The Swiss authorities strongly recommend that members of the personnel declare their arrival in Switzerland and any change of address within 14 days, particularly if they have children of school age.

In addition, certain formalities linked to leaving Switzerland (e.g. lease termination, customs declaration, bank account closure or insurance policy cancellation) may require an “attestation de départ” (certificate of departure), which will only be issued to people who have previously declared their arrival.

1. Arrival and change of address in Switzerland

a) Procedure for people living in the Canton of Geneva:

The Office cantonal de la population et des migrations (OCPM) should be notified either by post or via the online “e-démarches” procedure (see: https://www.ge.ch/annoncer-mon-arrivee-office-cantonal-population-migrations/annonce-arrivee-geneve-detenteurs-carte-legitimation and https://www.ge.ch/annoncer-changement-adresse-geneve).

b) Procedure for people living in the Canton of Vaud:

Declaration should be made to the Contrôle de l’habitant for the commune in which they live. NB: Holders of a “carte de légitimation” (Swiss card) issued by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, except for holders of the “S” card, cannot use the online “eDéménagement” procedure (see: https://www.vd.ch/themes/population/controle-des-habitants/changement-dadresse).

2. Declaration of departure and the “attestation de départ"

a) Procedure to follow for people living in the Canton of Geneva:

• The declaration of departure should be made either by sending the “annonce de départ” form and supporting documents to the OCPM by post (Case postale 2652, 1211 Genève 2) or online through an “e-démarches” account (see: https://www.ge.ch/annoncer-mon-depart-ocpm).
• A declaration of departure does not generate an automatic confirmation but an “attestation de départ” can be requested.
• The “attestation de départ” can be requested no sooner than 15 working days after the declaration of departure and will be issued no sooner than one month before the departure date (https://www.ge.ch/obtenir-attestation-ocpm/commander-attestation-depart).
• The declaration of departure form can be used to list all the family members concerned. However, there is no overall “family” certificate; the “attestation de départ” is for an individual, and if necessary a separate document will have to be requested for each family member.
• The “attestation de départ” costs 25 CHF.
• It is valid for two months.

b) Procedure to follow for people living in the Canton of Vaud:

Members of the personnel should go in person to the Contrôle de l’habitant for the commune where they live with their “carte de légitimation” (Swiss card) issued by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in order to declare their departure. Depending which commune they live in, a fee may be due.

Remember, members of the personnel must declare any change in their situation to the Organization within 30 days (particularly concerning their address, family situation or nationality).

Host State Relations service
www.cern.ch/relations
relations.secretariat@cern.ch
Tel.: 72848 / 75152