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Relocation guide

🇨🇭 Moving to Switzerland: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Switzerland means learning German — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are registration at your local Gemeinde/commune within 14 days, which triggers your residence permit (B or L), opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

In the German-speaking cantons (Zurich, Basel, Bern) people speak Swiss German dialect day-to-day but read and write standard German — so standard German gets you through paperwork, banking and the Gemeinde, while your ear adjusts to Schwiizerdütsch.

Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's German curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →

Do you need to speak German to move to Switzerland?

Yes — you’ll need practical German for the essentials. Moving to Switzerland means handling registration at your local Gemeinde/commune within 14 days, which triggers your residence permit in German, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.

Moving to Switzerland: key facts

Which app should you use to learn German for moving to Switzerland?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Switzerland, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the German that decides your first months: registration at your local Gemeinde/commune within 14 days, which triggers your residence permit, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.

• Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
• Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
• Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 German pointed at settling in Switzerland, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
• 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.

What to do in your first week in Switzerland?

1. Register your address / residency — registration at your local Gemeinde/commune within 14 days, which triggers your residence permit (B or L).
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

Visa & permits: EU/EFTA citizens register under freedom of movement; non-EU movers face strict quotas and usually need an employer-sponsored permit before moving. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.

German phrasebooks you'll need

What do expats say about language in Switzerland?

• German stacks whole phrases into one word — 'Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung' means 'speed limit'.
• All nouns are capitalised in German — der Hund, die Katze, das Haus.
• Germany has over 1,500 types of sausage and around 1,500 kinds of beer.
• The Autobahn has stretches with no official speed limit.
• 'Doch' is a magic word — it contradicts a negative, like saying 'yes, it is!'.