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Necessary steps and useful links for your stay in Switzerland

The check list Download ?Roadmap for your mobility studies? (PDF, 59 KB) lists the necessary steps you need to take before, during and after your stay. Details are explained below.

Necessary steps prior to your arrival

Legal situation

  • Students with EU or EFTA citizenship: You do not need a visa.
  • Students with non-EU or non-EFTA citizenship with a residence permit or D visa for a Schengen country that is valid during your exchange semester: you don't need a visa.
  • Students with non-EU or non-EFTA citizenship: Check if you need a visa in the external page overview of ID and visa provisions and follow the guidelines below. The visa process might take up to three months, so a timely application is essential!

Visa guidelines

Those costs depend strongly on personal lifestyle, so the following information is only a rough guideline.

The Immigration Office of canton Zurich identifies a sum of CHF 1,750 per month as necessary which does not include individual expenses for clothes, leisure, telephone, contingencies. (Students of the D-BSSE can find the amount of the Basel authorities in the fact sheet below.) Accommodation is usually the biggest cost item due to the high demand and very limited supply.

You do not pay ETH's tuition fees. Compulsory study costs listed in the PDF below are waived for exchange students.

Heyning-?Roelli Foundation

This external page Heyning-?Roelli Foundation provides financial support for travel and accommodation costs to talented students needing financial aid who participate in exchange programmes with Swiss universities. Applications are carefully evaluated and support will be granted to the most suitable candidates.

Application deadline

  • 20 April, 24.00 CET of each year for Autumn Semesters
  • 20 October, 24.00 CET of each year for Spring Semesters

Zeno Karl Schindler Foundation

The external page Zero Karl Schindler Foundation offers financial support, among other things, for students in the field of engineering and environmental sciences.

Supervisors' scholarship for mobility students (incoming) for research projects, Bachelor's or Master's theses

Departments have their own financial resources which they dispose independently. You may contact your supervising professor to enquire about the possibility of a scholarship from their funds.

Other scholarships

Ask your home university, foundations in your home country and your government, if scholarship are available for studying abroad. This list above does not exhaust possibilities and merely lists scholarships known to us.

Individual adjustments to study conditions can be arranged to compensate for study and examination-related difficulties. Please check out the application requirements and deadlines.

The Housing Office of the University and ETH Zürich offers a limited number of rooms for exchange students. Eligible exchange students receive information and the application link by email and should apply by the deadlines. This applies to exchange students from partner universities outside of Europe/Switzerland and, if there are spare rooms, to students from European partner universities.

Project students are not eligible.

The rooms in student accommodation are usually fully furnished single rooms in shared flats. The flatmates usually share the bathroom, the furnished kitchen and the living room. Shared flats are usually mixed-?gender.

Properties for exchange students

All other students should use the information below, search intensively and check the search portals every day because offers are often published at very short notice.

  • Open housing market: Conditions vary greatly (with or without furniture, cooking facilities, cleaning, internet, etc.). Consider your needs and budget and address any unclear points before deciding on accommodation. Be aware of the high rental prices in Zurich (due to high demand).
  • Search for accommodation when in Zurich: Because most people will want to meet potential tenants or flatmates before signing a contract, it can be easier to find accommodation in person. Stay in a hostel or hotel first and start your search immediately. In addition to searching online, you can also use the many notice boards in the main buildings of ETH and UZH.
Hotels and hostels
  • Look outside of the city of Zurich: With the reliable public transport system, you can easily and quickly get to ETH from most surrounding communities – plus, the rent is often lower outside the city. This is particularly true for the north and west of Zurich, e.g. Dietikon, Dübendorf, Opfikon, Wallisellen, Winterthur, which are still part of the canton of Zurich. The information you will receive regarding your residence permit, visa, and health insurance is only valid for the canton of Zurich, minor differences exist in other cantons. 
The Swiss transport system

Beware of fraud!

Do not make a deposit before you have seen the room or flat – except in the case of WOKO contracts.

You will be notified by email when you have to enrol and register for courses (mid-July and mid-December). You will use myStudies (not Mobility-Online, which you used for your application).

You may take the intensive German course two weeks prior to the beginning of each semester. Additionally, beginners and advanced learners may enroll in courses at all proficiency levels during the semester.

Click here if you do not already have a residence permit for Switzerland

If you already have a residence permit

You have two possibilities:

  1. You extend your residence permit in the canton of your home university for the duration of your mobility stay and keep your address. In this case, you apply for a so-called "Wochenaufenthalt" (weekly residence) once you arrive in Zurich. This option implies that you travel back home during weekends.
  2. If you have to give up your address in the canton of your home university, it is indispensable to apply at least three months in advance for a "Kantonswechsel" (change of canton) to be allowed to move to Zurich. If this applies to you, submit the following documents to the Migration Office of the canton of Zurich by mail (Migrationsamt des Kantons Zürich, Berninastrasse 45, 8090 Zürich) or external page through their German contact form.
    • Cover letter (subject: "Gesuch um Kantonswechsel"). Explain in detail why you have to move to Zürich and include your plans after your mobility stay.
    • Copy of your current residence permit
    • Copy of your confirmation of acceptance as a mobility student at ETH.
    • If available, rental agreement
  3.  Swiss Students changing cantons have to do their address change at the Registration office after arrival within two weeks.  

If you have not received any positive reply from the Migration Office six weeks before your planned start date at ETH Zurich, you must contact the Migration Office and, if necessary,  also investigate the problem with the external page Migration Office of your home canton. Be proactive and ensure that you have a validresidence permit for Switzerland at all times!

If you have not received a decision from the Migration Office by the time your residence permit in your original canton of residence expires, you must apply for an extension of your residence permit at your place of residence. Once your permit has expired, there is no longer any basis for a stay in Switzerland!

Shortly before your arrival, the event dates for new exchange students will be published on the events website. Some of the events are compulsory. You will be notified as soon as the events are published.

Necessary steps after your arrival

The student card is also known as "ETH card" or simply "Legi" (pronounced like "leg" + an English "e"). Please pick up your student card in person. The ETH card can be used for a variety of things and is also available as a digital card.

Where and when to pick up your card on the Zurich campus

Download Information for students on the Basel campus (PDF, 173 KB)

You can download your confirmation of matriculation in myStudies. We recommend downloading the confirmation at the beginning of the semester. You will need it for your residence permit or you might need it to buy a SIM card for your phone.

Log in to myStudies > Functions > Download PDF > Download extended confirmation of matriculation.

Please consult the residence permit website to learn about residence permits and how to obtain one.

According to Swiss law, all persons who live in Switzerland for more than 90 days must be insured with a Swiss health insurance company. You can only buy health insurance after your arrival in Switzerland. There will be an info event on health insurance at the beginning of the semester. You can start the process after that event.

  • Students with residence in an EU/EFTA country may be exempt from this requirement under certain conditions if they apply for an exemption.
  • Students with residence in a non-?EU/EFTA country must be insured in accordance with the instructions of Swiss law.
  • Non-?Swiss students from partner universities in Switzerland must ensure that they are covered when changing cantons or as weekly residents ("Wochenaufenthalt").
  • Personal liability insurance is optional.
  • If damage to installations or equipment is caused by the gross negligence of a student (e.g. during lab work, research or thesis projects) ETH can require the person responsible to cover the damage.
  • ETH urgently advises its students to take out personal liability insurance to cover this risk. It also protects them against potentially expensive risk outside ETH (e.g. tenant damage, damage to third parties in accidents, etc.).
  • Personal liability insurance is frequently offered in combination with household insurance, which covers fire and water damage and – depending on the insurance contract – also theft. This type of insurance is highly recommendable for students who own valuable objects (e.g. laptops, instruments, bicycles, etc.).
  • Some landlords require a personal liability insurance.

Check out our events website. Some of the events are compulsory. You will be notified as soon as the events are published.

Tips and links for student life at ETH Zurich

The Counselling & Coaching Centre of ETH Zurich offers various services concerning topics like stress and exam pressure, conflicts, studying with a disability and much more.

Studying abroad offers an exciting dive into the unfamiliar: New people, language, academic system, and cultural norms. While this enriches your experience, adapting to so much change can be challenging. The guide on culture shock shows how to deal with that.

You are by default a member of external page ASVZ so you can benefit from a varied range of over 120 sports and around 18.000 courses.  

ETH communities

By students for students

You can benefit from a variety of initiatives by students for students and also get involved: book market, dancing, gaming, music, photography, sustainability, and much more.

Erasmus Student Network (ESN)

All mobility students can participate in the ESN – a network that organises cultural and social events, supports mobility students and offers other services such as the tandem language exchange or the buddy system in Zurich. Through the buddy system, you can get to know a contact person who will help you in word and deed and make your start easier.

Tip: Student Project House (SPH)

The Student Project House is an open platform for exchanging ideas between students of all disciplines. Here, students also receive support in implementing their ideas. You, too, can benefit from the Ideaspace and Makerspace at the SPH. Also, you can meet many talented and motivated students there. (Credit points cannot be earned at the SPH.)

Life in Switzerland

At some point, opening a bank account in Switzerland might make sense.

Many Swiss banks offer free accounts with exclusive benefits for students under 30. To open an account, you will typically need to provide your passport, student card (ETH card / "legi"), and a residence permit. Some banks may accept a registration confirmation from the residents’ registration office instead of a residence permit.

Use the Internet to learn more about banks in Switzerland and compare offers.

Check whether your current provider will charge you roaming fees. (Remember that Switzerland is not part of the EU).

It may be advisable to check monthly cancellable subscriptions in Switzerland: external page compare phone plans

Public transport

A Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) ticket covers almost all public transport options. Tip: Benefit from discounts with the Half Fare Travelcard.

Shuttle bus

With the eLink shuttlebus, you can commute between the two campuses free of charge.

Cycling

This is a convenient and sustainable travel method in Switzerland.

Other means of transport

End of your stay

Change your correspondence address in myStudies

Deregister with the authorities. This should be done 30 days prior to your departure.

Deregistration confirmation: If you need a deregistration confirmation, e.g. to cancel your Swiss health insurance contract, you can request one at the immigration office. Residents of the city of Zurich can external page order a deregistration confirmation online.   

Verfallsanzeige: The immigration authorities usually send a letter with the so-called "Verfallsanzeige" (notice of expiry) about 30 days before your residence permit expires. If you receive this letter, you should react immediately; otherwise, the authorities may fine you. Normally you inform the authorities about your imminent departure. In rare cases and only if this has been agreed with the Student Exchange Office in advance, you will need the “Verfallsanzeige” to extend your residence permit, e.g. to finish a project.

The deregistration process is also found on the residence permit website.

Have any necessary documents signed before you leave Zurich. Check with your home university about forms or documents you need to submit to them which require a signature of ETH Zurich.

  • SEMP learning agreements: They need to be signed by the departmental exchange coordinator first.
  • Certificates of attendance: They are signed by the Student Exchange Office on-site only (see our office hours on our website).

They cannot be signed with a date set in the future and must be brought to our office for signature. Exceptions of up to one week will be made during our reduced summer opening hours in July and August.

If you have Swiss health insurance, remember to cancel the contract.

Request your transcript of records by contacting the Download Study Administration Office of your department. (PDF, 124 KB)

Questions?

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