Your stay in general
Here you will find a collection of information and links related to the stay of refugees from Ukraine.
Your stay in switzerland
Open a bank account
Persons in need of protection with a passport and an S permit can open a bank account at many Swiss banks:
- Credit-Suisse - Free account and bank card for the first 12 months
- Zürcher Kantonalbank ZKB
Creditcard
Credit cards can be used almost anywhere in Switzerland. In addition to credit cards, direct transfers are still very common. Switzerland also has a customized and widespread solution (mobile app) called TWINT for instant payments between people and for the online purchase of goods.
Illness/accident
If it is an urgent situation, you can go to the nearest hospital. There you will receive help regardless of your health insurance. If it is not an emergency, we recommend checking your insurance situation first. Here you can find the emergency numbers of switzerland.
Pregnancy/birth
If my child is born in Switzerland, who can help me?
The Swiss association Mamamundo accompanied mothers-to-be with a migration background since 2012. The financial support for participation in the courses depends on the current health insurance situation.
Health insurance
All persons who had their residence in Ukraine before February 24, 2022 are granted protection status S. For this they must be registered in a federal asylum center.
After the application has been submitted, the person seeking protection has health insurance.
We recommend all those seeking protection to submit an application as soon as possible.
No roaming charges for calls to Ukraine
Sunrise, Swisscom and Salt will temporarily cover the cost of calls to and from Ukraine to Switzerland. Some of the offers are time-limited.
- Sunrise UPC for Ukraine - free SIM-card and Calls
Kostenlose SIM-Karte für ukrainische Flüchtlinge
For Ukrainian refugees who have or want to apply for refugee status S and are at least 18 years old, Swisscom offers a free SIM card with unlimited internet and unlimited calls throughout Switzerland.
SIM card & mobile contract
SIM cards in Switzerland must be registered with a valid official document. Driving licenses are not accepted. A setup fee of up to CHF 40 is often required for the SIM card. In Switzerland there are three major network providers and a number of smaller service providers, each using one of these networks. Salt, Sunrise and Swisscom are the network operators. Sunrise and Swisscom have the best coverage, Salt usually has the cheapest deals.
Service-Options
There are different contract options ranging from prepaid, prepaid with surf or call options to postpaid contracts and flat rates. You can compare different mobile offers on the sites below:
Telecom/mobile providers
Network coverage of the various network providers
The network coverage maps show where reception is possible with which provider. If possible, before concluding a contract, check whether reception at your accommodation is really possible.
Between 1 March and 31 December 2022, persons who have fled Ukraine can use public transport free of charge to travel to their destination in Switzerland or for transit through Switzerland. For a limited time (from 21 March to 31 May 2022), war-displaced refugees were able to use the entire public transport network free of charge. The Strategy Council of the Alliance SwissPass introduced these arrangements following discussions with the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and the Federal Office of Transport (FOT).
As originally planned, the public transport sector will return to normal operation on 1 January 2023. The regular fare conditions will then apply to refugees and persons holding a Ukrainian passport travelling on the Swiss public transport network. Alliance SwissPass has decided not to extend its free travel arrangements within and through Switzerland. The reason is that these arrangements were originally introduced in close cooperation with our European partner railway operators, particularly Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), both of whom (as well as other transport operators) withdrew their offer of free public transport for Ukrainian refugees at the end of October 2022.
Long-distance/train
Public transport in Switzerland is usually very punctual and you can reach almost every place by train, bus or tram. General timetables and tickets can be queried and booked at the Swiss Federal Railways SBB:
Public transport is divided into several interconnected transport networks. The Swiss Federal Railways SBB operate nationwide, the others according to the map linked below. Check your region's transport network for more information, regional flat rates and special offers.
There is an SBB app that makes booking tickets a lot easier by automatically generating a valid ticket for your journey using your phone's location services. All you need is an accepted payment method (e.g. credit card)