New in Switzerland: health insurance within three months

Health insurance for newcomers at a glance

Switzerland has no state health insurer and no insurance deducted from your salary. Every resident takes out basic health insurance themselves with a private health insurer approved by the Confederation. The benefits of basic health insurance are the same at every insurer; the premiums are not. On top of that there is voluntary supplementary insurance, for example for the semi-private ward in hospital or for dental treatment.

For newcomers, timing matters most. The overview below shows what is due in which phase and points to the article that covers each topic in depth.

Each of the questions below is answered in its first paragraph. If you want more detail, read the linked article afterwards.

Do I have to take out health insurance in Switzerland?

Yes. If you take up residence in Switzerland, you must take out basic health insurance within 3 months (Art. 3 para. 1 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG). This applies regardless of nationality, income or employer. The requirement to take out insurance also covers people with a short-term or residence permit valid for at least 3 months (Art. 1 para. 2 of the Health Insurance Ordinance, KVV).

There are three principles you need to know:

• You choose the insurer yourself. Every insurer that offers basic health insurance in your canton must accept you, without a health questionnaire and without reservations (Art. 5 let. i KVAG).
• The premium is a flat per-person premium. It does not depend on your salary. An insurer charges the same premium to everyone in the same canton, the same premium region and the same age group (Art. 61 KVG).
• Accidents are often covered by your employer. Employees are insured against work-related accidents under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG), and if they work at least 8 hours a week for the same employer, also against non-work-related accidents (Art. 13 para. 1 UVV). You can then suspend the accident cover of your health insurance (Art. 8 para. 1 KVG).

How deductible, retention fee, insurance models and changing insurer fit together is explained step by step in the article The Swiss health insurance system explained, with a sample calculation for a year with doctor’s bills.

By when do I have to sign up with a health insurer?

You have 3 months. For foreign nationals with a settlement, residence or short-term permit valid for at least 3 months, they run from your registration with the residents’ registration office (Einwohnerkontrolle / contrôle des habitants) of your municipality (Art. 7 para. 1 KVV). If you sign up within this three-month deadline, cover applies retroactively from the day you registered with the municipality, and you pay the premium from that day. Without a permit procedure, for example if you return with a Swiss passport, the day you take up residence counts (Art. 5 para. 1 KVG).

Retroactive means: doctor’s bills from your first weeks are covered, even if you only take out the policy in the third month. In return, you owe the premiums for those weeks. So if you put off signing up until the last day, you save no premium; you only risk missing the deadline.

The article New in Switzerland: health insurance within three months shows the process step by step, from registering with the municipality and choosing deductible and model through to the confirmation of insurance, and works through a move in June.

How much does health insurance cost in Switzerland?

The premium depends on five things: municipality (canton and premium region), age group, deductible, insurance model and insurer. For the same statutory benefits, the difference between the lowest and the highest premium in a municipality is often more than CHF 200 per month.

Premiums 2026, municipality of Zurich (region 1), adults, with accident cover, per month; source FOPH:

On top of the premium comes the co-payment. Adults pay their medical costs themselves up to the deductible they have chosen; the standard deductible is CHF 300, and you can choose levels up to CHF 2,500 (Art. 64 para. 2 KVG, Art. 93 para. 1 KVV). After that you pay a 10 % retention fee, up to CHF 700 a year (Art. 103 para. 1 and 2 KVV). With a CHF 2,500 deductible, in the worst case you therefore pay CHF 3,200 a year yourself, on top of the premium.

If your income is low, the canton reduces your premium (Art. 65 para. 1 KVG); for lower and middle incomes, it reduces children’s premiums by at least 80 % and those of young adults in education by at least 50 % (Art. 65 para. 1bis KVG). Each canton decides who is entitled and how to apply; the calculator Check your premium subsidy shows the rules of your canton. You can find profiles of all insurers, with number of insured persons, reserves and contact details, under Health insurers at a glance.

Can I be exempted from compulsory health insurance?

Only in a few cases listed in the law. Exemption is the exception; basic health insurance is the rule. Art. 2 KVV distinguishes two groups: people who are not subject to the obligation at all (for example people who stay in Switzerland only for medical treatment or a spa cure, or workers who, under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, are subject to the law of another state), and people who can be exempted on application. The second group includes students, pupils and trainees with equivalent foreign insurance, workers posted to Switzerland and non-employed people with a residence permit under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons or the EFTA Convention (Art. 2 para. 4, 5 and 7 KVV).

You apply to the responsible cantonal authority, not to a health insurer. It almost always requires proof that your insurance covers treatment in Switzerland to an equivalent level, for the whole period of the exemption. Students, pupils and trainees are exempted for a maximum of 3 years, extendable on application by a maximum of 3 further years (Art. 2 para. 4 KVV). Important: an exemption, and a decision to waive it, cannot be revoked without a special reason. If you are exempted and later find gaps in your foreign policy, you cannot simply return to basic health insurance.

Which groups exist exactly, which documents the authority checks and what an exemption is worth compared with the Swiss premium is shown in the article Exemption from compulsory health insurance, with a sample calculation for a master’s degree in Basel.

What happens if I sign up too late?

Then cover only applies from the day you join, not retroactively (Art. 5 para. 2 KVG). You pay doctor’s and hospital bills from the period before that yourself. If the delay is inexcusable, the insurer also charges a premium surcharge of 30 to 50 % of the premium, for twice as long as the delay lasted, up to a maximum of 5 years (Art. 8 para. 1 KVV).

Some rules soften the effect of joining late:

• Hardship: if the surcharge would put you in financial hardship, the insurer must set it below 30 % (Art. 8 para. 1 KVV).
• Social assistance: if a social assistance authority pays your premiums, there is no surcharge (Art. 8 para. 2 KVV).
• Switching is no way out: once a surcharge has been set, it continues to apply with a new insurer (Art. 8 para. 3 KVV).

The insurer must still accept you. How the surcharge is calculated, how to challenge it with a written decision and an objection, and what a four-month delay costs in Geneva is worked out in the article Signed up too late for health insurance. The most important rule from it: if you have missed the deadline, sign up immediately. Every further month extends the time without cover and the duration of the surcharge.

Short stays, family, studies: which special rules apply?

The 3-month rule applies to most newcomers. Three groups have their own rules or additional questions.

Short-term residents with an L permit

If your L permit is valid for at least 3 months, you must take out insurance like everyone else: sign up within 3 months of registering with the municipality, with cover from that day (Art. 1 para. 2 let. a and Art. 7 para. 1 KVV). If your permit is shorter and you work as an employee in Switzerland, you must be insured from the day you enter the country, unless you have equivalent cover for treatment in Switzerland (Art. 1 para. 2 let. b and Art. 7 para. 2 KVV). The insurance ends on the day you have registered as leaving, at the latest on the day you actually leave the country (Art. 7 para. 3 KVV). The article Short-term residents (L permit) works through a six-month seasonal job in Lucerne.

Partners and children joining you

In Switzerland, every person is insured individually, including children. Basic health insurance has no family tariff for the whole family; the only statutory family discount takes the form of lower premiums for children and young adults (Art. 61 para. 3 KVG). Children pay no standard deductible and a retention fee of no more than CHF 350 a year (Art. 64 para. 4 KVG, Art. 103 para. 2 KVV). Each family member can choose a different insurer. What to look out for when your family joins you is explained in the article Family reunification: insuring your partner and children; for children’s premiums there is the children’s premium calculator.

International students

Students from countries outside the EU and EFTA are in principle required to take out insurance, but can be exempted if they have equivalent cover (Art. 2 para. 4 KVV). According to the FOPH, students from EU and EFTA states who do not work in Switzerland stay in their home system and use the European Health Insurance Card. If you work alongside your studies in Switzerland, you must take out insurance here. The decision “Swiss health insurance or exemption” is covered in depth in the article International students.

And if I leave Switzerland again?

Basic health insurance ends when you are no longer subject to compulsory insurance (Art. 5 para. 3 KVG), so if you move abroad, in principle when you leave. There is no notice period for this. However, your insurer needs proof, usually the deregistration certificate from your municipality. Exceptions apply to people who remain insured in Switzerland despite living abroad, for example certain pensioners in EU and EFTA states or cross-border commuters.

Supplementary insurance does not end automatically when you leave. The cancellation rules in the contract apply; the general terms and conditions (AVB) and the information from your insurer are decisive. How to deregister, which gaps can arise during the transition and what applies if you come back later is explained in the article Moving abroad. You can create the letter to your insurer with the cancellation letter generator.

Changing insurer after the first year

Once you are insured, you can change insurer every year. After you have been notified of the new premium for the following year, you can cancel with one month’s notice to the end of December (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG); your notice of cancellation must reach the insurer by 30 November at the latest. The FOPH publishes next year’s premiums at the end of September. For newcomers, comparing in the first autumn is particularly worthwhile, because the first choice was often made under time pressure. You can find all dates and the process in the switching centre and in the deadline calculator.

Where to start?

1. Residents’ registration office: register with your municipality and note the date. The 3 months start here.
2. Understand the system: read The Swiss system explained if deductible, retention fee and insurance models are new to you.
3. Check whether an exception applies to you: students, posted workers and short-term residents should first read Exemption from compulsory health insurance or Short-term residents.
4. Compare premiums: enter your municipality, your age and your preferred deductible in the premium calculator.
5. Sign up: take out basic health insurance within the deadline and keep the confirmation of insurance. You can then look into supplementary insurance at your own pace.

If you have already missed the deadline, start directly with Signed up too late and sign up today.