First 30 Days in Switzerland: the Start Pack
Your first four weeks as a day-by-day plan: registration, health insurance, bank, electricity, taxes, plus six ready messages for the key steps.
Checked on 21 August 2026 by Jens Herbst, BoVitaWe keep every document current and check it regularly against the sources.
Who is this document for?
For newcomers who want to work through every duty of the first 30 days in the right order without missing anything.
What is inside
- Day-by-day plan over 4 weeks (registration, health insurance, bank, electricity, taxes)
- Appointment prep checklist for the residents' office
- 6 copy-paste messages: health insurer, electricity, internet, deposit account, pillar 3a, withholding tax correction
- Scam mini-checklist for the first weeks
How to fill it in
- 1Start the plan on your arrival day; the weeks count from that day.
- 2Registration at the residents' office comes first (14-day deadline); week 1 is built around it.
- 3Use the six messages verbatim; they are tailored to Swiss providers.
Frequently asked questions
For everyone newly arriving in Switzerland, whether for work, study or with family; the plan sorts the duties of the first 30 days into the right order.
Registration at the residents' office within 14 days; then health insurance, bank account and the contracts. The plan is scheduled in exactly that order.
For the steps that otherwise eat time: health insurer, electricity, internet, deposit account, pillar 3a and the withholding tax correction; copy them and insert your details.
The start pack is the overview; for depth we link the matching kits (registration, health insurance, account, withholding tax) per week here in the library.
Yes, free by email.
If the template alone is not enough
What this document is based on
Every provision is checked against the wording of the consolidated version. The links lead straight to the federal statute.
- RTVG Art. 69b · Befreiung von der Radio- und Fernsehabgabe
Exemption is granted ON APPLICATION to people receiving annual supplementary benefits to AHV or IV. It applies retroactively to the start of those benefits, but at most five years before the application arrives. A second ground under RTVV Art. 61 para. 4: deafblind people, provided nobody else in the household is liable. An application is required, nothing happens by itself. Collective households such as care homes are not exempt, they pay their own amount.
RTVG Art. 69b Abs. 1 Bst. a, SR 784.40 · Status 01.01.2024
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