For HR and global mobility teams · budget tool
What corporate relocation costs per employee in Switzerland.
Pick the canton, the household, the permit route and the services. The tool adds up the prices Swiss relocation agencies publish, per move and for your whole intake, and emails you the sheet with every line and its source.
- Published prices, checked 24 September 2026
- Per move and for all your hires
- Free for employers
What does corporate relocation cost per employee in Switzerland?
The fees Swiss relocation agencies publish are CHF 2,500–5,000 for a home search, CHF 1,950 for a settling-in day, CHF 99–120 for a first permit assessment and from CHF 5,950 for a full-service package of home search and moving in (price pages checked on 24 September 2026). A full third-country permit case and the school search are quoted per case. On top of the agency, every hire pays a rental deposit of up to 3 months' rent, about CHF 4,530 for a 2-room flat in Zurich at the FSO average rent, and families with children at an international day school pay CHF 14,390–39,700 a year in tuition. Nobody publishes a price for a complete family move, so the tool below adds up the published lines for your canton, household, permit route and services, per move and for all your hires.
Agency prices from the agencies' own price pages (24 September 2026); rents from the FSO structural survey 2024; the deposit cap and the deadlines from federal law. Every source is linked under the sheet.
Build the budget
Pick a canton, the household, the permit route and at least one service: the sheet appears here, per move and for your hires.
Email me this as a budget sheet
Every line with its source, as a page you can forward. One email, no newsletter.
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The costs HR forgets, with their sources
Four items that are not in any agency quote and land in the first weeks anyway.
Rental deposit, up to 3 months' rent
Swiss landlords may ask for up to three months' rent, held in a blocked account in the tenant's name. At the FSO average net rent (2024) that is about CHF 4,530 for a 2-room flat in the canton of Zurich and CHF 6,810 for a 4-room flat in Zug. The money comes back at the end of the lease, but somebody has to put it down first.
Source: Fedlex, 1 January 2026Source: Federal Statistical Office, 5 March 2026
Registration within 14 days of arrival
Every arrival registers with the commune within 14 days. For EU/EFTA nationals this is where the permit starts; a settling-in day (CHF 1,950) covers it together with the bank account and the insurance.
Source: ch.ch, 24 September 2026Price pages: Swiss Relocation Services GmbH, 24 September 2026
Health insurance within 3 months of taking up residence
Basic health insurance (KVG/LAMal) is mandatory and has to be taken out within 3 months of taking up residence; cover then starts on the day of arrival. A missed deadline means back premiums and a surcharge, and the employee pays them, not the company.
Source: Federal Office of Public Health, Fedlex, 1 January 2026
International school tuition CHF 14,390–39,700 a year
For families: CHF 14,390–39,700 a year per child at the international day schools in Zurich, Basel, Geneva and Zug, plus one-off registration fees. Public school is free, taught in the local language. Waiting lists decide the timing as much as the budget.
Price pages: Zurich International School, International School Basel, International School of Geneva, International School of Zug and Luzern, 24 September 2026Source: Fedlex, 1 January 2026
Third-country quotas: 8,500 permits in 2026
Non-EU hires need an employer application under the yearly quotas (B 4,500, L 4,000); about 52% of the 2025 quota was used by September 2025. The permit case is quoted per case by the agencies, so budget it as a line of its own and file early in the year.
Source: Federal Council, 19 November 2025Source: Federal Council, 30 September 2025Price pages: Sgier + Partner, 24 September 2026
Straight answers on the budget
How much does it cost to relocate one employee to Switzerland?
For a home search and a settling-in day in Zurich the published agency fees add up to CHF 4,450–6,950 per employee; a first permit assessment adds CHF 99–120. The rental deposit of up to 3 months' rent, about CHF 4,530 for a 2-room flat at the FSO average rent, comes on top and is returned at the end of the lease. Most agencies quote per move after a first call; the tender gives you their actual price.
And a family with a third-country permit?
Home search, permit assessment, settling-in and school search for ten families in Zurich come to CHF 45,490–70,700 in published agency fees, CHF 4,549–7,070 per family, before the quoted items: the full permit case and the school search hours. Deposits add up to CHF 60,480 for the ten 4-room flats, and tuition at an international day school is CHF 14,390–39,700 a year per child.
Are these prices quotes?
No. They are the fees the agencies publish on their own price pages, read on 24 September 2026. Most Swiss relocation agencies publish no prices at all and quote after a first call, and none of the ones we checked publishes a price for a complete family move. In the anonymous tender every offer states its price for your brief.
Why are some lines not in the total?
Because the only honest number for them is per hour or per case. School search is published at CHF 190 an hour, registration help at CHF 99–190 an hour, and a full third-country permit case, departure support and temporary housing are quoted per move by every agency we checked. Counting an hour estimate would put a made-up number into your budget.
What belongs to the company and what to the employee?
That is your relocation policy, not a Swiss rule. The sheet keeps the agency fees, which a relocation package usually covers, apart from the costs that need a decision: the deposit is returned to the tenant at the end of the lease, tuition is a per-child cost over years, and health insurance is the employee's own contract.
What does ReloFinder charge for the sheet or the tender?
Nothing. The budget sheet and the anonymous tender are free for employers, and no agency pays ReloFinder anything, not for introductions, leads or placement. Partner agencies are listed first because ReloFinder works with them directly.
Now get the actual prices for these moves.
One anonymous brief, up to four offers from partner agencies that cover your cantons, each with its price and a named lead consultant. Your company stays hidden until you choose to connect.