Swiss health insurance for new residents: a clear guide

If you move to Switzerland with a B or C permit, you must take out Swiss basic health insurance within three months of registering with your commune. Join on time and your cover is backdated to the day you registered; join late and it starts only on the day you sign up. Everything else, from private-ward cover to dental and alternative care, is optional and sits on top of that compulsory base.

Key facts (as of September 2026)

The three-month rule

The rule comes from the federal health insurance ordinance (KVV in German, OAMal in French). Under art. 7 para. 1, foreign nationals who hold a B or C permit must take out insurance within three months of registering with their commune.

What makes the timing important is what happens to your cover:

• If you join within three months, your insurance is backdated to the date you registered. Any treatment in the meantime is covered, as long as you have joined in time.
• If you join later, cover starts only on the date you join. There is no Swiss basic cover for the gap.

Since registration with the commune is usually due within 14 days of arrival for people staying longer than three months, it helps to think of the two together: register, then arrange insurance in the weeks that follow. Our first 90 days checklist puts both in order.

Basic and supplementary cover

Swiss health insurance has two layers, and it is worth understanding them before you compare offers.

Basic insurance (LAMal / KVG)

Basic insurance, often called assurance de base or Grundversicherung, is governed by the federal health insurance act, the LAMal (French) or KVG (German). It is the part that is compulsory for residents. Several insurers offer it, and you choose one.

When comparing basic offers, families usually look at:

• the insurer and its service, including in English
• the model, for example whether you first see a family doctor or can go directly to a specialist
• the deductible you agree to pay yourself each year before the insurer contributes

We do not quote premiums, because they depend on where you live, your age, the model and the deductible, and they change every year. Your insurer or a broker can give current figures.

Supplementary insurance

Supplementary insurance, assurance complémentaire or Zusatzversicherung, is optional. It covers things beyond the basic package, such as a semi-private or private hospital ward, a free choice of hospital across Switzerland, or other services that basic insurance does not cover.

It is a separate contract, often with a separate insurer, and has its own conditions. Before you sign, ask:

• what the insurer needs to know about your health, and whether a questionnaire is required
• whether any existing conditions would be excluded
• how long the contract runs and how it can be cancelled
• how it works alongside any international policy you keep

If you already have international health insurance

Many families arrive with an international or expatriate policy they are happy with. It can be valuable, for example for time spent outside Switzerland. But having it does not, by itself, satisfy the duty to take out Swiss basic insurance within three months of registering. If you believe your situation is an exception, ask the cantonal authority in writing before relying on it.

The sensible order is:

1. Keep your existing policy running while you arrive.
2. Take out Swiss basic insurance within the three-month window.
3. Only then decide whether to keep, adapt or cancel the international policy, and whether Swiss supplementary cover would do the same job.

Cancelling too early can leave a gap that is hard to fill later, especially for supplementary cover.

Health insurance and your residence permit

For some routes, insurance is not just a practical question but a permit condition.

EU/EFTA nationals who do not work (retirees, people of independent means) may live in Switzerland with their family if they have sufficient financial means and comprehensive health and accident insurance. The B permit issued on this basis is normally valid for five years, and it can be withdrawn if the means or the insurance fall away. So your insurance needs to stay in place for as long as you rely on that permit.

Non-EU nationals come in under the national rules, for example the retiree route from age 55 or the route based on important cantonal fiscal interests. The canton and the State Secretariat for Migration look at your overall situation, so ask the canton early what proof of insurance it expects with your application.

Our guides to the EU B permit without work and residence for financially independent non-EU nationals explain each route.

Notes for new residents over 55

Many people who move to Switzerland without working are in their fifties or older. For non-EU nationals, the retiree route has a minimum age of 55, and also requires special personal ties to Switzerland, sufficient financial means for life and no gainful activity.

A few practical points for this stage of life:

• Start early. Raise health insurance in your first conversations with an insurer or broker, not after you arrive.
• Look carefully at supplementary cover. Because it is a private contract with its own acceptance terms, ask early what the insurer will need from you and what it would exclude.
• Think about your whole family. Your spouse and any children need their own cover.
• Keep continuity. If you rely on an international policy for travel or time spent abroad, check how it fits with Swiss cover before changing anything.

If you are planning retirement in Switzerland more broadly, see our guide to retiring in Switzerland.

Health insurance is not the same as AHV/AVS

New residents sometimes confuse health insurance with the Swiss old-age and survivors' insurance, the AHV (German) or AVS (French). They are separate. Non-employed residents under the reference age of 65 generally pay AHV/AVS contributions based on their wealth and pension income. For 2026 the minimum is CHF 530 a year and the maximum CHF 26,500. We cover this in the first 90 days checklist.

A short checklist

• Register with your commune within 14 days of arrival (for stays over three months).
• Collect quotes for basic insurance and choose a model and deductible.
• Sign basic insurance within three months of registering.
• Decide on supplementary cover, with health questions answered carefully.
• Review any international policy only once Swiss cover is in place.
• Keep proof of insurance with your permit documents.

How we help

We help families line up health insurance with registration and the permit, and help you compare offers and their terms before you sign. It is part of our settling-in service. If you would like help with the whole move, get in touch.

This guide is general information as of 30 September 2026 and is not insurance or legal advice; your own cover should be confirmed with an insurer or broker.