any clause demanding more is void.

The deposit goes into a blocked account in your name (a Mietkautionskonto), not the landlord’s pocket. You stay the owner, interest accrues to you, and the bank only releases it with both parties’ agreement, a court order, or one year after you move out if the landlord raised no claim. If you’d rather not tie up the cash, deposit-guarantee insurance is a legal alternative — though it costs a yearly premium you don’t get back.

Shipping your belongings

Switzerland is not in the EU customs union, so your goods clear Swiss customs separately even if they travel through an EU port. The authority is the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), at bazg.admin.ch. If you read an older guide naming the “Eidgenössische Zollverwaltung” or ezv.admin.ch, that name was retired in 2022.

Used household goods come in duty-free

You can import your used personal belongings free of duty and VAT as removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut) if:

• You’re genuinely transferring your residence to Switzerland
• You owned and used the goods for at least six months before the move
• You’ll keep using them afterward
• They arrive within two years of your move

You file Form 18.44 at customs with an itemized inventory — values included, valuable and recently bought items listed individually, ordinary things grouped (“12 boxes of books” is fine). As a non-EU national you attach confirmation of your Swiss residence permit. Your moving company usually handles the clearance, but the declaration is in your name.

What’s not duty-free

• New goods, owned under six months, are dutiable. List them separately and keep the receipts — they speed up the valuation.
• Your car comes in duty-free as removal goods if you owned and used it six-plus months and keep using it. Then you must register it on Swiss plates at the cantonal road-traffic office within one year (not one month — a common mix-up with the residence deadline). A car that doesn’t qualify is taxed: 4% automobile tax plus 8.1% VAT.
• Pets (dogs, cats, ferrets) need a microchip implanted before the rabies shot, then a 21-day wait. Coming from the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, you need a third-country animal health certificate from an official vet — not an EU pet passport (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office). The non-commercial limit is five animals.

One myth to kill: the CHF 150 duty-free allowance you’ll see quoted is for shopping you carry across the border as a traveler, plus limits on alcohol and tobacco. It has nothing to do with your shipped household removal — that comes in under the rules above, not capped at CHF 150. Note that meat and dairy can only be brought from the EU, Iceland, Norway, or Northern Ireland, so don’t ship a stocked pantry from North America.

The smaller first-week tasks

• Phone. The networks are Swisscom, Salt, and Sunrise. Buy a prepaid SIM the day you land — you just show ID. A monthly contract usually wants your permit and a Swiss bank account, so start prepaid and switch later.
• Transport. Switzerland runs on rail. The standard first buy is the Half Fare Travelcard (Halbtax): CHF 190 for the first year, then CHF 170, for roughly 50% off most trains, buses, and boats (SBB). The unlimited GA card costs around CHF 3,860 a year — only worth it for heavy commuters.
• The Serafe bill. Every household pays a mandatory radio/TV fee — CHF 335 a year in 2026 (dropping to CHF 312 in 2027), billed quarterly (Serafe). You don’t sign up. Once you register at your commune, Serafe pulls your address from the residents’ register and the bill simply arrives. It surprises almost everyone.
• Liability insurance. Personal liability cover (Privathaftpflicht) isn’t legally required, but landlords routinely ask for proof before handing over keys, and it’s cheap — around CHF 50–150 a year. Treat it as expected.
• Electricity. You usually can’t shop for a provider; your commune assigns one. The landlord or commune tells you who to contact, or it’s handled through the lease.

Costs at a glance

Item	Cost (2026)	Notes
Commune registration	~few hundred CHF/person	Varies by commune
Health insurance	CHF 300–500+/month/adult	Backdated to arrival
Rental deposit	Up to 3 months’ rent	Blocked account in your name
Half Fare Travelcard	CHF 190 first year	~50% off fares
Serafe media fee	CHF 335/year/household	Automatic after registration
Liability insurance	CHF 50–150/year	Landlords expect it

What they don’t tell you

• Your registration deadline is 14 days, not three months. The three-month figure is for EU citizens. Miss your real deadline and you’ve broken a permit condition before you’ve unpacked.
• You pay health premiums from day one. The “three months to enroll” is time to choose, not free coverage. Waiting only risks a canton-assigned insurer and a surcharge.
• Serafe finds you automatically. Registering at your commune triggers the media fee. It’s not optional and you can’t dodge it by not owning a TV.
• The CHF 150 limit isn’t your shipment. Your household goods come in under the removal-goods rules, duty-free if used six months. The CHF 150 is a shopping allowance — different thing entirely.
• Americans should expect a bank or two to say no. FATCA makes some banks avoid US clients. PostFinance, UBS, and cantonal banks take US residents — go straight to them.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to register after arriving in Switzerland?

Fourteen days if you’re a US, UK, Canadian, or Australian citizen, and you must register before starting work. You register in person at your commune’s residents’ office. EU/EFTA citizens get longer — up to three months in some cantons — but that doesn’t apply to you.

When do I have to get Swiss health insurance?

Within three months of taking up residence. But coverage and premiums backdate to your arrival date, so you pay from day one regardless. Enroll in your first week to keep your choice of insurer and avoid a canton-assigned policy plus a surcharge.

Can I open a Swiss bank account before my permit card arrives?

Often yes. PostFinance and several banks accept your commune registration confirmation as proof of legal residence while the physical permit is in the post. App-only banks like Neon and Yuh usually want the permit itself.

Can I bring my household goods to Switzerland duty-free?

Yes, as removal goods, if you’re transferring your residence and owned and used the items for at least six months before moving. You file Form 18.44 with an itemized inventory. New goods owned under six months are dutiable — keep their receipts.

Do I need to pay the Serafe fee if I don’t own a TV?

Yes. The radio/TV household fee — CHF 335 a year in 2026 — applies to every household regardless of whether you own a device. It’s billed automatically once you register at your commune.

How much is the rental deposit in Switzerland?

Up to three months’ rent, and no more — the cap is set by law. It goes into a blocked account in your name, not the landlord’s, and earns interest for you.

As an American, which Swiss bank should I use?

PostFinance, UBS, and the cantonal banks reliably accept US citizens resident in Switzerland; you’ll sign a W-9 for FATCA. Some other banks decline US persons, so if one says no, go to a US-friendly one rather than assuming you can’t open an account.

Next steps

Work the order: register at your commune in the first 14 days, take out health insurance the same week, then open a bank account with your registration confirmation. Get a prepaid SIM and a Halbtax while you wait for the permit card, and expect the Serafe and electricity bills to arrive on their own. Once you’re settled, the longer game is the permit ladder — if permanent residence is the goal, read how the 5-year C permit works for Americans.

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Sources

• ch.ch — Working in Switzerland as a foreign national — accessed 2026-06-08
• State Secretariat for Migration — Biometric residence permits — accessed 2026-06-08
• Federal Office of Public Health — Obligation to take out health insurance — accessed 2026-06-08
• Federal Office for Customs and Border Security — Moving / household effects — accessed 2026-06-08
• Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office — Travelling with dogs, cats, ferrets — accessed 2026-06-08
• Code of Obligations (SR 220), Art. 257e — rental deposit — accessed 2026-06-08
• SBB — Half Fare Travelcard — accessed 2026-06-08
• Serafe — Radio and TV fee overview — accessed 2026-06-08