Study in Switzerland: making an application

It can feel like there is a lot to organise and research when you apply to study in Switzerland. There isn’t a universal process or central system, so your journey will vary depending on your citizenship, programme, and university of choice. To help you work through this process in bite-sized steps, we’ve put together this guide on applications and visas.

If you haven’t quite decided which programmes to apply to yet, head to our guide ‘Study in Switzerland: preparing to apply’. 

1. Apply

In Switzerland, students apply for degree programmes directly through each university.  You can apply to as many universities as you like, but remember there’s often an application fee of around 100 CHF (90 EUR), and these can add up! 

Most Swiss universities have their own online portal and registration process. You’ll share your email address with them, so use an appropriate address even if it means making a new email account! As you will receive emails from your university in the early stages of your account registration, make sure you check your ‘junk’ inbox; you don’t want to miss important emails about your application in future. 

Universities may ask you to submit different documents depending on their process and your programme, so research thoroughly before you apply. You’ll generally be asked for the following documents:

• visa application form, as linked below
• a scanned copy of your passport, valid for at least three months after the end of your student visa period
• three recent passport photos
• CV, listed in table format
• scans of your secondary school certificates and transcripts
• official translations of all documents that are not in German, English, French, or Italian

You can find a link to a list of recognised official translators at the end of this guide. This process can take around six weeks, so start preparing your documents for translation with plenty of time before the admission deadline.

A number of Swiss universities will only accept applications from students once they’ve received their final results and certificates for secondary school; they don’t accept predicted grades. Check whether this is the case when you choose your programme - it might be worth waiting until you’ve received these grades before applying in the next year’s admission window. You’ll then be fully eligible to apply and you’ll have plenty of time to organise your visa, accommodation, and language test.

The deadline for your application will usually be the end of April if you’re from the EU and EFTA. If you’re an international student from outside the EU, tighter visa deadlines will mean that you need to get your application sent to your university of choice before the end of February. Check your university website for the date they intend to send you a letter of acceptance or rejection. 

2. Visa requirements

An important part of preparing to move to Switzerland might involve applying for a student visa. This can take three to four months, so make sure to collect your documents together so you’re able to send off the visa application as soon as you receive an acceptance letter from your university of choice.

Students from the EU, EFTA, UK, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore

If you’re an EU national, a national from the EFTA (Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland), or from the UK, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, or Singapore, you don’t need a visa to study in Switzerland. Instead, all you need is a valid passport or national ID card ready for your journey. 

You’ll still need to apply for a residence permit within 14 days of arriving in Switzerland though. See our section on residence permits below.

All other international students

All other students from non-EU and EFTA countries must have a national ‘D’ visa to enter Switzerland. You’ll need to apply for this at your local Swiss embassy or consulate and pay a fee of 150-250 CHF (135-225 EUR). You will have prepared some of the documents you need for your visa in the application step above. In addition to these, you’ll need to get together and submit the following documents:

• cover sheet for your visa application, listing the documents you have included in your submission
• letter of acceptance from your university
• proof of having paid your first tuition fee instalment
• proof of language proficiency, if appropriate
• a personal statement of motivation
• a written pledge to exit Switzerland
• proof of sufficient finances to cover the costs of studying and living in Switzerland
• official translations of all documents that are not in German, English, French, or Italian

Most Swiss universities require international students to pay their first tuition fee instalment to confirm their acceptance of their place on a programme. You’ll be able to submit a bank statement or confirmation of purchase email from your university as evidence of this. If, like the University of Zurich, your university doesn’t ask for the first instalment to be paid until you enrol in person, they will provide you with a sheet to print off stating this as evidence when you submit your documents instead.

Your personal statement of motivation is a formal letter declaring the reasons you want to study in Switzerland and your future plans after finishing your degree. Your reasons might include the ambition to study a master’s programme afterwards, or the plan to follow a career path that needs a bachelor’s qualification. Your university’s international office will be able to advise you on this if you’re not sure what to write.  

Your written pledge to exit Switzerland is a formal letter with your full name and home address. The letter states the programme to which you’ve been admitted, your start and end date, and the confirmation that you will leave Switzerland once your programme is completed. Your university will be able to provide you with a template for this letter.

The minimum ‘sufficient finances’ is set at 21,000 CHF (19,000 EUR) at the start of your studies. You’ll need proof of this money at the start of your later years of study when you renew your residence permit, so plan ahead for this. Proof of this can take two forms:

confirmation from a Swiss-domiciled bank (a foreign bank with a branch in Switzerland, or a Swiss bank with a branch in your home country) that you hold 21,000 CHF in an account with them.

• a Guarantee Declaration from a person living in Switzerland, pledging to cover your costs of up to 21,000 CHF. Your university’s local Migration Office will be able to provide you with this form.

Unfortunately, letters of support from guardians or relatives will not be accepted. Nor will bank statements from international banks that do not have branches in Switzerland.  

Once you’re ready to submit your documents, use the Swiss Immigration Office website to find out your next steps depending on your home country. These steps might include booking an appointment at a local embassy or continuing with an online application. This is a lot to arrange, so well done for making it this far! 

3. Health insurance

Healthcare in Switzerland is very expensive, so it’s compulsory for any international student staying in Switzerland for more than three months to have health insurance. 

Students from the EU

If you’re from the EU, you may already hold an EHIC (European Health insurance Card). This doesn’t qualify as health insurance in Switzerland, however, you’ll be able to apply for an exemption from mandatory Swiss health insurance within three months of your arrival. Check your local canton authority website for instructions on how to apply for this exemption. If you don’t have an EHIC, follow the instructions below for getting health insurance in Switzerland.

The exemption is only approved if you don’t have an income as a student. So if you have a part-time job while you’re studying, you won’t be able to get an exemption and you’ll need to buy Swiss health insurance. 

Students from outside the EU

If you’re from outside the EU or don’t hold an EHIC, you’re free to choose a Swiss insurance company for basic cover; insurance cover from a company based outside Switzerland is not accepted. The cost will vary depending on your age, but you’ll find it is usually a monthly cost of 95-115 CHF (85-105 EUR)  if you’re below the age of 25, and 150-175 CHF (135-160 EUR) if you’re over 25. Print off confirmation of your insurance purchase for future reference as canton authorities (Swiss local state authorities) have different approaches for checking whether students have the right insurance.

4. Accommodation

When you apply for a residence permit in the next step, you’ll need to have proof of accommodation in Switzerland. This means that it’s worth starting to organise accommodation before you arrive in the country. There’s high demand for affordable student accommodation in Switzerland, both on-and-off campus. Universities advise you to look for accommodation in May and June so that you can avoid the rush close to the start of term in August. 

Most universities provide rooms in student halls of residence, or they have agreements with local housing organisations. When you receive your letter of acceptance, get in touch with your university housing office to ask if you can reserve a room. If you aren’t able to reserve a room, don’t worry! Your housing office can still help out by recommending useful house share websites and lists of trusted housing providers.

For more advice on accommodation costs and sticking to a budget in Switzerland, head to our guide ‘The cost of studying in Switzerland’.

5. Residence permit

Once you’ve arrived in Switzerland, you’ll need to register at a registration office in your canton (local Swiss state) within 14 days and apply for a residence permit. The permit fee will be around 200 CHF (180 EUR). This applies to all students, whether you’re from the EU or not. The cantons across Switzerland require you to bring different documents for registration. Make sure to check these requirements before you move to the country so that you know you’ve got all the documents you need. In general, you’ll need to bring along:

• a valid passport or ID card
• a recent passport photo
• proof of enrolment, or an acceptance letter from your university
• proof of accommodation, in the form of a rental agreement or statement from a landlord you’re lodging with
• proof of sufficient finances to cover the costs of studying and living in Switzerland

 When you first apply for a residence permit, it will usually last for one year. When you renew it at the start of your second year, you’ll generally be allowed to extend it for the rest of the duration of your programme.

Good stuff from elsewhere