The Swiss Arrival Masterclass

Fourteen short lessons, one per day, covering exactly what to do in your first two weeks in Switzerland, registration, insurance, banking, transport, groceries, recycling, etiquette and taxes.

The 14 days

Day 1, Anmeldung: the paperwork clock starts now.
Day 2, Health insurance: the three-month deadline.
Day 3, Opening a Swiss bank account.
Day 4, Housing paperwork and the rental dossier.
Day 5, Getting a Swiss phone number.
Day 6, Public transport, SBB and the Halbtax.
Day 7, Groceries at Migros, Coop and Aldi.
Day 8, Recycling and waste rules.
Day 9, Swiss etiquette and unwritten rules.
Day 10, Language basics: German, French, Italian.
Day 11, Taxes and Quellensteuer.
Day 12, Making friends in Switzerland.
Day 13, Swiss work culture.
Day 14, One year in: what actually changes.

All fourteen lessons

Before you land, the papers that travel with you Almost everything Switzerland asks of you in your first month is a document you either brought or did not bring. Pack the file, not just the suitcase.
Anmeldung, the paperwork clock starts now If you have moved to Switzerland in the last two weeks, this is the single most important thing you will do this month.
Health insurance, the three-month deadline nobody explains Basic health insurance is mandatory for every resident within three months of arrival. If you do not choose, the canton assigns one for you, usually the most expensive.
Opening a Swiss bank account without the pain You need a Swiss IBAN before you can pay rent, receive your salary in most cases, and set up direct debits for insurance and taxes.
Mobile and internet, what works on day one You will want a Swiss number for two-factor codes, delivery slips, and being treated as a resident.
Housing I, the dossier that wins Swiss apartments Swiss landlords choose tenants from paper. If your dossier is complete and yours is the first to arrive, you win. If it is incomplete, you lose to someone with less money but a better file.
Housing II, what you are signing A Swiss lease is short, and everything it does not say is handled by the house rules and the handover protocol. Read all three before the pen moves.
SERAFE, the bill that arrives whether you own a TV or not The household media fee is CHF 335 per year per household, and it is device-independent. No television, streaming only, makes no difference.
The taxed rubbish bag, and why your neighbours notice Swiss recycling is a moral system. Learn it early.
Transport, and the driving licence clock Swiss trains, trams, and buses are one system. Your foreign driving licence, meanwhile, is on a timer from the day you took up residence.
Withholding vs declaration, the tax switch For most new arrivals, tax is withheld directly from your salary (Quellensteuer or impôt à la source). You do nothing. But two thresholds change that.
The three pillars, in plain language Swiss retirement money sits in three separate places. Once you see which is which, every deduction on your payslip makes sense.
Children, schools and childcare Education is run by the cantons and delivered by your commune, which is good news: the school your child attends is decided by where you registered.
The Coconut, and what to do next The paperwork is a fortnight. The culture is the long game. Here is the part no office hands you.