Residence Registration & Family Immigration

Anyone who works or stays in Switzerland for more than three months requires a permit.

Residence permit

Residence permits are issued by the cantonal immigration and employment authorities. A distinction is made between a short stay (less than one year), a temporary residence permit and a permanent residence permit.

In terms of residence permits, distinctions are made between nationals of EU/EFTA member states and citizens of other countries.

Further information on entry and residence (different types of permits) can be found here as provided by the State Secretariat for Migration SEM.

The online-chapter Living in Basel provides useful information about getting settled in the Canton of Basel-Stadt (BS) as well as this website Basel for new arrivals.

The Office for Integration in the Canton Basel-Landschaft (BL) provides a brochure: Welcome to the Canton of Basel-Landschaft.

EU/EFTA nationals

If you do not intend to live or work in Switzerland, you are allowed to stay for a maximum of three months without being required to register with the appropriate public authorities.

However, if you will be living and/or working in Switzerland for longer than three months, you must register with the municipality of residence within 14 days of your arrival. Registration must always be completed before you begin working. Depending from the purpose of your stay and the citizenship, different permits are issued. New employees of the university are responsible for taking care of this themselves. The application for the permit is filed along with the residence registration.

Citizens from other countries (third-state nationals)

From the moment you cross the border, you have 14 days to register your presence with your municipality of residence. The municipality will generally send on your documents to the appropriate cantonal public authority, which will then send you the appropriate residence permit.

Important: several weeks before the local residence registration, the university (Human Resources) submits the application for a residence permit. The Swiss authorities will then decide whether or not to grant a permit (if yes, a document of assurance will be issued).

Cross-border commuters

Cross-border commuters in Switzerland who live in neighboring France or Germany require a cross-border commuter permit (G permit) to work. HR Services automatically applies for the G permit with the cantonal authorities before the start of employment and requests that the new employee provide a passport photo and copy of their passport as part of the contract signing process. The G permit is sent by mail, and the fee is deducted from your salary. No other steps are necessary (exception: see taxes).

Family immigration

EU/EFTA citizens who are permitted residence in Switzerland are granted permission for immediate family members who are dependents of the permit holder to move to Switzerland.

Residence registration

Your residence in Switzerland is registered in person at the Residents Registration Office of the Canton of Basel-Stadt or in the municipality of residence.

a) In the Canton of Basel-Stadt, you must take a number at the Residents Registration Office (Einwohneramt). At the counter, the staff will check to ensure you have all of the necessary documentation. Please bring the following documents with you:

a valid passport (for you and for each family member who will be accompanying you; an ID card is sufficient for Swiss or EU/EFTA citizens)
the completed Registration form from your canton of residence or your municipality of residence stating your exact home address (or temporary address)
the completed Declaration of penal record form
marital status documents if children and/or your spouse are moving with you (for example, family registry, marriage certificate, birth certificate of children who are minors). A translation of the documents must be submitted along with the originals if they were not issued in one of Switzerland's official languages (German, French or Italian). Documents can also be translated in Basel, for example, by the Foreign Consultant Agency (GGG Migration)
employment contract (staff member) or certificate of university enrollment (students)
third-state nationals only (staff member): the permit assurance documentation, i.e. the promise from the immigration authorities that a permit will be issued. The application for this is submitted before by the university.
students: valid proof of enrollment and means of subsistence from parents or scholarship certificate
proof of address (contract or similar incl. admin-number of the flat)
for addresses specified with a c/o address: bring a sublet contract as proof
money in cash

b) In the next step, the registration process will be completed with a case handler incl. gathering of biometric date (picture).

c) In addition, the registered person receives a welcome folder from the canton as well as - depending from the tpye of permit - a voucher-booklet for discovering cultural offer.

d) Finally, a fee between CHF 25 and CHF 150 is collected (depending on the type of permit and number of family members; cash is recommended) for the temporary confirmation. The actual permit is sent by registered mail within three to six weeks. From this point on, it is an essential document while you are in Switzerland and should always be carried when crossing the border and entering Switzerland.

Depending on crowds and waiting times, the entire process takes between 30 minutes and 1.5 hours.

e) An invitation for a so called integration talk is following usually some 6 months later; the Migration Office is following-up hereby on questions of permit prolongation etc.

In Kanton Baselland you have ro present alternatively respectively in addition to the mentioned papers above the following documents:

instead registration form and declaration of panel record above > the equivalent document of the Kanton Baselland
two passport pictures
the birth certificate for nationals of non EU-/non-EFTA-countries incl. translation