Organize your move to Switzerland

Some things that may be usefull to know.

What to bring and what to leave behind.
Many things are relatively expensive in Switzerland, so in general, it is good to "bring" your stuff when you can do so at reasonable costs. An exception comes for larger domestic appliances. Any accomodation in Switzerland, whether you rent or buy, should come inclusive the use of a washing machine (and often a tumble dryer) and kitchen appliances (minimum: cooker, fridge; in many cases also dishwasher etc.). In some older appartment blocks, use of washing machine and tumble dryer may be shared with appartments in the same block. When you really want to bring your own washing machine, don't do so before you have checked that you need it and that you are allowed to use it!

Electricity.
Like anywhere in Europe, 230V 50Hz is the standard. Bring converters/transformators if your appliances do not comply with this standard.

Plugs and sockets are "typically Swiss" and hardly found anywhere else in the world. users.telenet.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm provides a good overview of plugs and sockets that are used in the world. Swiss plugs and sockets are of "type J". Your plugs of type C will perfectly fit in a Swiss type J socket, others won't.
You can choose to bring plug adaptors, or to buy them in Switzerland, or just replace your plugs by Swiss type J plugs.
Changing the sockets in your house or flat is usually not a good idea, as your landlord usually won't appreciate it, it may be against legislation, and more important: you'll find out that you'll get more and more appliances with Swiss plugs the longer you live here - and these may very well not fit into your changed sockets.

Customs.
Switzerland does not belong to the European Union, so even for EU-inhabitants, you have to declare all your stuff at customs. Standard carton moving boxes must be numbered, and you should include a list of all the things you are bringing, including the list of moving boxes with their number and a (very general) description of their contents (like: cutlery, books, clothing, ...).

Cars and transport.
Opinions differ whether one should import a car or buy one once you are in Switzerland. The latter option is by far the easiest one as you won't have anything to do with customs - which is said to be quite complicated (no personal experience). Cars are not particularly expensive compared to surrounding European countries.
Take in mind that Switzerland has the best public transport network of Europe (and one of the best ones in the world). Not having a car, but an annual season ticket for public transport instead (and incidentally renting one when you really need one), may very well be an option for you.  Of course, this also highly depends on your personal circumstances and preferences.

Who is moving your things?
When coming from Europe, you may doubt between moving your things yourself, or have a professional company doing it. This is first of all a case of money. Usually it is cheaper to rent a van and do it by yourself. Take in mind, however, that emigration takes a lot of time and needs a lot of organisation. A good professional moving company not only moves your things, but also takes care of customs declarations and other things like that. They can save you a lot of bureaucratic things.
When moving your things by yourself, keep in mind that the land border crossings are usually CLOSED during weekends for those who need to declare goods (and you will be one of them). This not only holds for smaller border crossings, but also for the big customs offices at for instance the motorway border crossing near Basel.

Pets.
Consult your local vet on what is needed to bring your pet to Switzerland. Conditions may vary according to the country where you are coming from. Your pet belongs to the "things" that you have to declare at customs when you move to Switzerland and should be on the list of all things you are moving.

Food.
There are quite some import restrictions on food (alcohol and meat in particular). But when you are moving, it is no problem to bring your domestic "alcohol supplies" to Switzerland.

Hope this helps,
Twan.

Hello Twan, thanks for these useful tips.

Harmonie.