Registering and Deregistering at Your Commune in German
The fourteen-day rule, what to bring, what to do when one document is still missing — and the deregistration conversation when you move away.
The first official thing you do in Switzerland is register at your commune, and there is a clock running: you have fourteen days from moving in.
It is a short conversation — six or seven lines — but it decides a lot. Your registration confirmation is what the bank, the employer, the school and the migration office all ask for afterwards.
And the same office handles the other end: when you move away, you deregister. Both conversations are in this lesson.
Key phrases to know
- Ich bin neu zugezogen und möchte mich anmelden. – I've just moved here and would like to register.
- Seit wann wohnen Sie hier? – Since when have you lived here?
- Seit einer Woche. – For a week.
- Sie müssen sich innerhalb von 14 Tagen anmelden. – You have to register within 14 days.