Moving to another canton is not just a move: it is a step in immigration law. Everyone must register with the new municipality within 14 days. If you are a third-country national on a B permit, you must also get authorisation from the new canton's migration office, and registering with the municipality does not replace that. C permit holders and EU/EFTA nationals only need to register.

In short

  • Everyone: register with your new municipality and deregister from the old one within 14 days (Art. 12 para. 2 FNIA, Art. 15 para. 1 OASA).
  • C permit: you have a right to move canton. The new canton can refuse only if there is a ground for revocation (Art. 37 para. 3 FNIA).
  • Third-country B permit: you need authorisation from the new canton (Art. 37 FNIA). You have a right to it unless you are unemployed or there is a ground for revocation.
  • EU/EFTA nationals: free choice of where to live under the free movement agreement; registration is enough.
  • Mistakes surface late, at renewal, a job change, family reunification or naturalisation, so sort it out before you move.

Why this matters

Your permit is issued by a canton (Art. 33 of the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration, FNIA, SR 142.20) and is tied to it. Three mistakes are common:

  1. Registering late. Many people register weeks or months after moving, once they have a lease or a job. The deadline is 14 days.
  2. Forgetting the authorisation for a third-country B. Registering with the municipality does not replace an application to the cantonal migration office (Art. 37 FNIA).
  3. Assuming the old card is enough. It stays physically valid, but without the step in the new canton, a renewal, a work authorisation or a family reunification application can fail.

These errors usually come to light months later:

  • At renewal, the old canton finds you have lived elsewhere for months and refuses, while the new canton never received an application.
  • At a job change, only your canton of residence can issue a new work authorisation. If you are not registered there, you cannot start.
  • For family reunification, you need a correctly registered address. An unclear status delays or blocks the application.
  • For naturalisation, the cantonal residence period counts from your correct registration. Late registration can cost months or years.
  • For health insurance premium reductions, which are cantonal, a wrong address can mean repaying them or losing them.

The law

Art. 37 FNIA

  • Para. 1: if you hold a short-term, residence or settlement permit and want to move to another canton, you need authorisation from the new canton.
  • Para. 2: B holders have a right to move if they are not unemployed and there is no ground for revocation under Art. 62 para. 1 FNIA.
  • Para. 3: C holders have a right to move if there is no ground for revocation under Art. 63 FNIA.
  • Para. 4: a temporary stay in another canton, such as for studies or a hospital stay, needs no new authorisation.

Because paras. 2 and 3 give you a right, the new canton cannot refuse simply because it prefers not to. It can refuse only if it finds a ground for revocation.

Registration (Art. 12 para. 2 FNIA, Art. 15 OASA)

Art. 12 para. 2 FNIA requires you to register when you move to another canton or municipality, and the Federal Council set the deadline in Art. 15 of the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Gainful Employment (OASA, SR 142.201):

  • register with the new municipality within 14 days of moving in;
  • deregister with the old municipality within the same period;
  • this applies to every permit, including C holders and EU/EFTA nationals.

(Art. 9 OASA, on short stays without registration, is not the rule for this deadline.)

EU/EFTA nationals (AFMP Annex I)

If your permit is based on the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP, SR 0.142.112.681), you can choose where to live in Switzerland. Moving canton needs only registration, not authorisation, but the 14-day registration under Art. 15 OASA still applies.

The three regimes

C permit: a right to move

Whatever your nationality, a C permit gives you a right to change canton (Art. 37 para. 3 FNIA). The new canton can refuse only if there is a ground for revocation under Art. 63 FNIA, such as a long prison sentence, lasting dependence on social assistance or serious integration gaps.

  1. Register with your new municipality within 14 days.
  2. The municipality passes your details to the cantonal migration office.
  3. You receive a new permit card, and the old one becomes invalid.

Your C status is not reopened, and there is no integration check unless there are signs of a ground for revocation.

Third-country B permit: authorisation needed

You need authorisation from the new canton (Art. 37 FNIA). It checks:

  • that you do not receive social assistance or supplementary benefits;
  • that there is no ground for revocation under Art. 62 FNIA (deceiving the authority, a long stay abroad, serious integration gaps, a conviction);
  • where required, language skills and proof of work or other means;
  • in some cantons, your willingness to sign an integration agreement under Art. 58b FNIA.

You have a right to the move, so the canton cannot refuse at will, but it can refuse if a ground for revocation is established.

EU/EFTA nationals: free choice

With a B, C or L permit or EU permanent residence under AFMP Annex I, you choose freely:

  1. Register with your new municipality within 14 days.
  2. The migration office takes over your data and issues a new card.
  3. There is no review of the conditions. Your right continues as long as its basis (work, job search, study, family, enough money) still applies.

Family members from third countries whose right comes from an EU/EFTA national, for example the Turkish husband of a German citizen, follow the same regime, not the third-country rules of Art. 37 FNIA.

Mixed families

Each person follows the rules of their own permit. In a household with an EU citizen, a third-country spouse and children, all on AFMP-based permits, everyone follows the AFMP regime and simply registers. But if the EU/EFTA family member dies or the marriage ends, the third-country person's permit may switch to an FNIA permit (see separation, divorce and your permit (Art. 50 FNIA)), and future canton moves then fall under the third-country B rules.

How cantons differ

Cantons differ in processing time, documents and how deeply they check integration. Always check the destination canton's migration office website; the SEM's residence page gives the federal overview.

Processing time. Registration takes place within 14 days, but for a third-country B the cantonal authorisation can take several weeks, depending on the canton, your documents and the season.

Typical documents for a third-country B:

  • your valid permit card and passport;
  • a tenancy agreement or proof of ownership;
  • an employment contract or proof of means;
  • proof of health insurance;
  • civil status documents, where relevant;
  • proof of language skills, depending on the canton.

Cantonal offices (not a complete list):

  • VD: Service de la population (SPOP). Tends to check integration closely; an integration agreement under Art. 33 para. 5 or Art. 58b FNIA is possible for B holders.
  • ZH: Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich; standardised processing.
  • GE: Office cantonal de la population et des migrations (OCPM).
  • BE: Migration Service of the Canton of Bern; German or French depending on the district.
  • BS: Bevölkerungsdienste und Migration.
  • ZG: Migration Office of the Canton of Zug.
  • TI: Sezione della popolazione.
  • NE, FR, JU: each canton's migration authority.

Differences that catch people out:

  • Appearing in person: some cantons (notably VD and GE) require you to collect the card in person, even for a C transfer. Others (notably ZG and some German-speaking cantons) work by post.
  • Translations: documents in another language, such as a Turkish lease, may need an official translation into the canton's language.
  • Departure confirmation: some offices want confirmation from your old municipality.
  • Civil status documents: strict cantons, notably GE and VD, may ask for birth or marriage certificates even if nothing has changed for years.
  • Taxes and debts: some cantons ask about unpaid taxes or debt collection. These are not in themselves grounds for revocation under Art. 62 or 63 FNIA, but they can count indirectly in the integration assessment (Art. 58a FNIA).

Step by step

  1. Register with the new municipality within 14 days (all permits; Art. 12 para. 2 FNIA with Art. 15 para. 1 OASA). Bring your permit card, passport or ID, lease or proof of accommodation, and proof of health insurance. You may need to change insurer when you first register in a new canton.
  2. Deregister from the old municipality, usually before you move. If you forget, it may claim taxes and fees from you.
  3. Third-country B only: apply to the new cantonal migration office. Registering with the municipality is not enough.
  4. Integration agreement, depending on the canton, notably VD: it can set out measures such as a language course, training or a civics course.
  5. Receive your new card showing the new canton, and return the old one.

For example, a third-country B holder moving from ZH to VD signs a lease, moves, registers and deregisters within 14 days, applies to the SPOP, may be asked for more documents or an integration agreement, and after approval receives a new card. Durations vary; ask the migration office.

Language when you cross a language border

There is no single national language, so a move can bring a new language assessment:

  • French-speaking cantons (VD, GE, NE, FR, JU, parts of BE, VS): French A1, sometimes A2.
  • Italian-speaking (TI, parts of GR): Italian A1.
  • German-speaking (ZH, BE, BS, BL, ZG, LU, AG, SO, SG, GR, TG, SH, AR, AI, GL, OW, NW, UR, SZ): German A1, sometimes A2.
  • Romansh areas of GR: German is generally accepted.

These levels are not set uniformly in federal law. The SEM issues framework directives that cantons apply within the integration criteria (Art. 58a para. 1 FNIA), so check the destination canton. A German certificate does not count in a French-speaking canton.

The early C permit is different: federal law sets it at B1 spoken and A1 written in the local national language (Art. 62 para. 1bis OASA). Art. 77d OASA sets what counts as proof, including mother tongue, several years of schooling in the language, or a recognised certificate. See proof of language skills (A1, A2, B1, fide).

If the new canton refuses

You can appeal to the cantonal administrative court within 30 days of notification, and then, within narrow limits, to the Federal Supreme Court. Involve a lawyer straight away.

What a refusal can mean in practice:

  • Moving back: if your old permit is still valid, you can return, which may clash with a lease and a new job already signed.
  • A chain reaction: if a revocation procedure is already running in the old canton, for example because of social assistance, the refusal can make it worse.
  • Work: you generally cannot get a work authorisation in a canton where you do not live.
  • Family separation: if the family has already moved and only one person is refused, you may be separated for a time.

If success is uncertain, clarify things with the new canton before you move.

C permits, time abroad and Liechtenstein

A C permit expires after six months abroad (Art. 61 para. 2 FNIA). Moving within Switzerland is not a stay abroad: instead, getting a permit in the new canton replaces the old cantonal permit (Art. 61 para. 1 let. b FNIA), with registration under Art. 37 para. 3 FNIA.

Moving to Liechtenstein counts as moving abroad. It has its own residence rules, and a Swiss C permit lapses on a long-term move there; it cannot be transferred by registering.

If you plan a long absence and want to keep your C, you can apply for an extension of the deadline in advance (Art. 61 para. 2 FNIA, with details in the OASA). See time abroad and loss of the C permit (Art. 61 FNIA).

Integration agreements

Art. 58a FNIA sets the integration criteria: respect for the values of the Federal Constitution, language skills, taking part in economic life or education, and respect for the law. If the new canton sees integration gaps, it can make you sign an integration agreement with concrete measures such as a language course, a civics course or job searching. VD uses these most (convention d'intégration). If you do not fulfil the agreement, your permit can be revoked (Art. 62 para. 1 let. g FNIA), so treat it as a binding commitment. See integration agreement (Art. 58b FNIA).

School

School is cantonal. Register your children with the new school authority, arrange language support if the school language changes (for example, German in Zurich to French in Geneva), and consider integration classes or German or French as a second language. Compulsory schooling usually starts with kindergarten, on average from age 4. There must be no gap in schooling; this is your responsibility.

Tax

  • Tax at source is cantonal, so the rate may change with your new canton.
  • Tax residence is usually where you live at the end of the tax period (31 December).
  • Double taxation between cantons is prohibited under Federal Supreme Court case law.

For tax questions, ask a tax adviser or your new canton's tax office.

Naturalisation

For ordinary naturalisation under the Swiss Citizenship Act (SCA, SR 141.0, in force since 01.01.2018), residence counts at three levels:

  • Confederation: ten years in Switzerland, three of them in the five years before you apply (Art. 9 para. 1 let. b SCA). Years between ages 8 and 18 count double if you have lived here at least six years (Art. 9 para. 2 SCA).
  • Canton: two to five years, set by cantonal law (Art. 18 para. 1 SCA).
  • Municipality: set by the municipality.

A move can delay the cantonal residence period. But under Art. 18 para. 2 SCA, if you move after the canton and municipality where you applied have already finished checking the requirements of Art. 11 and Art. 12 SCA, they remain responsible. So the effect depends on when you move and how far your application has got.

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